Although not common, this error can be very annoying on the iPad when it occurs. You try to download an app from the app store, but instead of downloading and installing the app, your iPad shows you the error messages cannot download the app or unable to install an app. Try again later. 
The error happens even when you are trying to download a free app.
Contents
- 1 Quick tips
- 1.1 Related articles
- 1.2 Step – 1 Log Out and Back In
- 1.3 Step – 2 Tap on Settings > General > Date & Time > Turn Off ‘Set Automatically’
- 1.4 Step – 3 Change your WiFi DNS settings to 8.8.8.8 and then give it a try
- 1.5 Step – 4 Force A Restart
- 1.6 Step – 5 Turn Off Wi-Fi Assist
- 1.7 Step – 6 Turn Off Wi-Fi Networking
- 1.8 Step – 7 Forget Your Networks!
- 1.9 Step – 8 Reset Your Settings
- 2 Summary
Quick tips 
Try these quick tips to fix when your iPad doesn’t download apps
- Try this reader tip of pressing the retry button over & over again until the app downloads
- Force restart your device
- Log out of the app store and then log back in
- Check your date and time settings and toggle off “set automatically.” Then, set the date manually to a year ahead (temporarily) and see if you can now download apps
- Use a different DNS server, for example, Google’s public DNS of 8.8.8.8 or 8.8.4.4
- If you use test flight to run beta versions of apps, check under app store for a sandbox purchase account and delete it
Related articles
- Dealing with iOS apps that take up way too much storage
- Where Are My Purchased Apps on the iOS App Store?
- How to Manage Apps on a Mac
- Weird Apple ID bug prompts workaround in App Store
- How to Sort App Store Reviews on Your iPhone or iPad
- iPhone X Series Phone Apps Won’t Load After a Restore
- Apple Books or iBooks Not Downloading or Related Problems? How To Fix
- Can’t Download Apps for Apple TV? Fixes
If you are experiencing this issue on your iPad, you can quickly fix this issue by following the steps below.
Try each of the steps until it resolves your issue.
Step – 1 Log Out and Back In
- When faced with App Store related issues or errors, a simple fix that works for most problems is to log out and log back into the app store using your Apple ID
- Tap on Settings > iTunes & App Store
- Next, Tap on your Apple ID and choose Sign Out
- Next, sign back in again and try downloading an app
Step – 2 Tap on Settings > General > Date & Time > Turn Off ‘Set Automatically’
- Set the date manually to a year ahead
- Next, try to download an app from the app store and see if it works
- Come back to these same settings and switch the date and time back to Set Automatically
Step – 3 Change your WiFi DNS settings to 8.8.8.8 and then give it a try
- Tap on Settings > Wi-Fi and choose the wi-fi network you are using
- Scroll down to the DNS field and enter 8.8.8.8 or 8.8.4.4 next to DNS overriding the value that you have there–this is for Google’s public DNS–you can also enter other third-party DBS servers
Step – 4 Force A Restart
- On an iPhone 6S or below plus older models iPads & iPod Touches, press Home and Power at the same time until you see the Apple logo
- For iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus: Press and hold both the Side and Volume Down buttons for at least 10 seconds, until you see the Apple logo
- On an iPhone 11 or X Series, iPad with Face ID, or iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus: Press and quickly release the Volume Up button. Then press and promptly release the Volume Down button. Finally, press and hold the Side button until you see the Apple logo
Step – 5 Turn Off Wi-Fi Assist
- Tap on Settings > Cellular > Turn Off Wi-Fi Assist and give it a try if you are having this issue on an iPhone
- This fix seemed to have worked for many readers
Step – 6 Turn Off Wi-Fi Networking
- Some apps can cause problems when your location service for wi-fi networking is turned on
- To disable Location Services for Wi-Fi Networking within iOS head on over to Settings > Privacy > Location Services > System services
- Turn off Wi-Fi Networking
Step – 7 Forget Your Networks!
- Many times your local network could be the problem. This particular problem could result in a slow download of apps, or you may get the error as shown in this article
- Open your Wi-Fi settings and choose to Forget this network
- Head on over to Settings > Wi-Fi, and tap the little information button (“i”) to the right of the connected network
- Simply tap Forget This Network to remove it from the device’s memory
- Now connect back to the Wi-Fi network with your credentials and give it a try
Step – 8 Reset Your Settings 
- Go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset All
- This action resets to default everything in Settings, including notifications, alerts, brightness, and clock settings like wake up alarms
- Resetting all settings also reverts all your personalized and customized features like wallpapers and accessibility settings back to factory defaults
- Reconfigure all these settings once your iPhone or iDevice restarts (be warned–this may take some time!)
- Performing a reset all settings does not impact any of your personal device data, including photos, texts, documents, and other files.
Summary
The steps above, particularly steps 3, 5, and 6 are also helpful when your download speed is slow on your iPad or if your WiFi is acting out.
If your iPad does not download apps, these seven steps should be helpful in fixing the issue. The trick is to try one by one and test out by downloading a free app from the app store.
We have produced an extensive collection of tips and guides that will help you resolve issues with your iPad.
One of the most common issues that our readers experience is a slow iPad following an iOS update.
Check out the step by step settings guide in the post below to make sure you are getting the best speed and performance out of your iPad.
Please feel free to share with the readers if you found other tips or tricks to solve this issue.
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- How to use Books in iOS 13 & 12 and iPadOS, essential tips
Please whenever I try to download from the play store this inscription will appear( the app is incompatible with your iPad) what should I do
Hi Solomon,
Yo usually see this message when your iPad is an older model, running an older iOS version. To check your model and iOS, go to Settings app > choose General > and tap About. There you see information for your device as well as the software version. Make a note of both.
Then, take a look at this article dealing with this exact message: Download incompatible apps on an older iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
My iPad is frozen because I want watch doctors on bbc I player and trying tun off won’t work
My problem is with a iPad Pro running OSI 13.2.3. Installing apps requires hitting the button in the top corner of screen. Unfortunately, the top button is mostly off screen and cannot be toggled. Any suggestions?
Hi Greg,
What you want to do is double click the physical top (power) button on your iPad–sadly, Apple worded this badly so it’s confusing indeed! You are not alone in that.
You can also choose to use your device’s passcode instead of having to click the top button when making purchases for apps and other items on your iPad.
Go to Settings > Accessibility
Choose Top button
Toggle on Use Passcode for Payments
Type in your device’s passcode (iPad passcode)
Thank you, DNS setting was the culprit for my iPad Air 2. Reset everything and this was my last solution….. next would have been seeing how far I could frisbee it of my balcony!
Apple recommended downloading and installing iPadOS in my iPad.
I did it the way that I was doing it in the past for several dawn loads.
However, this time it is around 24 hours that the wheel icon is spinning and apparently nothing has been dawn loaded.
What could be the problem?
Hi Greg.
Sorry to hear about your issues with installing iPadOS. There are a lot of reasons why iPadOS won’t install–the biggest one is usually when your iPad doesn’t have enough free space on it to download the update.
Take a look at this article for more information and options: Error occurred installing iOS 13 or iPadOS on iPhone or iPad? How to fix
I HAVE AND IPAD2.
ALMOST EVERYTHING I TRY TO DOWNLOAD IS NOT COMPATIBLE NO EXEL NO GAMES!
Hi Jasmine,
Yes, with older devices and older iOS versions it’s often difficult to get or update a lot of apps.
One way around this is to download previously purchased apps using the App Store app. This process works for any apps you installed in the past using the same Apple ID.
1. Open the app store on your iPad 2
2. Tap the Purchased tab at the bottom
3. Tap on Not on this iPad
4. Scroll through the list of apps to see if an app you want is available
5. Tap the cloud icon to install the app onto your iPad
Hi, I have the same problem. Nothing is compatible. There are no purchases either. Is there anything else I can do? Thank you Mekala
Turning off auto date and dns to 8.8.8.8 worked for me. Before this sometimes rebooting worked. Thanks!
I am trying to help a friend overseas with his iPad 16GB.
In the app store he is able to download some apps but not all. Some apps are not even showing up.
Specifically, Bingo Drive and anytrans.
He can get info about each one from the app store but there is no free button so he can’t download it.
He was able to get a golf game to download and open. I am at my wit’s end. Any suggestions? Thanks
HI Deb,
Ask your friend to check if he enabled any restrictions on his iPad. The easiest thing to do is turn off Screen Time temporarily.
Go to Settings > Screen Time and tap turn off Screen Time
Then have him restart the iPad and see if he can now download apps.
Step 3 worked for me.
My download is very slow. when I want to view an article from email or other sites ,the page comes up but the download and is short and the original site comes back.
Hi, I have a 6 yr old iPad and I am unable to download anything from the App Store (error Unable to download app).
I have tried all the above steps and nothing is working for me.
Any further suggestions?
Would appreciate your support.
Ali
I just got it to work… I tapped the download from the cloud next to the app and would get the error message I then tapped the retry and each time I did this it would go a bit further around the circle…. repeat until it does the complete circle.
Not a fix but at least I can access things in the cloud until there is a proper fix.
Thank you. I too have a 6 year old IPad, been having exactly the same problem as you. Tried all the fixes above, but pressing retry over & over as you suggested worked .
Hi Ali R,
What version of iOS does your iPad run?
To check go to Settings > General > About.
It’s possible that the apps you want to download are no longer compatible with your iOS version, and therefore they cannot download.
Outside of that, try resetting all settings and see if this works.
* This is usually the last resort since it resets all your personalized features back to factory defaults
* Go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset All
* This resets to default everything in Settings, including notifications, alerts, brightness, and clock settings like wake up alarms
* Resetting all settings also reverts all your personalized and customized features like wallpapers and accessibility settings back to factory defaults.
* Performing this action does not impact any of your personal device data, including photos, texts, documents, and other files
* You need to reconfigure these settings once your iPhone or iDevice restarts
Thanks, time switch from automatic worked for me.
How can i get mote memory for my ipad if its ios5.1.1
HI Johnny,
You cannot get more memory for an iPad, but what you can do is move things to iCloud or remove apps, photos, and other documents and data to free space up on your iPad.
Go to Settings > General > Usage > Storage > Show All Apps. You see a list of all of your apps. Delete any apps in there that you do not use or don’t need. Once deleted restart your iPad.
Seems the update bug is confined to new iPad pros 2018 as my older iPad pro does not have this problem. It’s a bug plain and simple on the new iPads. Awesome without question, right?
App Store will not update, apps update but not App Store.
What is going on there?
Did the login and log out but the app does not restart.
This is obviously a bug that needs to be fixed
I did all the steps above and messenger is still not downloading. I just bought this iPad – it is the new iPad Pro. Please help.
If you are using a VPN dissable it then try to download the apps. If this works reconfigure VPN. Worked for me
I went through the steps one at a time and nothing helped fix my problem of not downloading apps anymore and constantly asking for my Apple password. So I went into settings and did the reset but did not erase data. This fixed it!!!!! Woo hoo
None of these steps worked at all. When I try to download apps, the circle keeps spinning and spinning. I don’t understand why it is doing this at all.
My I pad will not let me update any thing and I cannot get the apple apps back on my screen can you help pls
Michele,
This often happens when there is a problem with your Apple ID–check that you are signed into the iTunes & App Stores with the correct Apple ID (via Settings > iTunes & App Store.)
If you’re already signed in, tap your Apple ID and sign out, then restart your device, and sign back in. Then go to the App Store and redownload the apps.
If you see a message about billing or any outstanding payments, follow the on-screen instructions and update your payment method and look for any unpaid balances:
Go to Settings > Apple ID Profile > iTunes & App Store, then tap your Apple ID. Select View Apple ID and sign in with your Apple ID, then tap Purchase History. Pay anything listed as Amount You Owe.
If the problem persists, let us know
Sam
I’m trying to download Netflix to my account but my iPad mini 1 will not let me process through.
I’ve tried everything but still, the message says “Netflix is not compatible with this iPad.”
Can someone please help me
Hi Desi,
Your iPad must run iOS 11.0 or above to download the Netflix app.
According to Netflix itself, “earlier iOS versions (5.0 and above) are only able to download Netflix if the app was downloaded in the past.”
To check your iOS version, go to Settings > General > About
The iOS version number is listed next to the line Version.
If your iPad is on iOS 11 or above, then check and disable Restrictions located in Settings >General > Restrictions for iOS 11 and below and Settings > Screen Time for iOS 12 and above
Suzie
I’m unable to download apps on my iPad. We bought a new iPad and did a reset on the old one. Only 1 to 2 yrs old. When I went to download new apps for the kids nothing would download. It accepts the password, says Done and then goes back to the “GET” icon. Tried all the steps above and still no luck.
Hi Mary,
Please try a reset all settings. Go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset All Settings.
Performing this sets all preferences to defaults, including things like wallpapers, accessibility settings, network settings, and so forth.
It does NOT remove or change ANY DATA–like photos, messages, documents, and so forth.
Keep us posted,
Sam
iPad will not install messenger or any apps even after following directions to fix
Hi Sandra,
Please try a forced restart of your device.
On all iPads, press Home and Power at the same time until you see the Apple logo
After restarting, check your device’s internal storage to ensure you have enough space to download and install apps. Depending on your iOS version, finding this information is usually in Settings App > General > iPad Storage–look at the top graph (if available) and check that your iPad has at least 10% or more available space (unused.)
If that still doesn’t work, let us know what message your iPad shows when you try and install apps for further troubleshooting.
Sam
MY IPAD 9 no longer accepts my apple ID or password sign in, when I try to download or redeem a gift card. I sign in correctly, but program doesn’t accept it, and it goes into a loop, asking for my apple Id continuously. Never confirming it. is this a virus? How to fix? I tried a hard reset…didnt work. Also changed my password sign in after the hard reset…still no go. Any ideas? thanks
It’s still not working for me and i don’t know what to do, there are a lot of updates that i need to take care of and i tried everything, it is still not working
I cant download apps on my iPad and downloading apps is on in my restrictionis. When I try to sign out it asks do I want to sign out of my iCloud, store, or both. What do I choose so I can download apps again?
My iPad want download any apps please help thanks
Jamie, Have you checked the restrictions? In Settings > General > Restrictions. If you have to set up, you can disable the restrictions and then try again.Good luck.
I need to know if I can link my rbc to iPad I need down load and update won’t let me and don’t have credit card I tried PayPal won’t let me do that either frustrating why you need my money when normal tablets don’t require that?
Hi Nichelle,
You should be able to link any major credit or debit card to your iTunes and Apple account. If you’ve already established your account with Apple, you may be able to select “None” as a payment option (as long as all the apps and content you purchase is free.) Check this article for steps on how to do this.
If none isn’t an option, check this article out.
Hope this helps!
SK
Very useful your advises. Thank you.
I am not able to download apps on my iPad! For a company making billions of dollars such frequent mistakes are untolerable.
I tried each step. Unfortunately, nothing worked for me. Anything else?
everything works except downloading my vegas on ipad