iPhone Apps Stuck on ‘Waiting’ During Download? Here’s How to Fix It

Nothing is more annoying than seeing an iPhone app that is stuck on “waiting” during installation. You could cancel the download and retry, but the issue may still persist. There are many different reasons why this problem may happen, but luckily it can be fixed.

In this tutorial, we will show you the different methods of fixing an iOS app that is stuck at “Waiting” on iPhone or iPad.

How to Fix Apps Stuck “Waiting”

Check Your Network Connection

First and foremost, make sure that you have a proper network connection, especially when you’re using 3G/LTE. Open Safari or any other browser on your device and go to a webpage such as Google. If the page loads fine, then there’s no issue with your network connection. If not, wait until the connection is stable, after which you can delete the app and re-install it from the App Store.

Pause and Resume the Download

Usually the issue is fixed by pausing the download and then resuming it. Tap once on the app’s icon on the Home screen to pause the download. Now tap on it again to resume. This simple method usually fixes the “waiting” error and allows the app to proceed with downloading the remaining files.

Re-download the App

One of the common fixes of this issue is to re-download the app from the App Store. This usually works in most cases and allows the app to be installed successfully. Therefore, delete the app from your device and then download it again from the App Store.

Check the Remaining Space on Your iPhone/iPad

When you’re installing an app, there should be enough space on your device for the download to complete successfully. Go to Settings > General > About, and view the “Available” field to see how much storage space is left.

If there isn’t much space remaining, you can export some of the photos and videos from your device to the computer to free up space. Then restart your iPhone and proceed with re-downloading the app. Learn more ways to clear up storage space on your iPhone here.

Hard Reset

Hard reset is simply a forced reboot that is used to troubleshoot the common problems on your iPhone or iPad, such as when you can’t interact with the touchscreen.

• Delete the app that is stuck on “waiting”.
• Now hold down the Power and Home button together for a couple of seconds until your iPhone restarts and the Apple logo appears. On iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, you have to hold down the Home and Volume Down button instead.
• Once the Lock screen appears, go to the App Store and download the app again.

Sign Out of the App Store

Try signing out of the App Store and logging in again. To do so, open the App Store and scroll to the bottom of the Featured page. Tap on your Apple ID and choose Sign Out. Now log back into your account and re-download the app.

Delete “Documents & Data”

• Go to Settings > General > Storage & iCloud Usage.
• Tap on Manage Storage.
• Find the partially downloaded app in the list and open it.
• Tap on the Delete App button.
• Now go back to the App Store and try downloading the app again.

Reset All Settings

If after trying all the methods above, the problem still persists then you should reset your device’s settings. This doesn’t remove any data from your device. It simply resets all the settings to factory defaults, such as network settings, App Store settings, and so on.

• Go to Settings > General.
• Scroll to the bottom and tap on Reset.
• Tap on Reset All Settings and confirm to proceed.
• Once the reset is complete, restart your device and re-download the app.

These are the different methods of fixing an iOS app that is stuck at “Waiting” during installation. If the problem still persists, the last thing to do would be to restore your iPhone, or update to the latest iOS firmware (if available).

Which of these methods worked for you? Let us know in the comments below.