Home Forums Peripherals & Multimedia iTunes, iPhone, iPod, iPad, Apple TV iOS Update Anomaly

Prior to the iOS update for my iPad (Gen 5) I was able to buy and download Apps without any problems. Post update I now get a dialogue box that says I cannot download because I am at the American store. It says I need to change to the Canadian store.

I didn't know there was more than one App Store and I have no idea how I might effect the change suggested by Apple.

Edit: I just did a test using my iMac to access the App Store and things proceeded as usual, so the store appears to have developed a dislike only for my iPad.

Thoughts?

Just to be sure we are talking apples and apples not apples and pears, there are different apps and different app stores involved here, and that does not even consider country and language variations.

When you say are you referring to the App Store application in OS X where you can purchase and download applications for your Mac, or are you referring to the App Store in iTunes where you can buy apps for the iPhone and iPad? Even though they use the same Apple ID and Password, they are different entities and may have different rules that are effecting your test results.

I don't have an answer to your dilemma but I think you can get help for your problem in the Apple Express Lane. I will be interested to hear what you find.

I clicked on App Store under the black apple on the menu bar. I assume it's connected to iTunes as it had a monetary credit equal to what I have in my iTunes account.


I found that they don't care to answer the question. After I described the problem I concluded with: ""As I haven't done anything different and didn't even know there were two stores .....what do I do?"

They asked for more information which I provided in detail, with a click-by-click description of the events and exact wording of the dialogue box.

The next response was:

"Glad to hear from you again. App Store Support person name, here with iTunes Support.  Hope your day is going great so far. Thanks for your reply. I know making new purchases can be exciting, and how frustrating it is when something like this gets in the way.  

Perhaps the iTunes Store on your desktop/device that you are trying to purchase on, the country listed is the US. Since your account is Canadian you will only be able to purchase from the Canadian Tunes Store. You receive that message when a noter (sic) country is listed on your desktop/device.

My Name, I will always be an email away if you ever need help in the future. I know things can get confusing sometimes and it's always nice for assistance. Enjoy the rest of your day."

It appears they thought that the problem would be magically resolved if they just told me what I already knew.

Fortunately, this story has a happy ending. I went into the iPad Settings. I turned both "Apps" (under Automatic Downloads) and "iTunes Match" on and off, leaving them both in the off position. Things now work as they did before.

So, while I can't thank Apple for any real assistance, I can at least appreciate the comic relief they provided.

The App Store you get to from the Apple Menu (the black Apple icon at the far left end of the menu bar) is the App Store for OS X apps only. In Lion and Mountain Lion it is also a default item on the OS X Dock. The App Store app in iOS is the iTunes App Store that only has iOS apps. The same Apple account works in all the various stores including the Apple Store app where you can purchase Apple hardware, schedule appointments with the Genius Desk, etc.

I don't know why I did not think of this before, but with iOS devices like your iPad, when something inexplicable happens, such as the U.S. and Canadian store confusion you encountered, a standard "fix" is to reboot the iDevice by pressing the Sleep/Wake switch and holding it until the shutdown slider appears then moving the slider all the way to the right. After the iDevice has completely shut down once again press and hold the Sleep/Wake switch until the Apple logo appears on the screen to restart. While your solution was not so drastic, the reboot has the virtue of being a far more universal "fix".

If the reboot fails, then connect the iDevice to a power source then in Settings > General > touch Reset and depending on the situation choose Reset All Settings, Reset Network Settings, Resent Keyboard Dictionary, Reset Home Screen Layout, or Reset Location & Privacy.

Thanks joemike, those are good tips to store away for future.