Reinstalling and restoring iPhone apps

Don’t panic if you’re having issues with an application. It’s very easy to restore any of your third party apps to their initial state, which will usually fix any problems you might be having. Please note that reinstalling an app will typically delete its settings. Also, only third party apps can be deleted. The apps that come with your iPhone can not be removed.

In most cases one of the following will help.

1. Restart your iPhone #

  • Press and hold on the wake/sleep button.
  • When the Slide to power off switch appears, slide it across from left to right.
  • When the iPhone has turned off completely, press the wake/sleep button.

2. Reinstalling an iPhone app #

  • Uncheck the app’s name under the Applications tab for your iPhone in iTunes.
  • Click Sync (this will uninstall the app on your iPhone).
  • Recheck the app’s name under the Applications tab.
  • Click Sync again to reinstall the app.

3. Restoring an iPhone app to its default settings #

  • Delete the app on your iPhone by holding on the app’s icon for a couple of seconds (hold until the icons start to wiggle), then tap the x in the top left corner of the app icon, then tap Delete.
  • Launch the App Store app.
  • Search for the app and tap the price to buy it. You should not be charged for any app you’ve already purchased.
  • Wait for the app to download and install.

4. Help from Apple #

Apple’s official help document can be found here: Troubleshooting applications purchased from the App Store