Although not common, this error can be very annoying on the iPad when it occurs. You try to download an app from the app store, but instead of downloading and installing the app, your iPad shows you the error message “Will Not Download Applications.”
The error happens even when you are trying to download a free app.
Contents
- 1 Quick tips
- 1.1 Related articles
- 1.2 Step – 1 Log Out and Back In
- 1.3 Step – 2 Tap on Settings > General > Date & Time > Turn Off ‘Set Automatically’
- 1.4 Step – 3 Change your WiFi DNS settings to 8.8.8.8 and then give it a try
- 1.5 Step – 4 Force A Restart
- 1.6 Step – 5 Turn Off Wi-Fi Assist
- 1.7 Step – 6 Turn Off Wi-Fi Networking
- 1.8 Step – 7 Forget Your Networks!
- 1.9 Step – 8 Reset Your Settings
- 2 Summary
Quick tips 
Try these quick tips to fix when your iPad doesn’t download apps
- Try this reader tip of pressing the retry button over & over again until the app downloads
- Force restart your device
- Log out of the app store and then log back in
- Check your date and time settings and toggle off “set automatically.” Then, set the date manually to a year ahead (temporarily) and see if you can now download apps
- Use a different DNS server, for example, Google’s public DBS of 8.8.8.8 or 8.8.4.4
Related articles
- Dealing with iOS apps that take up way too much storage
- Where Are My Purchased Apps on the iOS App Store?
- How to Manage Apps on a Mac
- Weird Apple ID bug prompts workaround in App Store
- How to Sort App Store Reviews on Your iPhone or iPad
- iPhone X Series Phone Apps Won’t Load After a Restore
- Apple Books or iBooks Not Downloading or Related Problems? How To Fix
- Can’t Download Apps for Apple TV? Fixes
If you are experiencing this issue on your iPad, you can quickly fix this issue by following the steps below.
Try each of the steps until it resolves your issue.
Step – 1 Log Out and Back In
- When faced with App Store related issues or errors, a simple fix that works for most problems is to log out and log back into the app store using your Apple ID
- Tap on Settings > iTunes & App Store
- Next, Tap on your Apple ID and choose Sign Out
- Next, Sign back in again and try downloading an app
Step – 2 Tap on Settings > General > Date & Time > Turn Off ‘Set Automatically’
- Set the date manually to a year ahead
- Next, try to download an app from the app store and see if it works
- Come back to these same settings and switch the date and time back to Set Automatically
Step – 3 Change your WiFi DNS settings to 8.8.8.8 and then give it a try
- Tap on Settings > Wi-Fi and choose the wi-fi network you are using
- Scroll down to the DNS field and enter 8.8.8.8 or 8.8.4.4 next to DNS overriding the value that you have there–this is for Google’s public DNS–you can also enter other third-party DBS servers
Step – 4 Force A Restart
- On an iPhone 6S or below plus older models iPads & iPod Touches, press Home and Power at the same time until you see the Apple logo
- For iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus: Press and hold both the Side and Volume Down buttons for at least 10 seconds, until you see the Apple logo
- On an iPhone X Series, iPad with Face ID, or iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus: Press and quickly release the Volume Up button. Then press and promptly release the Volume Down button. Finally, press and hold the Side button until you see the Apple logo
Step – 5 Turn Off Wi-Fi Assist
- Tap on Settings > Cellular > Turn Off Wi-Fi Assist and give it a try if you are having this issue on an iPhone
- This fix seemed to have worked for many readers
Step – 6 Turn Off Wi-Fi Networking
- Some apps can cause problems when your location service for wi-fi networking is turned on
- To disable Location Services for Wi-Fi Networking within iOS head on over to Settings > Privacy > Location Services > System services
- Turn off Wi-Fi Networking
Step – 7 Forget Your Networks!
- Many times your local network could be the problem. This particular problem could result in a slow download of apps, or you may get the error as shown in this article
- Open your Wi-Fi settings and choose to Forget this network
- Head on over to Settings > Wi-Fi, and tap the little information button (“i”) to the right of the connected network
- Simply tap Forget This Network to remove it from the device’s memory
- Now connect back to the Wi-Fi network with your credentials and give it a try
Step – 8 Reset Your Settings 
- Go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset All
- This action resets to default everything in Settings, including notifications, alerts, brightness, and clock settings like wake up alarms
- Resetting all settings also reverts all your personalized and customized features like wallpapers and accessibility settings back to factory defaults
- Reconfigure all these settings once your iPhone or iDevice restarts (be warned–this may take some time!)
- Performing a reset all settings does not impact any of your personal device data, including photos, texts, documents, and other files.
Summary
The steps above, particularly steps 3, 5, and 6 are also helpful when your download speed is slow on your iPad or if your WiFi is acting out.
If your iPad does not download apps, these seven steps should be helpful in fixing the issue. The trick is to try one by one and test out by downloading a free app from the app store.
We have produced an extensive collection of tips and guides that will help you resolve issues with your iPad.
One of the most common issues that our readers experience is a slow iPad following an iOS update.
Check out the step by step settings guide in the post below to make sure you are getting the best speed and performance out of your iPad.
Please feel free to share with the readers if you found other tips or tricks to solve this issue.