We’ve seen a lot of iPhone owners having issues downloading app and iOS updates in the past so it’s not surprising anymore if more will continue to do so with their new #iPhone8 and iPhone8Plus. Today’s troubleshooting post will walk you through how to fix an iPhone 8 that has encountered a problem installing app and iOS updates.
If you are looking for solutions to your own #iOS issue, you can contact us by using the link provided at the bottom of this page.
When describing your issue, please be as detailed as possible so we can easily pinpoint a relevant solution. If you can, kindly include the exact error messages you are getting to give us an idea where to start. If you have already tried some troubleshooting steps before emailing us, make sure to mention them so we can skip them in our answers.
Below are specific topics we’re bringing for you today:
Problem #1: iPhone 8 Plus Safari app won’t go back to previously opened page after it’s closed, alarm won’t work or go off
Hi. I recently switched to an iPhone 8 Plus and before i switched i had an iPhone 6s+. Before i switched phones, my phone would act up 24/7 (not saving text messages, not saving photos, alarms wouldn’t work, etc.) and that’s the reason i switched phones. I thought this would resolve my issue. clearly not. i still cannot use the alarms on my phone. If i set an alarm on my iPhone 8 Plus, it’ll show my alarm is set with the icon in the top right but if i double tap the home button and swipe up and then go back to alarms, it turns it off. even if i keep the alarm app running all night, my alarm will not go off. Another issue i have is when i go into the Safari and search something and then exit the Safari app and swipe up to fully exit it and then go back into safari, it doesn’t save whatever page i was on. This is very frustrating!! if you can help me, that’d be great! Thanks! — Ashlynschank
Solution: Hi Ashlynschank. For your alarm “issue,” it really is not technically a problem because you are actually closing the alarm app. By double tapping the Home button, you are accessing what we call the fast app switcher menu where you can browse apps currently loaded in the memory (RAM) of your iPhone 8 Plus. When you browse your apps in this screen by swiping left or right, it’s fine. However, when you swipe a particular app up, you’re basically force quitting it, effectively closing it by erasing it from your iPhone’s memory. This means that whatever tasks it was doing, like keeping your alarm to set off in a particular time, will now be erased. This is the reason why your alarms won’t go off at all! We can’t see your logic why you would want to force close your alarm app after setting your alarms but don’t do it if you want the app to wake you up.
Safari app won’t go back to previously opened page after it’s closed
For your Safari app issue, the problem is most likely caused by an app bug. Your Safari browser should still be able to remember the last page you’re browsing before you closed it, unless you also closed that particular web page first before force closing. To fix it, here’s what you can try:
Install the latest Safari update
We don’t have your Safari issue with our updated iPhone 8 and Safari browser so you may be running an older app version. To minimize app bugs, always make it a habit of updating both the operating system (iOS) and apps.
To check for updates for your apps:
- Open App Store app.
- Tap Updates tab at the bottom.
- If an update is available, tap Update.
- If asked, enter your Apple ID and password.
You might need a Wi-Fi connection to update some apps on your iOS device so be sure you’re at home or connected to a wifi network before attempting any update.
Wipe safari data
If Safari is fully up-to-date at this time, the next good thing that you can do is to clear its history and data. This will erase everything that’s associated with your Safari browser including its browsing history. This is an effective way to fix Safari bugs because it basically turn your Safari app back to its original, default condition.
To clear Safari app history and data:
- Open Settings app.
- Tap General.
- Find Safari and tap it.
- Scroll down and look for Clear History and Website Data.
- Tap Clear History and Website Data.
- Tap Clear History and Website Data again to confirm.
Restart your iPhone
Many minor app and system issues are fixed by doing a simple step: restart. If you haven’t restarted your iPhone 8 for a long time yet, we highly recommend that you do it now. Follow these steps to force restart your phone:
Reset all settings
Another potential solution that you can try in this case is to reset your all of your device’s settings. Here’s how to do it:
- Tap Settings from the Home screen to get started.
- Tap General.
- Scroll to and tap Reset.
- Tap to select Reset all settings from the given options.
- If prompted, enter your device passcode to continue.
- Then tap the option to confirm all settings reset.
Factory reset
Finally, if everything you’ve done so far won’t do any good at all, you can try to factory reset your iPhone 8 and see what happens. This is often recommended if there’s a particularly stubborn bug that you can get rid of. Before you do the steps below, make sure that back your phone’s data to avoid losing them. You can save them in iTunes or upload them to iCloud.
Once you’ve taken care of your backups, follow these steps to factory reset your iPhone 8:
- Tap Settings from Home.
- Tap General.
- Tap Reset.
- Select the option to Erase All Content and Settings.
- If prompted, enter your passcode to continue.
- Tap Erase iPhone to confirm action.
Problem #2: iPhone 8 won’t install app and iOS updates
Hi there. I had some issues with my Paypal being in the negative. That has all been corrected as of today. I have 26 apps that are in need of being updated. I go to update and the circle spins then a warning pops up saying”unable to download app – “name of app” could not be downloaded at this time” then it has a done retry option. I am not too sure what is happening with it. I have also tried to update to the newest IOS versionand I get the same warning pop up. — Heather
Solution: Hi Heather. There can be a number of possible reasons why your iPhone 8 won’t install app updates or iOS updates. Below are some of most common ones that many iPhone owners ignore.
Cellular data is slow or unreliable
When updating apps or your iPhone’s operating system, make sure that you’re connected to wifi. Cellular data are sometimes unreliable, especially if you’re in an area with poor coverage. By using wifi, you’re lessening the chance of internet connection dropping and disrupting the download of update files.
Pause or restart update
If the update download for an app is interrupted, like when the internet connection drops, you should be able to resume the download once you’re connected to a more reliable wifi connection by simply pressing and holding the said app from the Home screen. After doing that, you should see options like Resume Download, Pause Download, or Cancel Download. If the app download was paused for some reason, you should see Resume download option so simply select it.
Alternatively, you can check the status of your app downloads by going under App Store > Updates tab. In here, you should see the downloads progress or apps that need to be updated.
Restart your iPhone
Restarting your iPhone 8 clears the system and its memory. It’s also an effective way to resume the app update download if it stopped and you can’t resume it as detailed above. If the app appears on your Home screen, but is dim or has white with lines on it, don’t delete the app. Restart your device, then go to the App Store and redownload the app.
Use the right Apple account
One of the common yet largely unknown reasons why app updates fail is the use of incorrect Apple ID during updates. This usually occurs if a user forgets to sign back in to his or her Apple account that is associated with the apps being updated. If you have more than one Apple accounts, make sure that you’re signed in to the correct one before installing app updates. Keep in mind that apps are tied to an Apple ID and they won’t update if you’re signed in to another one.
To check what Apple ID is associated with a particular app, do the following steps:
- Open the App Store app.
- Tap Updates.
- Check the account icon at the top right and see if this is the correct Apple account that downloaded the apps.
- Then, tap Purchased and check the list of apps.
- Check to see if the app is listed here. If not, it was likely downloaded with another Apple ID.
Restrictions is enabled
Apple operating system on their mobile devices, also known as iOS, has an option that allows a user to disable various features, one of which is installing apps. To allow your iPhone to install updates, make sure Restrictions for Installing apps is set to OFF. Here’s how:
- Tap Settings.
- Tap General.
- Tap Restrictions.
- If prompted, enter your passcode
- In Installing apps option, make sure that the slider is moved to the left. If it’s on the right, it’s enabled and your phone won’t be able to install any app.
Verify phone has enough free storage available
Without enough available storage space during an update can cause errors and prevent update failure. Make sure that you have at least 1GB of free storage left before you download any app or iOS update.
If you haven’t cleared your storage device yet, be sure to do so. The best way to do that is to delete unnecessary files such as photos and videos or move them to another device like a computer. If available, you can also copy them to the cloud.
Factory reset
We don’t know the full history of your iPhone 8 to know the exact reasons why it is unable to install app updates but if all our suggestions above won’t work, wipe the system and re-install the problematic apps again. This is the most effective way to fix this type of issue. This should also address the similar issue of iOS update being denied.
To factory reset your iPhone 8:
- Tap Settings from Home.
- Tap General.
- Tap Reset.
- Select the option to Erase All Content and Settings.
- If prompted, enter your passcode to continue.
- Tap Erase iPhone to confirm action.
- Once you’ve wiped the device, don’t restore your old backup. Instead, set it as a new device and see what happens when you reinstall the problematic apps individually.
Engage with us
If you happen to have a problem with your own iPhone, let us know about it and we will do our best to post them and their solutions in our upcoming articles. You can use this link to contact us for assistance. We can’t guarantee an answer to every question but rest assured that we will exhaust everything on our end to help you.
Be as detailed as possible when describing your problem to help us diagnose your issue easily. If you can include error messages, popups, attempted troubleshooting steps, and circumstances leading to the problem, that would be very helpful.