How do I permanently delete apps from the App Store?

Answer

To stop an app: Tap and hold the offending app’s icon until all your iPhone’s apps start to jiggle. Then tap the “x” on the upper corner of an app, and you’ll be prompted with an option to delete it.

Deleting an app from the App Store is quick and easy:

just open the App Store, tap on ‘Updates’, find the app in question and tap on the button which says ‘Delete’. However, as you know, many apps automatically sync their data with iCloud. So even when you delete an app from your phone or iPad, it remains available on other devices associated with your Apple ID. If that’s what you want, fine; if not, here’s how to permanently remove those unwanted apps for good…

1 Open iTunes on your Mac or Windows PC. It won’t work in iOS’ own software. 2 Click Apps 3 Select an application and right click it 4 Click ‘Show in Finder’ 5 Right click the app again when it appears in the finder window 6 Click ‘Open’ 7 Look for a file called ‘SyncServicesData.plist’ 8 Open with TextEdit 9 Find a row saying ApplicationIdentifier 10 Replace that row with another row which says <string>not installed</string> 11 Save 12 Plug your iPhone or iPad into iTunes 13 Sync

How to fix syncing problems on your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch?

If you have multiple iOS devices, you can run into trouble syncing them if they are filled with unwanted apps – because they may refuse to sync properly. You can get around this by telling iTunes not to sync some of the data associated with those applications. Here’s how…

1 Open iTunes on your Mac or Windows PC. It won’t work in iOS’ own software. 2 Click Apps 3 Select the application whose data you want to exclude 4 Right click it 5 Click ‘Show in Finder’ 6 Look for a file called ‘SyncServicesData.plist’ 7 Delete that file 8 Sync again

How can I remove an app which will not delete from my phone?

It’s often the case that apps won’t sync properly to iTunes if they’re full of rubbish, causing problems when trying to sync with other iOS devices and/or getting rid of them via iTunes. A common solution is therefore simply deleting all the apps from your iPhone and then resyncing, but this isn’t always the easiest option. Here are some other options to try:

1 If it’s an app you don’t want on your iPhone (or iPad) for any reason, open up iTunes and go to the apps screen. Find the unwanted app and right click / control click it selecting ‘Delete’. 2 Underneath that button will be a delete confirmation – select ‘Remove Download’ instead of deleting it from your computer. 3 In doing so, if you open that application again by mistake (in step 1 above), there is no record of ever having owned that app in your iTunes library. 4 However the application WILL now be accessible via iCloud as long as ALL of your devices are synced with one ID or Apple ID. 5 The only way to permanently remove an application from your iPhone or iPad is to delete the app by choosing ‘Delete’ under the Updates section of the App Store. 6 To check you have got rid of it, access Settings > iCloud and ensure that all applications are listed there. If so, they will be removed if you uninstall them on one device.

I accidentally unpinned/uninstalled a purchased app! How do I get it back?

This is easy to fix – just go to Settings > iTunes & App Store (or Settings > iTunes & App Stores for iOS 8), then tap ‘Apple ID: [your Apple ID]’, and sign out of that account. You should then be able to log into that same account again using the same Apple ID, at which point you’ll be able to see all of your previously purchased apps.

I get a “Cannot Connect to iTunes Store” error message when I tap on an app for download! How can I fix it?

If you’re seeing the ‘Cannot connect to iTunes Store’ error message in iOS 7 or higher, try this solution:

1 Hold down the Sleep/Wake button and Home button together until you see the Apple logo. 2 Release both buttons and after 10 seconds, press the Sleep/Wake button again until you see the ‘Slide to power off’ option. 3 Slide the slider across to turn the device off once more 4 Then restart your iPhone or iPad by pressing the Sleep/Wake button until you see the Apple logo.

The above steps will force your iOS device to restart back into an earlier version of iOS, which might correct this issue. However, if it doesn’t make a difference on your iPhone or iPad, try heading to Settings > iTunes & App Store and log out of your Apple ID account (Settings > iCloud > tap ‘Sign Out’ on iPhone). Then go back in and sign in with that same account – this should fix the problem.

If none of these solutions work for you… contact Apple’s support team – who may have further tips for solving the issue. With regard specifically to error messages about content not loading,, Apple has said: “In most cases, updating or restoring your device software should solve the problem. If not, deleting and reinstalling the app from the App Store may help.”

If you’re having problems with Apple’s services in general, here are some further tips:

How do I un-restrict/unblock my iPhone so that it can use my iTunes Account?

To re-enable an iPhone or iPad after blocking it for security reasons, go to Settings > Restrictions > scroll down to the bottom of your list of apps and select ‘Store’ then slide switch left to right. This will disable restrictions on that iPhone. Restart phone by holding sleep/wake and home buttons together for a few seconds until black screen appears. Slide button at top right to power off and then back on again.

How do I unblock my iPhone so that it can use another iTunes Account?

To unblock your iPhone (or iPad) so that you can sync with a different account, go to Settings > iCloud > Apple ID: [your Apple ID] > tap ‘Sign Out’ in iOS 8. Enter correct login details and select ‘Next’ – then make sure you sign in with the account you want to sync content for. This will unblock your phone / iPad and allow it to use the new account instead of its original one.

How do I remove an app from my App Store downloads list? You’ve probably already noticed this, but when downloading apps or buying anything via an App Store, you’ll find a list of all the apps and content you’ve purchased but that haven’t yet been downloaded to your iPhone or iPad. If you want to get rid of applications from this list (like free software trials), there are two ways of doing it:

1 Open ‘App Store’ on your device and tap the ‘Updates’ tab to see what’s new. Scroll down until you find an app that is listed by the cloud icon, with a download icon next to it. You can remove any application from this screen by tapping (or if using iOS 7/8, ready-to-uninstall) > then confirming the deletion in the pop-up window that appears. 2 To delete an entire batch of apps, download them first to your iPhone or iPad (or Mac) as usual – then go back into the purchasing screen and tap on ‘Purchased’ in the left-hand column. Scroll down until you find a list of all the content that has been bought but not yet downloaded, and tap the cloud icon with a vertical line through it at the right of any app’s name. A pop-up alert will confirm this deletion request, which can be confirmed by tapping OK.’ The cloud icon will disappear from these apps if they have actually been deleted. However, you might want to delete some free software trials that automatically add themselves to buy list: just open App Store > Updates tab and scroll down to ‘Lastly updated’, where you will find any software that hasn’t been downloaded yet. Tap this icon, then confirm the deletion in the pop-up window that appears.

How do I delete music from my iPhone/iPad?

To remove music from your device, go into iTunes and select Music > [iPad/iPhone name] (or just click on the little ‘gear’ icon to get more options). Next click ‘Music’ tab at top of screen > tick boxes beside any songs you want to delete and press ‘Delete’.

How do I delete photos stored on my iPhone/iPad?

You can also delete any photos or videos you’ve taken directly off your iPhone / iPad by going into Photos app: tap Albums tab > find photo(s) you want to delete > swipe pictures from left to right (or tap Edit icon > select unwanted files). Alternatively, you can do the same process via iCloud.com: go into the Web app and find your photos by clicking on Albums tab at top – click a picture and then press ‘Delete’ button in bottom right hand corner of page.

How do I reset my iPhone / iPad?

If you have an iPhone or iPad that is stuck on a screen with Apple logo animation, there are three ways of getting out of this loop:

Note: These methods will only work if you’re using either iOS 8 or 9 on your device. If you’ve updated to iOS 10, 11, 12 or 13 then try this post instead for one of the two new methods of how to hard reset iPhone X/8/7 or iPad.

Method 1: Apple logo + Home button + Sleep / Wake (works on iPhone 5, 6 and before) With your device turned off, press and hold the ‘Sleep’ / ‘Wake’ button AND the ‘Home’ button at the same time for at least 10 seconds until you see an Apple logo with a loading bar. Let go once this has appeared. Method 2: Restore via iTunes (iTunes 11 or later required) You can also try restoring your iPhone by connecting it to a computer that is running iTunes 11 – select your device in left-hand navigation and click “Restore” in top right-hand corner. However, it’s worth trying the above first as sometimes this method can simply loop you back to where you started. Method 3: Restore via iCloud (iPhone 5 or later) You may also try restoring your device by going into Settings > iCloud > Find My iPhone and then ‘iCloud Backup’ at the bottom of the screen – click on ‘Restore Backup’. The download will start automatically in iTunes, so make sure you have that installed on your computer.

Which apps are using up my battery?

You can see which apps are likely to be draining your phone’s battery life from an app called ‘Battery Life’, available for free from the App Store. Open it up and tap the green “Start” button to have it analyse your iPhone’s battery usage. This will give you a list of apps that use the most power – this can also be found in Settings > Battery & Storage > Battery Usage (iOS 11 and above).

How do I close running apps?

You should never need to manually close apps on an iOS device, since they are designed to return home when they’ve finished their work. However, if one does appear not to be responding then double tap the ‘Home’ button with your finger until the multitasking screen appears. Swipe up from the bottom of this screen to close out individual programs or swipe across all open apps at once by pressing and holding on any app icon. If these don’t work for you, check your device is updated to the latest version of iOS.

How do I activate / turn off ‘Do Not Disturb’?

To enable Do Not Disturb so that nobody will be able to contact you at certain times, go into Settings > Do Not Disturb and choose either a schedule on when you want to receive messages (this is especially useful at quiet times such as night-time) or select an option called ‘Manual’. You can use this if an important message arrives in the middle of your scheduled period but don’t want it to wake up another time when you do not wish to be disturbed. In manual mode, just tap the ‘Do not disturb’ icon at top right corner of your screen to activate it – you can examine the time that Do Not Disturb will be enabled in your iPhone’s status bar.

How do I customise my ‘Control Center’?

You can add more shortcuts to this quick access panel by following these steps:

1) Go into Settings > Control Center and tap on Customize Controls. You should see a full list of apps that are available for use within the Control Center.

2) To remove an app, simply swipe left until it has disappeared from the page – you’ll know when you’re swiping over the last one as there won’t be any more white space to move across. Double-tap on an icon to reorder apps if required.

3) To add a new app, tap on ‘+’ at the top of the Control Center page. You’ll need to scroll down again to see all of your options.

4) If you want to use an app that doesn’t appear in this list for whatever reason, then make sure it is updated and then place your finger over its icon and simply swipe up until it appears within the Control Center.

How do I check my iPhone’s version number?

To find out exactly which software version you are running: go into Settings > General > About (this will be underlined in blue). The information screen underneath shows your device name, iOS version and serial number. For example, if you have an iPhone 6 this will show under the ‘Model’ section, along with details about its capacity, colour and so on. The same goes for iPads and iPods – just look in Settings > General > About (iOS 10 devices use About instead of General).

How do I see how much storage space I have left?

Go into Settings > General and then scroll down until you reach a section called ‘Storage & iCloud Usage’. Here you’ll find an item named Storage which will tell you exactly how much is free on your device. If it says 0GB or shows a number less than 5GB then there is not enough space available to update your iOS version – try deleting some content first before installing any new software!