Fix: Apps won’t update or download on iPhone 7

While we eagerly await for the Apple’s response to the renewed Android models in the flagship race, the iPhone 7 still stands firm as one of the devices still worth acquiring. Until the 10th-anniversary model appears, we must take closer attention to the one that’s currently the peak performer of the iPhone series.

Now, kudos to Apple for all-around system stability, but even the premium handsets are not error-free. One of those errors that can be quite a thorn in your side, is not uncommon with the iOS users. Namely, some users reported the issue with apps that won’t either download or update. To make things even more peculiar, some users managed to update apps while using Mobile Data, but the problem starts with the Wi-Fi.

For that reason, we prepared a list of possible solutions that should relieve you of this heavy burden. So, if you have identical or similar issues, make sure to check out the list below.

Check your Wi-Fi

With every connection-related troubleshooting, you should firstly eliminate the external cause. In this, like in so many other cases, your Wi-Fi router or its setup may be the problem. So, make sure to take some of these steps before we move on to the device itself:

• Power off your router. Wait for approximately one minute and turn it on.
• Check the cables.
• Disable router firewall.
• Unhide your SSID. This brings up some security risks, but there seems to be an actual issue with hidden SSID networks and iPhone.
• Reset your router to factory settings.

Still, if you’re unable to download and update apps after all of those, move on to the internal troubleshooting.

Check storage memory

This may seem too obvious but the overcrowded internal storage may cause this problem so it’s worth checking. Especially with the devices that run with 32 GB of the storage space. Additionally, some of the apps can accumulate a lot of needless data that you’re not even aware of. So, it’s worth to look into that. This is how you can check the data usage of the individual app:

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap General.
3. Tap Storage & iCloud Usage.
4. Under Storage, open Manage Storage.
5. Find the app that takes to much space.
6. Check the Documents & Data tab for unnecessary data.
7. If the app took to much data, you should reinstall it.
8. Tap the hogging app and choose Delete.
9. Navigate to Apple Store and redownload it.

You can repeat this procedure for all the apps that are taking a toll on your system storage. Moreover, when it comes to photos or other space-consuming multimedia files, we advise you to take the backup into consideration. With iTunes, you can backup and encrypt your data on your PC quite easily. That way you’ll have your sensitive data safe and your storage space relieved.

Reset Network Settings

From time to time, your iPhone and router can get into some kind of confusion that may result in various connection problems. That, of course, heavily affects app updates. So, you may want to try and reset your network settings. Have in mind that this will erase all of your network-related settings, including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth pairings and Mobile Data setup. If you’re up for it, this is how to do it:

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap General.
3. Tap Reset.
4. Select Reset Network Settings.
5. Tap to confirm.

Your iPhone will restart and you’ll get the default setting configuration. Now, reconnect with the home network and try updating/downloading apps again from the Apple Store.

Delete backed up apps from iCloud Drive

Even though it sounds awkward, some users managed to resolve this issue by clearing the backed up app data from the iCloud. Namely, even though the iCloud shouldn’t interfere with the updates in any matter, it seems that it does. So, what you need to do is to delete the app data that’s backed up to your iCloud Drive and try updating again:

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap iCloud (your name > iCloud on  iOS 10.3 and later).
3. Open iCloud Storage.
4. Tap Manage Storage.
5. Tap Edit.
6.  Now you can manage the files from the Storage. We advise you to delete all apps data just in case and check for updates later.

Use iTunes on your PC/Mac

If the all of the previous workarounds were of little or no avail, you can use an alternative way until the Apple address this issue in some of the upcoming patches. And that alternative is, you guess, iTunes client on PC/Mac. This is the great feature that easily overcomes the issues you may encounter with Wi-Fi. Follow these steps to update/download apps trough the iTunes:

1. Download iTunes for Windows/Mac here.
2. Connect your iPhone to your PC via USB cable.
3. Open iTunes desktop client.
4. Open the 3-dot drop-down menu in the upper left corner.
5. Open Apps.
6. Click Updates.
7. Click Update All Apps.

In a similar manner, you can download and install the apps via iTunes. This is how.

1. Connect your iPhone to the PC via USB.
2. Start iTunes desktop client.
3. Click iTunes Store.
4. Click on the 3-dot drop-down menu and select Apps.
5. Open App Store.
6. Find the App you want and click Get/Buy.

That should be it. With these steps, you should be able to resolve or at least overcome your app-related issues on iPhone 7. In addition, don’t forget to share your experience with this issue or ask any subject-related questions. We’ll be glad to help.