How to fix App Store not working on iPhone after iOS 17 update

If the App Store is not working on your iPhone after iOS 17 update, there are a number of ways to troubleshoot the problem.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• On rare occasion, you might find that the App Store app on your iPhone is not working after installing the latest iOS 17 update.
• There may be any number of problems keeping the App Store app from working, including unreliable internet, incorrect date and time, and even a VPN connection.
• Here are eight of the most common fixes for the App Store not opening or working on your iPhone after iOS 17 update.

Note: Information in this article applies to the iPhone 11 series, 12 series, 13, 14, and 15 series iPhones.

The App Store is an essential tool for installing new apps and games on your iPhone, but you might, on rare occasion, run into glitches in which the app won’t open, freezes, or crashes randomly after installing the latest version of iOS. This can be frustrating — and result in the inability to get work done — but there are a number of ways to troubleshoot the problem and get up and running again quickly. Here are eight ways you can fix the App Store when it won’t open on your iPhone running iOS 17.

How to fix App Store not working on iPhone in iOS 17

1. Restart App Store

Sometimes a simple force close is all you need to fix App Store not working after iOS 17 update issue!

• Swipe up from the bottom middle of the iPhone screen, till you see each open app in its own thumbnail version.
• Swipe up the App Store window till it disappears.
• Go back to the home screen, then tap on the App Store to relaunch it.

2. Check your internet connection

If you’ve restarted App Store, and the app still won’t work, check to make sure your Wi-Fi connection hasn’t blinked out. If so, go to Settings > Wi-Fi and toggle the setting off and on again. If the Wi-Fi connection is gone, try restarting your router.

Alternatively, try switching to your iPhone’s data plan and accessing the App Store using mobile data. However, you need to ensure that you have allowed access to the App Store using your data plan. To find out, go to Settings > Cellular and scroll down to the list of apps allowed to use your data plan. Make sure the App Store is toggled to green.

3. Restart your iPhone

If your internet connection is not the issue, then try restarting your iPhone.

• Hold the down volume button and the side button simultaneously, until the slide to power off message appears on the screen.
• Swipe that slider from left to right, then wait for the phone screen to go black.
• Wait 10—15 seconds.
• Hold down the power button again, until you see the Apple logo.

4. Check to see if the App Store is down

App Store not working after iOS 17 update could be because of a problem on Apple’s end. This very rarely happens, but sometimes Apple services go down. To check if there’s an outage, visit Apple’s System Status and look for the App Store. It’s easy to find as it’s the very first one.

If it’s green, the App Store is up. If it’s red, it’s down.

5. Check your date and time settings

It may seem like a silly suggestion, but this can often cause many App Store issues. This could be due to Apple’s servers having trouble syncing with your date and time settings. To correct the date and time on your iPhone, follow the steps below:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Tap General.
3. Select Date & Time.
4. Turn on the option to Set Automatically or choose your Time Zone manually.

6. Stop using a VPN

Virtual Private Networks can interfere with the normal operation of the App Store. If you use a VPN and have trouble getting the App Store to work after updating your iPhone to iOS 17, temporarily disconnect or disable your VPN.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down and select General.
3. Look for VPN & Device Management further down the menu and tap it.
4. Tap VPN. If your VPN is active, you’ll see its status as Connected.
5. To deactivate the VPN, simply tap the toggle switch next to the VPN’s status. Once turned off, the status will change to Not Connected.

7. See if your iPhone needs to be updated

Unfortunately, if you’ve gotten this far, you have exhausted most of the best options for getting the App Store up and running again. It’s always possible, though, that a bug or software incompatibility is interfering with the App Store and keeping it from working properly. To see if this is the issue, check for and install the latest iOS 17 update.

1. Open Settings.
2. Go to General.
3. Tap Software Update, if there’s an update available, download and install.

8. Contact Apple Support

If, after all these steps, the Apple App Store is still not working, then it’s time to contact Apple Support. They may have a clue what’s going on. Perhaps others are experiencing the issue or a new iOS update is causing issues with the App Store? Whatever the possible reason, if you’ve reached this stage without success, then Apple Support is the people to talk to.

This is the official Apple Support page, but if you are on an iOS device, you can install the Apple Support app, and contact them from there.