I recently started having a problem with the updates tab within the App Store. I don't recall doing anything out of the ordinary, but one day, I went into updates to download the latest available updates, as I have automatic updates turned off, and when I selected to download the updates, I saw the message "connecting," but there was no percentage progress report. I know it wasn't my wifi connection, as I was able to continue working with other apps and access online content in the meantime.
After I let some time pass, I still saw the same message. I decided to go to the home screen, and next to the updating apps, I saw "waiting." After closing and reopening the App Store, I was finally given the option to cancel the downloads, after which "recently updated" was displayed next to the updated apps. I powered down my phone (an iPhone 6 running iOS 8.4), and after restarting, got the message: "Unable to purchase: App X could not be purchased at this time. Please try again later." And this despite the fact that I hadn't purchased anything.
As for purchasing new apps, this does not work at all. I can search for an app, click purchase, but then I am once again given a "waiting" message. However, I am not prompted for my password, and the requested app does not download either.
Has anyone else run into this problem? If not, is there anything you suggest I try?
Thank you.
Comments
Updating apps
My gut says that you have a connectivity problem here. This may not be it in your case, but I would look to see if cellular use is turned off with the app store. Perhaps you are trying to update when you do not have the right kind of connection.
Connectivity
I checked in Settings, and cellular data is turned off for the App Store. However, as an experiment, I turned it on just to see what would happen, and nothing changed. So I have reset cell data to off and will continue to use wifi as usual. So I doubt it could be a connectivity issue in my case.
RE: Problems with the update feature in the App Store
I him quite skeptical this will resolve your issue because it does not seem to be an app store server-side issue. However, try to refresh the Updates tab by double-tapping the Updates button approximately nine times. Doing this will refresh both visually and audibly and will set focus to another tab. Double-tap the Updates button yet again to set focus to that tab.
Again, I highly doubt this will solve your problem but it will undoubtedly refresh the Updates page. Also, I suggest to disable the Wi-Fi radio, disable the bluetooth radio and enable the mobile networking capabilities. After that, launch the app store and attempt to check for updates using your mobile carrier's connection. If this works, the culprit is undoubtedly your Wi-Fi network.
If that fails to hone positive results, reset your network settings by navigating to Settings | General | Reset | Reset Network Settings button. The device will reboot upon confirmation. Reconfigure your Wi-Fi and mobile network settings and attempt to check for updates in the app store.
resetting network settings
Thanks for your suggestions. Unfortunately, none of them worked.
I tried tapping the updates tab multiple times, but all that did was temporarily zero the number of updates given following the tab announcement. Reconfiguring settings didn't do anything either.
As I said in my original post, it would surprise me if this was a network issue, since I am able to perform all other functions normally using wifi or cell connections.
A friend had suggested restoring my phone from a previous backup. The problem is that my computer was out of commission for quite some time, plus the the fact that I was not aware of the backup feature in iTunes, as this is my first Apple device. So that option is out.
Is there any other last-resort option I can try before proceeding with a full reset of the device?
Apple ID
One thing you can try is to sign out of your Apple ID in the AppStore, restart the iPhone, and sign back in. To do this, go to the featured tab in the AppStore. Flick left from the bottom row of tabs until you hear your AppleID. Double tap that and then double tap sign out in the resulting dialog. Repeat this process to sign in.
Problem solved!
I still can't get over how simple that was! Thanks for the tip. In fact, when I followed the steps you described, I discovered that I was actually signed out this whole time. Now I know where to look next time. I have no idea how that happened, but it was not long after I was on a flight, so perhaps I accidentally did something odd while in airplane mode, even though that doesn't sound very logical or relevant.
Thanks again for your help! I'm so glad I tried this before doing something more drastic and messy. Now I know I can back up my phone without any bugs in the data.
This happened to me, fixed it the same way
I was going to reply that this problem happened to me last week too, and offer the suggestion to sign out and back in to the Apple Store. I solved my update problem by doing this, with a phone re-start in between. The re-start of the iPhone might not have been necessary.