iOS users across the world seem to be facing a major issue with Apple’s popular App Store in what is believed to be a widespread service outage. According to AppleInsider , several Apple users using iOS-based devices like the iPhone and the iPad are unable to access a range of Apple services. The affected services include Apple Music, Apple Arcade, and Apple TV+ at the time of this writing.
People affected by the issue complained that they were unable to complete monetary transactions or make in-app purchases on third-party apps within the App Store ecosystem. Minutes after people noticed the problem, they took to social media to complain. Apple initially did not acknowledge any issue with their services, but they have since updated their system status page to admit that there indeed is a problem. As of the writing of this story, stats still say that “some users are affected” and that Apple is “investigating the issue.”
According to 9to5Mac , the outage reportedly began at around 11 a.m. ET. It surfaced after people started to note that they were unable to access some elements of their Apple accounts, with some being either inaccessible or non-functional. The outage presented people with multiple symptoms. While some users were simply not able to access key services, there were a few who only faced issues with making purchases.
With people across the world posting screenshots, it became evident that it was not a localized problem. Some posts on Twitter talked about the unavailability of any content on Apple TV — even if the user already purchased the content. Several people said they contacted Apple Support with the issue, seeking answers.
Hi there. We’re investigating an issue with the App Store and will update our System Status page as more info becomes available: https://t.co/Z6TgsKWB3t
— Apple Support (@AppleSupport) January 24, 2020
While there is considerable social media chatter around the issue, there is still no clarity as to how widespread this issue actually is. Even with multiple social media posts, the overall volume seems not high enough for Apple to issue a formal statement.
As previously mentioned, Apple did acknowledge on their “status update” page that there indeed is an ongoing issue. All said, there is a good chance that it will be a while before users know the actual reason behind this outage.
https://twitter.com/typo_graphical/status/1220734655357313024
Interestingly, Apple services and the AppStore going offline is not an unusual incident. In the past, The Inquisitr has covered similar stories with one notable event that was reported in 2019. While the unavailability of an app or a service should not be a cause of concern for most users, what is important to note is that every minute lost waiting for the App Store to open means reduced revalue for App developers.