iPhone or iPad apps often get stuck waiting to update or install. You can’t use the app when this happens and need to wait for it to finish. But since it’s stuck, it might never finish updating or installing!
Use this guide to make your iPhone or iPad apps finish updating, downloading, or installing. You shouldn’t lose any data and it’s usually much quicker than waiting for your device to fix itself.
How to Fix Your iPhone When an App Is Stuck on Waiting
Test your Internet connection and stop other downloads.
Tap the app to pause, then tap it again to restart.
Delete the app, then re-download it from the App Store.
Sign out of the App Store, then restart your iPhone.
Make sure there is plenty of free storage.
We’ve explained each of these steps and more in full detail below.
Step 1. Test Your Internet Connection
Whether downloading an app for the first time or updating an old favorite, your iPhone needs an active Internet connection to do it. Try streaming a video to test your iPhone’s Internet connection and speed.
If the Internet seems slow or isn’t working at all, try these tips to fix it:
Open Control Center and toggle Airplane Mode on and off.
Restart your Wi-Fi router and reconnect to your network.
Go to Settings > Reset > Reset Network Settings. This deletes your saved Wi-Fi passwords so make a note of them first.
Toggle Airplane mode on and off to fix Internet issues.
Step 2. Prioritize Your Waiting App
It’s possible your iPhone or iPad app is stuck on waiting because it can’t download the update at the moment. The more things your device tries to download at once, the longer you need to wait for any one of them to finish.
Tap and hold the app icon on the Home screen, then select Prioritize Download from the quick-action menu. This moves it to the top of the list, above anything else your iPhone or iPad is trying to download.
Tap Prioritize Download to prioritize this app above everything else.
You can also manually pause the other downloads on your iPhone or iPad:
If other apps are trying to update or install, tap to pause them.
Open Apple Music, Books, Podcasts, TV, and other apps you download media with and pause any active downloads.
Go to Settings > General > Software Update to check if your iPhone is downloading a software update.
Go to Settings > iTunes & App Store and turn off Automatic Downloads.
Turn off automatic downloads for Music, Apps, Books & Audiobooks, and App Updates.
Step 3. Pause the Update or Installation
You might be able to kickstart your stuck app by temporarily pausing the update or installation then starting it up again. To do this, tap the app icon from your Home screen, making it show a pause icon.
Wait a few seconds, then tap it again to resume the process. If that doesn’t work, tap and hold the app icon, then select Pause from the quick-action menu that appears. Open the quick-action menu again to Resume.
A pause icon should display on paused apps.
Step 4. Delete and Reinstall the Stuck App
If your app is still stuck on waiting, you might need to delete it from your iPhone or iPad entirely then download it again. When you do this, you also delete any content saved inside the app, so back up your iPhone first.
Offload, reinstall, or delete apps from the Storage settings.
Tap and hold the app icon on the Home screen, then select Delete App from the quick-action menu to delete it. After your iPhone or iPad deletes the app, open the App Store to download it again.
If that doesn’t work, go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage and select your app from the list, then tap Delete App. Once again, use the App Store to reinstall the app after you delete it.
Step 5. Restart Your iPhone or iPad
Restarting your iPhone or iPad is a great way to fix all kinds of problems. Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button, then slide to power off. Wait at least 30 seconds before pressing the button again to restart your device.
Slide to power off when prompted by the on-screen message.
If it’s frozen or unresponsive, follow instructions to force restart your iPhone or iPad instead. This immediately quits any background processes and powers off your device. Wait at least 30 seconds before restarting it.
Step 6. Sign Out of the App Store
Updates and apps download through the iOS App Store. If an app is stuck waiting to update or download, it could be because there’s a problem connecting to your App Store account.
Go to Settings > iTunes & App Store then tap your Apple ID address at the top of the page. In the pop-up window, choose to Sign Out.
Follow the instructions above to restart your iPhone before returning to the iTunes & App Store settings to Sign In again.
Tap Sign In and enter your Apple ID details to sign in to the App Store again.
Step 7. Create More Free Storage on Your iPhone
New apps and app updates take up internal storage on your iPhone or iPad. If you run out of free space, your device can’t download or update any apps.
The iPhone Storage screen shows you your storage.
When this happens, you should see an alert saying Not Enough Storage, but either way, it’s worth checking how much internal storage you have left.
Go to Settings > General > [iPhone/iPad] Storage to see how much free space there is. The chart at the top of the screen updates to show where your storage is going, follow these tips to free up more iPhone or iPad space.
Step 8. Update to the Latest Software
Apple releases new iOS or iPadOS software updates all the time. If your iPhone or iPad isn’t running the latest software, new apps might not work because they’re incompatible with your operating system.
Connect your iPhone or iPad to the Internet and go to Settings > General > Software Update to check for new updates. Make sure to download and install the latest available updates for your device.
Install the latest software to benefit from bug fixes.
You can also connect your iPhone or iPad to a computer and update the software using Finder or iTunes. This is arguably a better option since it performs a more complete software update than using the settings.
Step 9. Reset the Settings on Your iPhone
A problem with your iPhone or iPad settings might be the reason new apps or updates are stuck on waiting. You can often fix these issues without losing any content from your device by resetting the settings.
If that doesn’t work, you may need to erase all your content as well.
To reset your settings, go to Settings > General > Reset. Choose to Reset All Settings. Enter your passcode then confirm you want to Reset All Settings.
Resetting your settings doesn’t delete any content.
If your apps are still stuck on waiting, go to Settings > General > Reset and choose to Erase All Content and Settings. This deletes everything from your device, so we recommend you make a new backup first.
If prompted, enter your passcode and Apple ID password, then confirm you want to Erase your device. After your iPhone or iPad restarts, follow the onscreen setup to recover data from your backup.
Make sure you back up your device before you erase it.
Find Out How to Download Incompatible Apps
Sometimes the apps you want to use aren’t compatible with the software on your iPhone or iPad. When this happens, you don’t always need to update your software, you can download older versions of the app instead.
Dan writes tutorials and troubleshooting guides to help people make the most of their technology. Before becoming a writer, he earned a BSc in Sound Technology, supervised repairs at an Apple Store, and even taught English in China.
I have tried all of the above and more,mine started when I accidentally paused download.It wouldn’t play again and now it’s stuck and I can’t delete,the x won’t show up and when it does I select yes to the slide saying it will delete data yet nothing happens.does anyone know how to fix this?!?I have been on an official apple website but the advice was useless! I don’t think that anyone has a clue what’s going on,I certainly don’t!❓
It must feel awful to be in this situation. I am so sorry for this frustration. It totally sucks, so hopefully some of our strategies work for your situation.
Before you start, please make sure you are signed in with the same account that made the initial app purchase.
Keep us posted if any of these tips worked for you or if you found alternative solutions. We hope the best for you and your iDevice!!!!
LiZ
First, go to Settings>General>Storage & iCloud Usage. Then navigate to STORAGE section and select Manage Storage. Make sure you are in Storage and not in iCloud. Find the app in the list that is giving you problems, tap on it, and choose Delete App (highlighted in red). Confirm Delete App. Now completely shut off your iDevice, wait 20-30 seconds, and power up. Check that the problem app is not longer there. If this worked, return to the app store and download the latest version of the app. With this method, you lose any connected data. If after deleting in storage management and restarting, the app is still on the home screen but without the “waiting,” delete it again from the home screen and then go to the app store to reinstall it.
To Sum Up this method:
Settings -> General -> Storage & iCloud Usage -> Manage Storage
Another method is to connect your iPhone or other iDevice to a computer with the latest version of iTunes installed. First, connect your iDevice to your PC/Mac and open iTunes.
Click on the iDevice in the Devices list
Click on the “Apps” tab on top
Locate the app that are stuck
Click “Remove” button
Click “Apply” in lower left corner to remove the apps from the iDevice
With this method, you lose any connected data.
Now, If your apps are stuck on waiting when downloading from the cloud:
On the iPhone, go to the App Store > Updates > Purchased
You see all your apps there, click on the download from Cloud. Click each one and they start to download. Again, you need to re-install the app from the app store. And you still lose your data.
Two days ago, I tried to return my iPad Air to its original settings. I can’t remember exactly how the change was described. I began the change, and my iPad went to the Apple logo with the download bar beneath it. Only a minuscule portion of the bar filled in, and the change stalled. After waiting quite a while, I attempted to back out of the freeze using the technique described above to no avail. The screen remains lit and there is no response. Yesterday I allowed the iPad to run down in hopes that it would reboot when I began recharging, but that hasn’t happened either. Any thoughts? Does anyone know a fix for this? I simply cannot turn the iPad off to get back to the active screen.
How to Fix Your iPhone When an App Is Stuck on Waiting
John says
I have tried everything said to do with no results. Help
Brandon says
apps on i podtouch stuck on waiting after factory reset. please send suggestions how to fix these
Catlover says
I have tried all of the above and more,mine started when I accidentally paused download.It wouldn’t play again and now it’s stuck and I can’t delete,the x won’t show up and when it does I select yes to the slide saying it will delete data yet nothing happens.does anyone know how to fix this?!?I have been on an official apple website but the advice was useless! I don’t think that anyone has a clue what’s going on,I certainly don’t!❓
Elizabeth says
Hi Catlover (Danielle)!
It must feel awful to be in this situation. I am so sorry for this frustration. It totally sucks, so hopefully some of our strategies work for your situation.
We have a couple of additional ideas. For more info, check out this article on stuck or crashing apps
Before you start, please make sure you are signed in with the same account that made the initial app purchase.
Keep us posted if any of these tips worked for you or if you found alternative solutions. We hope the best for you and your iDevice!!!!
LiZ
First, go to Settings>General>Storage & iCloud Usage. Then navigate to STORAGE section and select Manage Storage. Make sure you are in Storage and not in iCloud. Find the app in the list that is giving you problems, tap on it, and choose Delete App (highlighted in red). Confirm Delete App. Now completely shut off your iDevice, wait 20-30 seconds, and power up. Check that the problem app is not longer there. If this worked, return to the app store and download the latest version of the app. With this method, you lose any connected data. If after deleting in storage management and restarting, the app is still on the home screen but without the “waiting,” delete it again from the home screen and then go to the app store to reinstall it.
To Sum Up this method:
Settings -> General -> Storage & iCloud Usage -> Manage Storage
Another method is to connect your iPhone or other iDevice to a computer with the latest version of iTunes installed. First, connect your iDevice to your PC/Mac and open iTunes.
Click on the iDevice in the Devices list
Click on the “Apps” tab on top
Locate the app that are stuck
Click “Remove” button
Click “Apply” in lower left corner to remove the apps from the iDevice
With this method, you lose any connected data.
Now, If your apps are stuck on waiting when downloading from the cloud:
On the iPhone, go to the App Store > Updates > Purchased
You see all your apps there, click on the download from Cloud. Click each one and they start to download. Again, you need to re-install the app from the app store. And you still lose your data.
Sue says
My app was already installed and just went to waiting! I have tried all the help tricks and nothing is working.
Barbara Howard says
Two days ago, I tried to return my iPad Air to its original settings. I can’t remember exactly how the change was described. I began the change, and my iPad went to the Apple logo with the download bar beneath it. Only a minuscule portion of the bar filled in, and the change stalled. After waiting quite a while, I attempted to back out of the freeze using the technique described above to no avail. The screen remains lit and there is no response. Yesterday I allowed the iPad to run down in hopes that it would reboot when I began recharging, but that hasn’t happened either. Any thoughts? Does anyone know a fix for this? I simply cannot turn the iPad off to get back to the active screen.
Cynthia EIVENS says
When I use the instructions to undo apps stuck on “waiting” when they have been updated, will it delete my data within the apps?