How to Update Apps on Your Phone

How do I update an app on an iPhone?

App updates on an iPhone come from the App Store, not from the app itself. You open the store, find the list of pending updates, and install either one app or all of them at once.

1. Open the App Store.
2. Tap your account picture or initials in the top corner.
3. Scroll down to the list of available updates.
4. Tap Update next to a single app, or Update All to do the whole list.
5. Wait for the progress circle to finish before opening the app.

If you do not see an updates list, pull down on that screen to refresh it. The list is cached, and a phone that has not checked in for a while will show nothing until it does.

How do I update an app on an Android phone?

On Android the updates live in the Play Store, under your profile menu.

1. Open the Play Store.
2. Tap your profile picture in the top corner.
3. Choose the option for managing apps and device.
4. Open the section listing updates available.
5. Tap Update on the app you want, or Update All.

Some phone makers ship a second store of their own alongside the Play Store. If an app was installed from that store, its updates arrive there and not in the Play Store, which is a common reason an app looks permanently out of date.

Should I turn on automatic app updates?

Automatic updates mean the phone installs new versions in the background, usually overnight while it is charging and on Wi-Fi. For most people that is the right choice, because security fixes ship inside ordinary app updates and a phone full of old versions is the phone that breaks.

There are two reasons to turn it off. One is a limited or metered data plan, though both stores let you restrict automatic updates to Wi-Fi instead of switching them off entirely. The other is an app you depend on for work, where you would rather read what changed before a new version lands.

The setting sits in the App Store section of Settings on an iPhone, and in the Play Store's network preferences on Android.

Why is my app update stuck or not downloading?

An update that sits at the same point for several minutes is almost always one of five things. Work through them in order, because the cheap checks are also the most common causes.

1. Storage. An update needs free space for both the old and new version while it installs. Delete something large, such as videos, and try again.
2. Network. Switch between Wi-Fi and cellular data, or move somewhere with a stronger signal. A half-connected Wi-Fi network stalls downloads without reporting an error.
3. The queue. If several apps are updating at once, they finish one at a time. Pause the others and let one run.
4. The store session. Sign out of the store account and sign back in.
5. The phone. Restart it. This clears a surprising number of stuck downloads.

If a single app is stuck while others update normally, press and hold its icon, remove the download, and start it again from the store.

Why does the store say "Open" when an update is available?

This usually means the update was already installed and the list has not refreshed, or the new version is not yet released for your device. Stores roll updates out in stages rather than to everyone at once, so a friend can have a version you do not have for several days.

To check what you actually have, open the app's page in the store and look at the version number and the date of the latest release, then compare it with the version shown inside the app's own settings or "about" screen. If they match, you are up to date regardless of what the list said.

What if the app stopped working after an update?

Do the simple repairs before assuming the new version is broken.

1. Force the app closed and reopen it.
2. Restart the phone.
3. Check whether the phone's operating system also has an update waiting. A new app version often expects a newer system.
4. Sign out of the app and sign back in, if it has an account.
5. As a last step, delete the app and install it again. Do this only when you are sure your data is stored in your account rather than on the phone.

If the app still fails, look at its page in the store. A wave of recent reviews describing the same fault means it is the version, not your phone, and the fix is a further update rather than anything you can do.

Why can I not update an app at all?

Three conditions block updates outright. The first is a store account problem: an update will not start if the payment method on file needs attention, even for a free app. The second is an operating system that is too old for the new version, which is common on phones several years past their last system update. The third is a device restriction, such as screen time limits or a work profile controlled by an employer, which can hide the update option entirely.

You can tell these apart by what the store shows. A greyed out button points to a restriction. A message about your account points to billing. A note that the app requires a newer system version is exactly what it says.

What should I have ready before contacting support about an update?

Support for an app update goes to the company that makes the app, not to the store, unless the store itself is failing. Have these things written down before you start.

• The app name and the version number shown inside the app.
• Your phone model and its operating system version.
• Whether the update failed to install, or installed and then broke something.
• The exact wording of any error message.
• What you have already tried from the steps above.

Reporting the error text word for word is worth more than a description of it, because support staff search their known issues by that text.