One of the services that you wouldn’t want to go down on your iPhone is the App Store. Nonetheless, there is no such thing as a perfect application. Thus the App Store can bump also into some troubles just like any other apps do. Emerging among the common errors encountered by iPhone owners when downloading, installing or updating apps via App Store is on connection failure. Tackled in this post is a relevant issue on the new iphone 11 that cannot connect to the App Store for some reason. Read on to find out why this happens and what must be done on your end to fix this error and be able to use App Store services on your new iOS handset.
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Troubleshooting an iPhone 11 that cannot connect to App Store
Seldom will you hear of the App Store being down but it happens. Like many other internet-based apps, there are a lot of factors that can make the App Store services down or unavailable at some point. And the following solutions will help you eliminate the usual triggers.
First solution: Quit the App Store then restart your iPhone 11.
Apps that suddenly stopped working are usually those that were left open or suspended for long. This is usually what happens if you’ve left the App Store app running in the background. While keeping apps in this state benefits in terms of multitasking or easy app switching, it would eventually result in some problems, especially if any of these suspended apps crashed and go rogue. To deal with this possible occurrence, follow these steps to force close the App Store and clear all background apps on your iPhone 11:
- Swipe up from the bottom of the screen then stop when your finger reaches the middle and pause until the app cards/previews show up.
- In the app switcher, swipe sideways to find the App Store card/preview.
- Swipe up on the card preview to force close the app.
Repeat the same steps to clear out all other background apps on your iPhone 11. This will help eliminate other suspended apps from the possible triggers. After clearing all background apps, soft reset your iPhone 11 to clear and refresh its memory and system functions. For starters, just follow these steps to soft reset or restart your iPhone 11:
- Press and hold both the Side and Volume Up buttons for a few seconds.
- Release both buttons when the Slide to Power off bar appears.
- Swipe or drag the bar to turn your device off.
- After about 30 seconds, press and hold the Side button and then release when the Apple logo appears.
Allow your phone to finish rebooting and then reconnects to Wi-Fi. As soon as it’s connected and back online, launch the App Store again and see if your iPhone can now connect successfully. If the App Store connection error comes back, then you’ve got to try other means to correct it.
ALSO READ: How to fix an iPhone 11 Pro that has no Wi-Fi internet access
Second solution: Refresh your iPhone’s Internet connection.
Network connectivity issues are usually the main reason why web-based apps and services suddenly stop working. To clear out minor internet connection errors, try to refresh your iPhone’s Wi-Fi features. There are different ways to get this done. The following steps will refresh the Internet connection using the Wi-Fi toggle:
- Tap Settings from your Home screen.
- Select Wi-Fi.
- Tap the Wi-Fi switch to the OFF position.
- After about 30 seconds, tap the switch again to turn Wi-Fi back ON.
Another possible solution you can try to rule out corrupted Wi-Fi network that might have prevented your iPhone from connecting to the App store is to forget Wi-Fi network on your phone. Here’s how it’s done:
- To get started, go to your iPhone Settings-> Wi-Fi menu and make sure that Wi-Fi is enabled.
- Scroll down to the list of available networks then select your Wi-Fi network.
- Tap the information “i” icon next to the name of your Wi-Fi network or SSID.
- Then tap the option to Forget this network.
- If prompted, tap Forget network to confirm.
Follow the same steps to forget any other saved Wi-Fi networks that aren’t needed on your device.
You can also try switching to other Wi-Fi networks and see if that will solve the problem. This however is only applicable if you’ve set up multiple Wi-Fi networks and saved them on your phone. Other iPhone owners who have encountered the same App Store connection error were able to find wonders by applying this workaround. Thus, it wouldn’t hurt if you’d give it a try too.
Third solution: Disable restrictions for App Store on your iPhone 11.
When enabled, restrictions can also hinder App Store downloads, purchases, updates and other services. To make sure this isn’t the one that’s preventing your iPhone from connecting to the App Store, check and manage restriction settings on your iPhone 11. Here’s how to get there:
- From the Home screen, tap Settings.
- Select Screen Time.
- Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.
- Enter your passcode, if prompted to continue.
- Then tap on iTunes & App Store Purchases.
- Set all options under Store Purchases & Redownloads to Allow.
- To add security, you can enable the option to Require Password.
You can also try lifting all app restrictions on your device by turning the feature completely off. Just refer to these steps, if you wish to proceed with this option:
- Tap Settings from the Home screen.
- Then tap on Screen Time.
- Select Content & Privacy Restrictions then toggle the switch to turn the feature off.
Try to launch the App Store after making all necessary changes and see if you can now connect successfully.
ALSO READ: How to fix iPhone XS that’s unable to check for updates for iOS 13
Fourth solution: Install new software updates to fix your iPhone 11 that cannot connect to App Store.
Installing the latest update for your iPhone can also be the key to rectifying App Store connection errors if system bugs are the main trigger. If your iPhone doesn’t have any trouble connecting to the internet, then refer to these subsequent steps to check for and install available software update wirelessly:
- From the Home screen, tap Settings.
- Select General.
- Tap Software Update.
You will see a notification if a new iOS version is available for your iPhone. Read and review the information then follow the onscreen instructions to download and install the update when ready.
Fifth solution: Reset all settings on your iPhone 11.
Settings that were not properly configured can also cause conflicts with system apps including the App Store. To clear this out, resorting to all settings reset can help. This reset erases all your current settings and personal preferences then restores the original values and options. Any associated errors will also be deleted in the process. You don’t have to back up files beforehand because this reset does not affect any saved information on the phone’s internal memory. Just follow these steps if you wish to proceed:
- From the Home screen, tap on Settings.
- Select General.
- Scroll down and tap on Reset.
- Tap Reset All Settings from the given options.
- Enter your passcode if prompted to continue.
- Confirm action by tapping on Reset All Settings again.
Wait for your phone to finish resetting all settings and then reboots when done. After it restarts, you’ll need to re-enable individual features that you want to use on your phone, particularly those that are disabled by default.
Sixth solution: Log out and back into the App Store.
Account-related issues including expired or invalid login sessions are the next factors you should try to eliminate, if your iPhone is still unable to connect to the App Store after applying the previous solutions. Just follow these steps:
- Tap to open the Settings app from your Home screen.
- Select your name or Apple ID label.
- Scroll down and tap the option to Sign Out.
- Enter your Apple ID password and tap the option to Turn Off.
- Enable the data that you want to keep a copy on your phone.
- Then tap Sign Out twice to confirm that you want to log out of your iCloud account.
- To sign into your iCloud again, continue with these steps:
- Tap Settings from the Home screen.
- Tap the option to Sign In to your iPhone.
- Enter your Apple ID and password to continue.
If asked, enter the six-digit verification code sent to your trusted device or phone number. You will be prompted to do this if you’ve enabled two-factor authentication for your account security. Just enter the code to complete the sign-in process.
Last resort: Erase and restore factory default settings on your iPhone 11.
If all else failed to fix the problem and your iPhone still can’t access and use App Store services, resorting to a full system reset or factory reset can be considered among the last options. Through this reset, you can erase everything from your iPhone including complex system errors that might have ruined the App Store functions. Just be sure to back up files beforehand so that you’d still be able to recover them afterwards. If you wish to proceed, then you may go ahead and factory reset your iPhone 11 through these steps:
- From the Home screen, tap on Settings.
- Select General.
- Scroll down and tap on Reset.
- Tap Erase all content and settings from the given options.
- Enter your passcode if prompted to continue.
- Confirm action by tapping the option to erase and reset your iPhone.
After the reset, your phone will restart on its own and then restores its factory default settings. To use your phone again, you will need to set it up as new and enable necessary features.
Still having trouble with your iPhone 11 that cannot connect to App Store?
At this point, your next option would be to verify the current status of the App Store server. Perhaps the problem isn’t with your iPhone 11 but rather with the main server. To check the current status of the App Store server, you can use your browser app to navigate to the Apple support status page. On this page, you will see a list of all Apple services along with their respective status indicators, typically in the form of radio buttons.Scroll to the App Store server and see its status indicator. If the radio button appears green, it means that the service is available, otherwise there’s an ongoing problem and thus all relevant services are temporarily down. In this case, there’s not much can be done on your end because the underlying cause of the problem is the server itself. Rest assured, Apple engineers will definitely find ways to fix the problem and get the server back up and running in no time. If the App Store server status on is available but your iPhone 11 still cannot connect to the App Store, contact Apple Support to report the problem for further assistance.
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