How to fix your Apple iPhone X that can’t install or download apps (easy steps)

by

Installation of apps on an iPhone X, or any iPhones for that matter, is supposed to be a very easy and straightforward procedure. But since Apple prioritizes security over ease, it added a couple of procedures when you install an application. So, instead of tapping just the “GET” icon, you will now be asked to “Double Click to Install” the app and many of our readers have been asking us about it. Many of those who emailed eventually figured it out but for those who are currently stuck on that screen, well, continue reading as I will tell you what you need to do below.

In this post, I will also walk you through in troubleshooting your iPhone X that cannot download or install applications. We will try to consider every possibility and rule them out to determine what the problem really is and what needs to be done to fix it. Don’t worry, there hasn’t been any reported firmware-related issues that result in problems like this so this problem of yours is probably minor and easy to fix.

Before anything else, if you have other issues with your device, try to browse through our troubleshooting page as we’ve already addressed several issues with this device. Odds are that we’ve already published a post that tackles similar problems. Try finding issues that have similar symptoms with what you currently have and feel free to use the solutions we’ve suggested. If they don’t work for you or if you still need our help, then fill up our questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.

What to do with “Double Click to Install” notification?

What it’s trying to tell you is to double click the Power key. Upon doing that, Face ID will start for verification purposes. If you notice, the notification is located directly beside the side button or the power key and instead of saying “double tap,” Apple used “double click” which is only applicable to physical buttons.

I need to mention that many users actually believed they have to double tap on the screen. Well, there are things wherein you need to double tap an icon on the screen to perform an action but that’s not the case here.

I hope it’s clearer for everyone now.

How to troubleshoot iPhone X that can’t download / install an app?


If your iPhone can’t download or install an app from the App Store, it could be just a minor app-related problem or a firmware issue. You need to do some troubleshooting procedures to be able to determine the reason why it’s acting up and hopefully fix it. With all that being said, here’s what you need to do about it:

First solution: Reboot your iPhone X

Just because your device can no longer install an app doesn’t mean it’s serious. There are times when glitches happen and you can seldom notice these things. I’ve encountered several cases in the past wherein problems occur for no apparent reason or cause and more often than not, they get fixed by doing the simple reboot. Follow these simple steps to turn your iPhone X off:

  1. Press and hold the Side button and either volume button until the slider appears.
  2. Drag the slider to turn your iPhone X completely off.
  3. After your iPhone X turns off, press and hold the Side button again until you see the Apple logo.

Alternatively, you can turn off your device by going to Settings > General > Shut Down. After this, try to open the App Store and install an app. If you still can’t, then try the next solution.

Second solution: Check restrictions

If you changed something in the settings of your iPhone X, you may have accidentally disabled Installing Apps in Restrictions and if that’s the case, no matter what you do, you can never install an app on your device.

Go to Settings > General > Restrictions and make sure Installing Apps is turned on or enabled. You will know if it’s turned on if the switch is green. Try installing an app after this to know if the problem is fixed. But if restrictions are actually showing all green, then the problem is something else. Move on to the next solution.

Third solution: Network issue

After doing the first two procedures and you still can’t install an app on your iPhone X and if you’re using mobile data, try to check if the app you’re trying to install is more than 150MB because if so, then you need to connect or get your Internet connection via a Wi-Fi network. And even if it’s below 150MB, if you don’t have unlimited data usage, you should try using the other method.

Also, make sure Airplane Mode is not enabled because if it’s turned on, all wireless connections are disabled. At the end of the day, it could be an issue with your internet connection so you also need to make sure your iPhone X has a good and fast connection.

Fourth solution: Reset All Settings

After doing the procedures above and you still can’t download or install an app, then it could be a firmware problem. The next thing you should do is make sure you still have enough storage left and after making sure of that, you have to reset all the settings of your iPhone X. This will bring all the device’s settings and configuration back to their factory settings without deleting your files, apps and data. It’s as effective as a reset but you don’t have to go through the hassle of backing up your important files and data as they will not be touched.

To reset all settings, go to General > Reset > Reset All Settings. Your iPhone will restart once the reset is done.

I hope that this will help you fix the problem with your iPhone X. If you still have other concerns you want to share with us, feel free to contact us or leave a comment below.

Connect with us

If you need more help with the use of certain functions and features of the Apple iPhone X smartphone, feel free to visit our Tutorial Page. There you can find a list of how-to contents, step-by-step tutorials, as well as answers to FAQs regarding iPhone X. If you have other concerns or encountered some troubles while using the phone, you can reach us through this form. Just be sure to tell us more details of the problem or device issue(s) you may have and we will be more than happy to assist you further.

Posts you may also find helpful: