Snapchat Won't Download From Appstore? - Here's Why & What To Do About It

Apple products undergo updates a few times each year, and when these updates occur, the apps and the software in the phone upgrade and use higher bandwidth to ensure the utmost connection.

Once the software on both the app and the phone understands the new relationship, the app will work. But, to get to this level, you might need to give your phone a good old restart.

Depending on which iPhone you have, you turn off the phone in various different ways. For older versions, you can hold the power button on the top right of the device, and for newer phones, you can hold down the side power button along with the top volume button on the left side of the phone.

Once you turn off the phone, allow the device to sit for a few moments before trying to start it up again. When you are ready to restart the device, turn it on the same way you turned it off and wait for a few more moments after you’ve turned it on. Let the phone get used to the new system.

If you try to rush into anything, the phone could lag longer. If you still don’t see the Snapchat icon on your home screen, visit the app store and try to download it again. Usually, if you allow your device the ability to restart, the app will be easier to download.

Another way you can try and redownload the app is by deleting it and redownloading it. To do this, hold down the Snapchat icon and push the delete ‘X’ at the top right side of the icon. Confirm the delete option and then visit the App Store to redownload Snapchat.

Some apps require a solid internet connection, either data-based or wifi-based, to download an app. For this specific app, you’ll need to make sure your connection is strong.

Sometimes apps can download on spotty connections, but the request has the possibility to time out or take much longer. You need to make sure your data or wifi connection is strong and not likely to be interrupted.

To check your connectivity, try to download a different app from the app store and note if you experience the same problems. If apps besides Snapchat time out or don’t download onto your iPhone, you will need to look into your connection.

There is one simple solution to explain why Snapchat won’t download on your iPhone. This has to do with updates.

Both Snapchat and IOS update multiple times a year, as mentioned above, but sometimes if your apps don’t download or open on your iPhone, it is time to update your software.

Updates do not occur automatically, so you do have to set time aside to let your device replace its older software. Usually, an iPhone or an app needs to be updated if you notice issues navigating the app or if the software continues to lag.

One way to know an app needs an update is if the app keeps closing out on itself.

Here is how you can update Snapchat:

1. Unlock your iPhone.
2. Visit the app store, the blue and white icon on the home screen.
3. Click on the profile logo in the top right corner of the app store. There should be a blue sketch of a head and the top of a torso.
4. Scroll down to “Available Updates” midway down the page. Find the Snapchat icon and click update.
5. Once the update finalizes, Snapchat will have a blue dot next to its icon indicating the update was successful.

Here is how to update your IOS software:

1. Visit the settings icon on your iPhone’s home screen. The settings icon is a gray gear shift on the first page of the home screen.
2. Click on it and then click on the General selection. In the settings bar, General has a similar logo to the settings icon.
3. Once you click on that, click on Software Update. This is the second choice in the General bar.
4. The software will scan for updates and alert you if there are any you can download to your phone. If there are, install the update and wait for it to download.
5. Once the download finalizes, it is a good idea to restart your iPhone.
6. You should be able to download Snapchat on o your iPhone once you’ve updated and restarted the device.

Sometimes, certain apps download with content restrictions, or your phone places its own content restrictions on the apps.

This means that in the app store, certain software triggers settings to turn on content restrictions and block you from downloading that specific app. This can happen with YouTube, Snapchat, and even popular dating apps like Tinder or Bumble.

To turn off restricted settings on your iPhone, visit the settings icon.

1. Click on the gray gear shift settings icon on the home screen.
2. When the settings icon opens, scroll down to the screen time icon. It is a purple hourglass in the second column, underneath Notifications, Sounds and Haptics, and Focus.
3. When you open the screen time selection, you will see a graph detailing how much time you spend using your iPhone and for which specific purposes. Underneath this chart is a few options, Downtime, App Limits, Communication Limits, Always Allowed, and Content and Privacy Restrictions. Click on Content and Privacy Restrictions.
4. When you open that screen, there will be a green toggle bar at the top of the screen. It says ‘Content and Privacy Restrictions.’ If this bar is green, you will need to turn it off to allow Snapchat to download to your iPhone.
5. However, if you want to keep content restrictions on for some of your apps, you can scroll to the option below the toggle where it says ‘Itunes and App Store Purchases. Click on that option, and that will pull up a different screen.
6. This screen will read Installing Apps and will show two options to choose from. Allow or Don’t Allow. This refers to allowing restrictions on apps when you install them from the app store. If you had Don’t Allow highlighted, that could be the reason you weren’t able to download Snapchat in the first place. Click Allow and try to redownload Snapchat. If it still is not downloading, you might need to contact either Apple or Snapchat to assist.

When you download apps, you need to have a working payment method, even if the app is free to download.

You can get around this when you configure your iPhone in the app store, but if you don’t do that when you first get the device, you’ll need to establish a secured payment method. Here is how to check if your payment method is valid.

1. Open the App Store icon on the home screen. It is a blue and white icon near the center of the home screen.
2. Click on the profile icon at the top right of the screen. It will either have a person icon or your picture.
3. Clicking on your picture will bring up your Apple ID and account information.
4. Click on your name with your profile icon attached to the left side.
5. Under Account Settings, click Manage Payments.
6. This screen will bring up all of your payment methods. To check if they are valid and updated, click on each individual payment method.
7. If you do not have a valid payment method, you can remove your old payment method and add a new payment method.
8. To add a new payment method, click on Add Payment Method and fill in all your default credit or debit card information.

Sometimes, apps malfunction. It might not have anything to do with your device but rather an internal issue on the app’s side of things.

If you cannot figure out how to download Snapchat after trying these methods, you can contact Apple Support at https://support.apple.com/ or Snapchat support at https://support.snapchat.com/en-US.