Errors with iTunes and App Store iOS

[iJcaP]

Over the past day, I'm having issues with my Apple ID in the Stores where I can't open iTunes on iOS (iPhone and iPad), download apps in the App Store, or stream music in Apple Music. Am I the only one? So far the only thing that has solved it (temporarily) is doing a hard reset. But I've done it at least 10 times today. On top of that, I can't sign in or out without reseting.

 

[RockyIV]

The app store's been acting funny for many people recently. It won't even load on my phone. Are you on 8.4.1?

 

[iJcaP]

The app store's been acting funny for many people recently. It won't even load on my phone. Are you on 8.4.1?

Yup.

 

[Cyrax]

I've noticed the same thing. iOS 8.4.1 is a mess.

 

[iJcaP]

I've noticed the same thing. iOS 8.4.1 is a mess.

The app store's been acting funny for many people recently. It won't even load on my phone. Are you on 8.4.1?

Currently speaking to Apple Support. Apparently going to Network Reset fixes it, but only time will tell. Because even though I do the hard reset, it's only a temporary fix. And doing a network reset technically turns off and resets the phone too.

 

[Fuchal]

Just talked about this with a co-worker this morning. Same issues on both our phones as well. Horrible.

 

[AuPhalanx]

Same here for my gal and I. iBooks is borked, too: works fine, then after sleep or using apps that push iBooks far into the background, iBooks hangs when opening on a white screen and then vanishes to the background.

Also, on the Settings screen for iCloud and iTunes & App Store, those will hang the Settings app. We can still close it using either the home button or gesture.

Yes, 8.4.1 is a wicked mess. I, too, chatted with a support fellow. His fix was to reset the Network Settings and if that failed to restore the device. I did the former. Nothing. I refuse to do the latter because whenever the Apple Support response has been "Restore it! Restore it!", the REAL fix has always been a software fix form Apple, because THEY screwed something up. And, as we are all becoming too familiar with, Apple has been screwing up A LOT

A.

 

[tekchic]

Same here for my gal and I. iBooks is borked, too: works fine, then after sleep or using apps that push iBooks far into the background, iBooks hangs when opening on a white screen and then vanishes to the background.

Also, on the Settings screen for iCloud and iTunes & App Store, those will hang the Settings app. We can still close it using either the home button or gesture.

Yes, 8.4.1 is a wicked mess. I, too, chatted with a support fellow. His fix was to reset the Network Settings and if that failed to restore the device. I did the former. Nothing. I refuse to do the latter because whenever the Apple Support response has been "Restore it! Restore it!", the REAL fix has always been a software fix form Apple, because THEY screwed something up. And, as we are all becoming too familiar with, Apple has been screwing up A LOT

A.

I'm struggling with iBooks recently as well and about to drop it entirely for an alternative app (which, I haven't figured out yet). It's always been solid for me until the past week or so. I'm pretty annoyed as I'm an avid reader with a few dozen epub books on iBooks. Anytime it needs to reload (say you went to mobile Safari and back again), all I get is a white screen and then a crash. It will continue to white screen and crash to home screen every single time I relaunch until I reboot. I'm doing a half-dozen reboots a day now at least.

The App Store also seems to have taken 2 hours to download the 100mb Google Sheets iOS update last night. I did a speed test on my home wifi and am at 40mbps download speed so it wasn't my local bandwidth.

Is it related to iCloud services? (eg App Store, iBooks sync, etc)?

 

[AuPhalanx]

I'm struggling with iBooks recently as well and about to drop it entirely for an alternative app (which, I haven't figured out yet). It's always been solid for me until the past week or so. I'm pretty annoyed as I'm an avid reader with a few dozen epub books on iBooks. Anytime it needs to reload (say you went to mobile Safari and back again), all I get is a white screen and then a crash. It will continue to white screen and crash to home screen every single time I relaunch until I reboot. I'm doing a half-dozen reboots a day now at least.

The App Store also seems to have taken 2 hours to download the 100mb Google Sheets iOS update last night. I did a speed test on my home wifi and am at 40mbps download speed so it wasn't my local bandwidth.

Is it related to iCloud services? (eg App Store, iBooks sync, etc)?

I am beginning to think so, something to do with Apple or iTunes IDs.

Here's what I recently did: I signed out of iTunes on ALL of my computers and devices (excepting my Apple TV). I rebooted. And then I signed back in.

It's been a couple of hours now and so far it looks ... OK.

YES! The iBooks issue was the deal-breaker-make-me-angry issue. I Sometimes even pay more just to get an ebook through the iBookstore. To have to restart my iPad to get to a book is inconvenient -- and frustrating.

Let's hope for a .2.

A.

 

[tekchic]

Here's what I recently did: I signed out of iTunes on ALL of my computers and devices (excepting my Apple TV). I rebooted. And then I signed back in.

It's been a couple of hours now and so far it looks ... OK.

YES! The iBooks issue was the deal-breaker-make-me-angry issue. I Sometimes even pay more just to get an ebook through the iBookstore. To have to restart my iPad to get to a book is inconvenient -- and frustrating.

Thank you! iBooks crashing repeatedly was my deal-breaker too. I have since signed out of iTunes on both my iPhone 6+ and iPad Air and neither has crashed since. I'll do the same on my iTunes on MBP at home this evening and then try it all again. It definitely seems to be an issue with the iTunes account and book syncing or something.

All of my books are de-DRM'd epubs that I download on Box and "Open in..." iBooks. They sync pages between the two devices as long as the books are on both devices, which is all I really use the iTunes bookmark/syncing for.

 

[AuPhalanx]

Thank you! iBooks crashing repeatedly was my deal-breaker too. I have since signed out of iTunes on both my iPhone 6+ and iPad Air and neither has crashed since. I'll do the same on my iTunes on MBP at home this evening and then try it all again. It definitely seems to be an issue with the iTunes account and book syncing or something.

It's been overnight and I hammered my iPad with Music and iBooks and Safari last night before retiring to bed. It behaved well during all of that and continued its good behavior today. I am thinking that this sign-in/sign-out (could this be a variation on the IT Crowd's "Turn it of and turn it on again"?) action is the fix and that the problem lies with the iTunes/App Store ID and how it synchronizes between different devices; that would explain why some people aren't seeing any issues at all yet others are besieged and the issues are with ID-related apps.

All of my books are de-DRM'd epubs that I download on Box and "Open in..." iBooks. They sync pages between the two devices as long as the books are on both devices, which is all I really use the iTunes bookmark/syncing for.

That's cool! I'm not necessarily opposed to DRM (I "get" it); it does make some things in life more difficult. I know that my gal and I would like to "share" an ebook between us, just as if we had a hard copy. Sometimes, that's just not doable. That's why I don't include DRM on the ebooks I sell. Sure, I may take a shot, overall, it makes for a better reader experience.

Be well! Here's to an end to our frustrations!

A.

 

[tekchic]

That's cool! I'm not necessarily opposed to DRM (I "get" it); it does make some things in life more difficult. I know that my gal and I would like to "share" an ebook between us, just as if we had a hard copy. Sometimes, that's just not doable. That's why I don't include DRM on the ebooks I sell. Sure, I may take a shot, overall, it makes for a better reader experience.

Sidebar on the DRM I either buy books via Amazon (physical or Kindle), or check them out from the local library digitally. I'm not a fan of Kindle's formatting and justification, so I end up de-DRM'ing the ones I buy so I can read/sync them in iBooks. The Overdrive Library book app can be annoying as well, so on those I usually check out, de-DRM so I can read in iBooks, then delete when read and returned.

I don't mind DRM, but I'd like to choose the application I read in and have it on at least two (iPad/iPhone) devices. Sometimes the DRM becomes too limiting, but I know it's necessary in some cases.

That being said -- I was thrilled that both devices are working beautifully this morning without the silliness of blank screen crashing. I was so desperate yesterday that I was parsing the diagnostic logs for iBooks trying to figure out what was causing the white screen / crash to home! As long as a sign-out/reboot/sign-in works when it gets quirky, I can deal with it. Annoying but fixable

 

[iJcaP]

Thank you! iBooks crashing repeatedly was my deal-breaker too. I have since signed out of iTunes on both my iPhone 6+ and iPad Air and neither has crashed since. I'll do the same on my iTunes on MBP at home this evening and then try it all again. It definitely seems to be an issue with the iTunes account and book syncing or something.

All of my books are de-DRM'd epubs that I download on Box and "Open in..." iBooks. They sync pages between the two devices as long as the books are on both devices, which is all I really use the iTunes bookmark/syncing for.

I'll try signing out now but for me the issue starts when I go from WiFi to Cellular.

 

[AuPhalanx]

That being said -- I was thrilled that both devices are working beautifully this morning without the silliness of blank screen crashing. I was so desperate yesterday that I was parsing the diagnostic logs for iBooks trying to figure out what was causing the white screen / crash to home! As long as a sign-out/reboot/sign-in works when it gets quirky, I can deal with it. Annoying but fixable

Excellent! Same here. Devices working their usual way. I think this will be a permanent fix -- at least I'm HOPING -- because it seems to be some sort of synchronization issue with the iTunes ID. This would perhaps explain why some people are experiencing it and others aren't -- and therefore suggesting to perform a restore, which, in my experience, has NEVER helped any issue I've ever had.

It also makes sense with the way Apple has been sort-of-kinda-in-an-odd-kind-of-way "siloing" media that syncs: apps, e-books, music. While the .1 updated fixed some things with Music, it may have knocked the IDs off kilter. Thus, iBooks would crash as it tried to phone home; purchased apps would show as needing to be downloaded; and Music would be ... Well, it would just be worse than it usually is.

In short, knock on wood that this is fixed for us.

Sidebar on the DRM I either buy books via Amazon (physical or Kindle), or check them out from the local library digitally. I'm not a fan of Kindle's formatting and justification, so I end up de-DRM'ing the ones I buy so I can read/sync them in iBooks. The Overdrive Library book app can be annoying as well, so on those I usually check out, de-DRM so I can read in iBooks, then delete when read and returned.

I don't mind DRM, but I'd like to choose the application I read in and have it on at least two (iPad/iPhone) devices. Sometimes the DRM becomes too limiting, but I know it's necessary in some cases.

DRM is DEFINITELY limiting. It's one of the reasons I don't use it. It is what it is, though. Alas, our digital age!

I was never a fan of Kindle formatting either! Do you use Calibre for your de-DRM-ing needs? It's a good app. Other than iBooks, I use Calibre to store some ebooks (as well as to test and convert and edit...).

My gal gets ebooks from the library. I never have. I should, but I'm just a buy-the-book kind of person. Between free books and sales I find on BookBub and other services, it rarely amounts to much. So, it's all cool.

(Shameless self-promotion: If you see any ebooks you might like on my web site, please let me know first as I'll DM you a coupon code for a discount.)

With that, read on crash-free!

A.

 

[tekchic]

I was never a fan of Kindle formatting either! Do you use Calibre for your de-DRM-ing needs? It's a good app. Other than iBooks, I use Calibre to store some ebooks (as well as to test and convert and edit...).

My gal gets ebooks from the library. I never have. I should, but I'm just a buy-the-book kind of person. Between free books and sales I find on BookBub and other services, it rarely amounts to much. So, it's all cool.

(Shameless self-promotion: If you see any ebooks you might like on my web site, please let me know first as I'll DM you a coupon code for a discount.)

With that, read on crash-free!

A.

Yep! Calibre is fantastic for PDF to epub, mobi/azw to epub, etc. I tend to borrow novels/fiction from the library if they're available, and then buy my tech/software development books to keep (O'Reilly does DRM-free and multiple formats now, which is really nice). I prefer tech books still in PDF just due to the formatting of code blocks. Art books, Disney stuff, drawing books, etc... I still like "dead tree edition" because I love to flip through them.

Thanks - I'll have to check out your site!

 

[AuPhalanx]

Yep! Calibre is fantastic for PDF to epub, mobi/azw to epub, etc. I tend to borrow novels/fiction from the library if they're available, and then buy my tech/software development books to keep (O'Reilly does DRM-free and multiple formats now, which is really nice). I prefer tech books still in PDF just due to the formatting of code blocks. Art books, Disney stuff, drawing books, etc... I still like "dead tree edition" because I love to flip through them.

Thanks - I'll have to check out your site!

Ha! "Dead tree edition." I posted an image quote on one of my FB pages today that read "I don't have a book problem, I have a book SHELVING problem!" That about sums it up. For the books you mentioned -- art, Disney (my gal is a HUGE Disney fan), drawing -- nothing beats them. Ebooks are great for novels; as you noted, PDFs are great for books that require a high degree of formatting.

Hey! Back to the issue ... My iPad is holding strong. My gal just informed me that her iPhone 6+ is having a wicked battery drain. i don't know if that's related. I have read on the Apple Support Forums that my little "fix" here has been tried by some with no lasting effects -- after a while, the issues return. I hope we are fortunate in having it resolved.

A fellow on the Apple forums recently posted this (https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7183496?start=75&tstart=0):

After a very long call with a Senior iOS advisor at Apple I think we've found the the solution to a lot of Apple Music issues.

This worked for me, hopefully it will for you as well -

Close Music

Then

Settings - iTunes & App Store and logout of your Apple ID.

Then

Settings - General - Usage - Manage Storage - and remove any Music.

Then

Restart iPhone

Double check that you don't have any playlists, downloaded music on your iPhone. If you do, then restart again.

Now -

Sign back into iTunes & App Store,

Then

Apple Music and tune on iCloud Music Library

Then

Open Music, and wait for your music and playlists to sync.

So, maybe worth a try if things go awry.

A.

 

[silvetti]

I'm having the same issue both on a iPhone 6 and on a 5S.
Safari crashes for me all the time on this specific website: www.pudelek.pl (it's a website my girlfriend visits) it always locks up Safari but if I pull notification window down it works so it's clearly a safari issue and not a system wide freeze
I've also noticed even though I have the apps installed they show in the App Store with the link to download which is pretty weird...

 

[iJcaP]

Signing out did not work on my iPad. Still have these stupid problems. Can't believe there's no widespread coverage on this. This is a pretty big deal if you ask me. I've turned off my phone and iPad more times this week than I have over the past two months.

 

[leerichards1]

Are you still having issues iJcaP? I'm still seeing extremely slow download speeds on both iOS and Mac AppStores, as well as a whole host of other issues with my phone and iPad, despite spending a lot of time trying every suggested solution. Just noticed you have also posted in an Apple Discussions thread, another user in that same thread is supposed to get a call from an Apple Rep to discuss the matter further. He was actually supposed to be contacted yesterday at 4pm but the call never came

 

[chickenlegs]

I too am having problems on my iPhone 5.
I cannot even get past the settings page:

After a very long call with a Senior iOS advisor at Apple I think we've found the the solution to a lot of Apple Music issues.
This worked for me, hopefully it will for you as well -
Close Music
Then
Settings - iTunes & App Store and logout of your Apple ID.
Then.....
​

Nothing..., my iPhone freezes and goes no further. and I cannot therefore log out of iTunes. I can open all other Setting options on the phone apart from anything that relates to music and iTunes. I am also unable to stream music from my iPhone to my hifi system any longer.

 

[silvetti]

I too am having problems on my iPhone 5.
I cannot even get past the settings page:

After a very long call with a Senior iOS advisor at Apple I think we've found the the solution to a lot of Apple Music issues.
This worked for me, hopefully it will for you as well -
Close Music
Then
Settings - iTunes & App Store and logout of your Apple ID.
Then.....
​

Nothing..., my iPhone freezes and goes no further. and I cannot therefore log out of iTunes. I can open all other Setting options on the phone apart from anything that relates to music and iTunes. I am also unable to stream music from my iPhone to my hifi system any longer.

Reset network settings first...
When the phone comes back you should be able to go into App Store and iTunes and logout

For me this worked

 

[chickenlegs]

Thank you, thank you silvetti. It has indeed worked. Chris

 

[chickenlegs]

Spoke too soon. After a short period of success after 1. setting the network settings and later 2. logging out of iCloud and logging back in again, using my iPhone to attempt a connection to Apple Music, it resorted to a frozen iTunes screen and later a "an error has occurred" screen, which is singularly unhelpful. I decided to try my iPad instead to see if it was an iPhone issue and it suffered the same frozen state, unable to connect to Apple Music and locked up the device. Both devices are on the same version of iOS 8.4.1
I can only hope that Apple are listening to customer issues and resolving this particular problem as it was working like a dream before the update.

 

[iJcaP]

Are you still having issues iJcaP? I'm still seeing extremely slow download speeds on both iOS and Mac AppStores, as well as a whole host of other issues with my phone and iPad, despite spending a lot of time trying every suggested solution. Just noticed you have also posted in an Apple Discussions thread, another user in that same thread is supposed to get a call from an Apple Rep to discuss the matter further. He was actually supposed to be contacted yesterday at 4pm but the call never came

Yup still getting the issues. On my iPad on home WiFi it stops working after while. And then without me doing anything when I connect to work's WiFi it suddenly works again. My iPhone doesn't have that luck and is just plain dead. But overall, still having the issues that should never happen. I'm surprised though that MacRumors, 9to5mac, or iMore are not posting anything about this. It's more widespread than I thought. Usually when they cover issues on iOS, the press picks it up and Apple IMMEDIATELY acknowledges it and works on it.

 

[leerichards1]

Yeah, I'm also very surprised that there has been no press about it. There is an article on Forbes, but I don't think it relates to the specific issues we are all having. Actually my phone has been ok for about 24 hours now after doing the 'log out everything / reboot / log in' procedure, but my iPad soon returned to it's faulty state.