iOS 16 users were unable to download apps as Store error hit global launch

iOS 16 on an iPhone
(Image credit: TechRadar)

iOS 16 is currently rolling out across the world but was hit with a major problem early on that prevented some users from downloading apps from the Apple App Store.

Users were unable to accept the Terms and Conditions agreements from the digital store, according to some Twitter users. Trying to press “Agree” on the page resulted in an error message appearing, telling people to try again later and leaving them unable to install software. The problem isn’t exclusive to iPhones or iOS 16 either as the compatibility issue afflicted iOS 15.7, iPads, and even Mac computers.

Solved

It’s unknown what caused this compatibility issue with some online surmising it could be a server-side error. Instead of releasing it in waves, Apple decided to launch iOS 16 all at once to the world at 10 pm PST. It's entirely possible the Terms and Conditions problem could have been caused by people across the world downloading the operating system en masse, resulting in a server overload. Or it could have been incompatibility between iOS 16 and device apps. 

However, we won’t know for sure unless Apple releases an official statement. We did reach out to Apple to see if they would like to comment on the Terms and Conditions problem afflicting iOS 16 and perhaps explain what happened. This story will be updated if we ever hear back.

Looking at Apple’s System Status, everything has been resolved for both the mobile and Mac App Stores at the time of this writing. For mobile, a message reads that some users weren’t able to access the App Store but has since been fixed. For the Mac store, it displays a similar message. Some Twitter users have confirmed the Terms and Conditions problem has been fixed and are able to accept Terms and Conditions. For those still being affected, it's recommended that you first restart your phone and then update your device’s apps before installing iOS 16, according to TechRadar's own Daryl Baxter.

Messy launch

Apple's latest product launch has been a bit bumpy. On September 9th, pre-orders opened for the upcoming iPhone 14 but would eventually lead to Apple Store Online experiencing a ton of technical issues, according to 9 to 5 Mac. Multiple unintended orders, server errors, and error messages from the trade-in tool were among the problems people experienced. Even phone carriers were not spared.

T-Mobile’s ordering system, for example, suffered some transaction problems that left people unable to get a phone. And on top of all that, there are reports of shipping dates for select iPhone 14 models getting pushed back as far back as October 25, more than a month after the official September 16 launch.

It's still possible to pre-order an iPhone 14. The price of the phone ranges from $799 for the base package to a maximum of $1,099 for the iPhone 14 Pro Max. TechRadar has a list of various websites where you can pre-order the phone. You may experience delayed delivery ordering directly from Apple’s store, but you might also have better odds with another website like Amazon or John Lewis. 

Cesar Cadenas
Contributor

Cesar Cadenas has been writing about the tech industry for several years now specializing in consumer electronics, entertainment devices, Windows, and the gaming industry. But he’s also passionate about smartphones, GPUs, and cybersecurity.