Trying to update an iOS App but download it taking forever?

You open the iTunes Apps Store on your iPad /iPhone and click “install” to download an app. The app icon appear on your device home screen with the “waiting..” status. You go for a coffee, come back but the app hasn’t downloaded yet - the blue progress bar on the app’s icon isn’t moving and the status is still “waiting.”

This isn’t a new problem but am facing it more and more ever since I upgraded the second-generation iPad to iOS 6. The official Apple forums are flooded with similar complaints and there has been no official response /fix so far.

Resume App Downloads on your iOS Device

So how do you download and update apps that are stuck at “waiting..” forever? Now  doesn’t really help but here are some possible solutions:

1. You can download the app on your computer using iTunes and then sync to transfer the app to your iPhone /iPad.
2. Or, long-tap the icon on the home-screen until the icons begins to shake. Now delete the “waiting” app and reinstall it from the iTunes store. This isn’t the best option as you  may lose some of the custom settings that were previously associated with the app.
3. Or, single tap the app’s icon on the home screen and it will pause the download. Now go back to the iTunes Apps store, switch to the “Updates” screen and click “Update” to resume the download. This is what I do on my iOS device and the fix works most of the times.
4. Or, go to Settings -> iTunes & App Stores and tap the Apple ID to sign-out. Restart the iPad, go back to Settings -> iTunes Apps Store and sign-in. Tap the waiting icon to update the app.

Tried trick #3 with the “stuck” app and downloading resumed