It looks like Apple has now fixed the issue with the blank Updates page in the iPad App Store. As of late last night, app updates are showing up fine again on my iPad mini.
I’ve also heard from several users this morning via comments, email, and Twitter that updates are showing up properly on their iPads too.
Are you all seeing the same? Let us know in the comments.
A reader named Tammy wrote to me yesterday about iPad app updates not working properly. The App Store badge shows app updates are needed but nothing happens when the update button is tapped. Tammy is not alone. A bit of research on the web shows others are also having trouble with app update notices. Apple will probably address this glitch soon. Meanwhile here’s a suggested fix.
1. Go to the App Store 2. Tap Purchased 3. Tap All 4. Find the Apps showing an update is needed 5. Tap theUpdate button on the App
Shut down and restart your iPad. This should update the Apps and fix the update count in App Store.
About the Author
Dr. Andy Brovey, The Portable Prof, has over twenty-five years experience in educational technology, including teaching, administration and professional development. In 2007, Apple Inc. recognized his work and named him an Apple Distinguished Educator. Andy now runs a professional development business, working on site and online to help others make sense and make use of digital tools. He started the iPad Academy website shortly after the first iPad went on sale, and is the author of the self-published eBook - iPad Academy: Tips, Tricks and Clever Techniques. He also created and directs the iPad Academy Master Class, an online video training series to help others become more comfortable and competent with the iPad.Video Message from Andy
Apple’s Upcoming iPhone, And Possibly Including The Next Regular iPad, Will Offer Fingerprint Scanner Feature For Added Security, And “Coolness.”
JULY 29, 2013, 10:12 PM. Article by Raphael Labuguen.
Citing some codes found on the latest iteration of iOS 7 Beta build for developers, one popular app developer has uncovered minor evidence that Apple is working on a new feature to sell more iPhones, and possibly including the iPad. Adding a biometric scanner is Apple’s next big strategy to generate more revenue, and as reported by Hamza Sood on Twitter, the latest version of Beta iOS 7 includes reference to fingerprint scanner for the iPhone, perhaps for the rumored iPhone 5S which is expected to arrive by end of September, possibly including the next-gen iPad 5 with 9.7-inch Retina display.
Read More: Apple iPhone 4, 4S and 5 unlocked remain expensive pre iOS 7 update
“While touching the home button with their thumb,” the code reveals with follow-up sentence saying “a fingerprint that changes colour during the setup process.” The new biometrics feature is a security enhancement which would allow iOS users to lock the phone or tablet and the only way to open or unlock the device is to scan the owner’s thumb fingerprint. Of course, Apple might include a secondary unlocking feature in case of emergency.
iPhone home button to contain fingerprint sensor (found in beta 4)pic.twitter.com/tUlZ6xjeer
— Hamza Sood (@hamzasood) July 29, 2013
Seasoned Apple analysts believe that Apple will introduce two new iPhones later this year, the flagship iPhone 5S which will replace the iPhone 5, and all but confirmed new low-cost iPhone 5C which will take the position currently occupied by the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 4. It is possible that Apple will put the iOS 7 fingerprint scanner on the iPhone 5C and the iPad 5 too to make its iOS 2013 lineup more consistent aside from making the lightning port the new standard syncing and charging port.
The iOS 7 upgrade will most likely arrive ahead of the iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C and the iPad 5 release date in the U.S. and other major markets. Last year, Apple rolled-out the iOS 6 update ahead of the iPhone 5 launch.
The new iOS 7 system update is compatible with the iPhone 4, the iPhone 4S, all the iPads except the original model and the latest iPod Touch. Apparently, Apple’s new devices will ship with the new operating system out of the box.
The iPad is known far and wide as an amazingly innovative piece of technology. If you want to use it as it was intended, though, you have to educate yourself about it. Keep reading to learn some helpful advice about maximizing the benefits of your iPad.
Stay aware of the amount of money you are paying for the iPad apps that you download. It is so simple to use your iTunes application that you can rack up a huge bill without realizing it. Hence, you should set a limit on how much to spend on them.
You can do a soft reset in order to reboot a frozen iPad. A soft reset consists of simultaneously hitting the home and power buttons. Your device will then restart. If you simply want to force close one app, hold only the home button.
Set a password to keep your information private. By using this setting, all of your information will be erased after 10 failed password attempts.
Many people find it difficult to type on tablets, but it gets easier with time. However, you can use speech dictation as an alternative. Tap the Home button two times, and then tap the Microphone button. Once done talking, press it again and you’ll see what you said.
It can be irritating for your iPad to chime every time you get an email. This can be turned off! Tap on “Settings”, and then select “General”. Finally, click on the Sounds option. Then you can change the volume or even turn off the sound for new mail.
Does the battery percentage indicator drive you crazy? It is easy to turn off. To begin, open the Settings menu. Under the General section, you will find Usage. This menu provides an option for turning off the battery monitor information and clearing the screen.
There is an interesting way that you can turn off the sound on your device. All you need to do is press and hold volume down for a couple of seconds. Doing this is more efficient then pressing it multiple times. If you want the volume to revert back to the original level, just hold down the button again.
Because iPads are expensive, it is a good idea to care for them properly. You can use a clear cover to protect your screen. Although the screen protectors are made of plastic and are very thin, they can help protect the screen of your iPad. Use a cloth that is designed for cleaning screens whenever you wipe off your iPad. Don’t ever use products such as common window and household cleaners on the iPad’s screen.
Establish FaceTime telephone numbers and email addresses. The email that was used to set up the iPad will be used by default on FaceTime, but it is possible to add others. Just add them in the Settings app.
To copy/paste quickly, press and then hold text and simply choose Select. Now, tap on copy, switch to another app, then tap and hold down once more. You can then paste. You can also highlight a whole paragraph; tap it around four times.
Are you on the Internet nearly all the time? Then take advantage of the iPad’s cloud functions. This is a wonderful way to keep information without storing it on your device. Make sure your important documents are backed up on your device and the cloud.
Your iPad will come preloaded with apps that you may never use. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to remove these apps completely from the device. Drop them in a folder that is moved to a spot far away from your usual screen haunts. Without these apps to clutter your screen, you can do more with your preferred apps.
You can use your iPad to listen to the iTunes music you have. You don’t even have to download all your songs again. Just allow “Home Sharing” on the iPad and iTunes. In the iPad’s Music app, click on More and then Shared. Now you can listen to your heart’s content.
There are two ways to show a PDF. You can place a PDF inside of iTunes and then sync it up with your iPad or if your would like you could also email a PDF to your iPad. Try them both out to see which method is best for your needs.
Want to navigate between your apps without having to navigate to the home screen? All you have to do is double-tap Home, and all running apps will pop up. Simply tap the app that you’d like to switch to. You can find any open app using this feature.
Try using street view on the Google Maps app. Search and a red pin will show up on your map. Tap the pin and tap the icon that looks like a person. Street view will then open in the app.
Your first exposure to an iPad can leave you in awe. Anyone who wants to integrate this tool into his or her daily life should spend some time learning how to operate it. This information will give you the skills necessary to really use your iPad well.
Several iPad users have reported that they have experienced issues with Wi-Fi connectivity (weak signal, random Wi-Fi disconnection etc). If your new iPad has poor Wi-Fi reception problems; try the following steps to resolve your issue:
Fix#1:
Fix#2:
If Fix#1 does not fix your issue, try this:
Fix#3:
Fix#4
Related:
iPad Wi-Fi, Wi-FiComputers used to be all about expandability. Essentially you owned a box that could be tailored to your needs as your requirements evolved. A popular upgrade path was storage, adding new hard drives as your files grew in size and number. But with Apple's touchscreen revolution, everything changed.
The iPhone, iPad and iPod touch are more like appliances than 'traditional' computers - they're sealed boxes that forever remain as they were the moment you purchased them. You can no more extend their storage capabilities than you can add a new compartment to your fridge-freezer.
A quick look at Apple's modern hardware suggests its entire line-up is heading in the same direction, but iOS devices are more restricted than Apple's desktops and notebooks. After all, if you need more storage for a MacBook Air, you at least have the option of offloading large documents to an external hard drive (and, of course, then sensibly backing up that data along with the internal drive's, either locally or to an online service such as CrashPlan).
But iOS devices aren't designed that way. They don't have a USB port or a user-accessible file structure. The intention is that you store everything on the device itself (well, almost everything - services like iTunes Match enable you to grab your music from the cloud).
Therefore, an important tip when it comes to better iOS device storage and management comes at the moment of purchase: buy the model with the most storage that you can afford, unless you're absolutely convinced you won't need it.
Even then, reconsider; be mindful that as technology evolves, demands for storage increase. Retina screens require larger applications, and iOS cameras can shoot HD video, which requires a huge amount of space.
Also, demands on iOS devices are increasing purely on the basis of what they can now do. People frequently shoot and edit video, work with photography, read magazines and compose music on iPads and iPhones. All these things require lots of storage.
If your device gets really full, it alerts you. Also, things stop working. You won't be able to install new apps or shoot video new footage. You may find that updating apps becomes problematic, because the device doesn't have enough space to download, unpack and install updates before deleting older versions.
We offer advice for dealing with such a situation, along with managing iOS storage in general. Note that this isn't intended as a start-to-finish walkthrough, more a series of ideas that can be utilised to free up space.
As ever, we should stress the importance of back-ups before making major changes to iOS devices. Even if you're backing up to iCloud, make the occasional local back-up (select your device in iTunes and click 'Back Up Now' on the Summary page).
Local backups are also useful when it comes to dealing with app data, because you can later use iExplorer to fish out settings and other documents from such a backup, even if those things have long been removed from your device. Also ensure before making any major changes in terms of deleting content that you don't only have said content on your iOS device.
For music, sync your device with iTunes to transfer tracks to your Mac (although you can grab previous purchases from iTunes, if necessary). For photos and movies, transfer them across by attaching your device to your Mac via USB, launching iPhoto, selecting the device and clicking the Import button.
1. Check device capacity in iTunes
Although iOS devices no longer require iTunes, Apple's desktop app remains useful from a device management standpoint. Connect your device (via USB or over Wi-Fi) and select it from the Devices button. Across the bottom of the window, you see a chart detailing what's taking up room: audio, photos, apps, books and 'other'.
If storage is an issue, you could free some up. For example, if you've lots of music or photos on your device, select the relevant tab, uncheck the sync box and then sync your device. The relevant media is removed. You can then perform updates and manage your apps, perhaps free up more space, and later restore your media by resyncing it.
Occasionally, you might find the 'other' section becomes massive. In our experience, this is usually down to you having a lot of in-app data (see Step 3) or failed app updates, which can happen on trying to update without enough free space. Resyncing should help; if not, a restore from a local backup.
2. Discover app sizes
Apps can be massive. Sizes are shown in iTunes and the App Store, but that's the size of the compressed download. Once installed, an app's size can balloon.
In iTunes, check app sizes by clicking on the Apps tab and selecting Sort by Size from the pop-up menu at the top of the apps list. Peruse the list, and if there are apps or games you no longer use, consider deleting them. You can do so by clicking Remove in iTunes; when you've done so for all apps you'd like to delete, click Sync.
Alternatively, tap-hold an app on your device to make all the icons jiggle and, for each, tap the cross icon and then 'Delete' to remove it.
3. Examine app data
Open the Settings app on your device and in the General category, select Usage. You see available and used storage and a list of apps. These are ordered by the total amount of space they require, including app data.
Newsstand and similar apps tend to be storage-hungry. Their containers might be small, but the actual magazines rarely are. If you want to see how much space an app's data is using, tap the app in the list and look at the Documents & Data figure.
If you've several such apps taking up loads of room you need, consider deleting data. For example, if you subscribe to magazines, delete old issues from within each app. You can usually redownload issues later if you need to. If you fancy taking a speedy option and don't have a capped broadband connection, deleting a Newsstand app takes all its data with it. You can then download a fresh copy from the App Store and the latest issue.
Magazine and book apps aren't the only storage culprits, note. Dropbox can (optionally) store documents locally (by flagging them as favourites) and some video apps have download capability, so check those too.
4. Back-up app content
Should you no longer use a game or creative app, but think you might one day return to it, download its data to your Mac using the free version of iExplorer (macroplant.com/iexplorer).
Connect your device to your Mac via USB, select Apps from iExplorer's sidebar and select the app in question. Select the Documents and Library folders, Ctrl-click and select Export to Folder. (Alternatively drag them to a Finder folder.)
The contents of these folders can later be sideloaded into a fresh install of the app, meaning you won't lose your progress in a game that doesn't support iCloud, or could get saved compositions from a music-app back to your device with a minimum of fuss.
5. Use last-chance folders
If you tend to frequently download new apps, chances are some fall out of favour, but you might not necessarily know which. Create date-based folders (07-2013, say) and place apps within that you don't think you use any more. If you find yourself using one, 'rescue' it from the folder. Otherwise, delete the folder's contents after a few months, first backing up app data as necessary.
(Note: if you don't download apps to iTunes on your Mac, sync with it before deleting the apps, so you've a back-up you can later install to your device. You can of course redownload apps from the App Store, but only if they are still made available to you.)
This is a fairly ruthless app-management method, but it's useful for keeping installs current and ensuring you have space.
This is another basic iPad tip and a question I see asked about a lot in iPad discussion forums – how to stop apps or music or books from downloading automatically.
Automatic downloads can be very useful – these allow for all your new purchases (which even includes free apps you download) on any device where you have an iTunes account to be downloaded automatically on your iPad. But for some of us they can end up being an annoyance – for instance when you have certain apps or music that you only want on your iPhone. I tend to keep a much bigger music library on my phone than on my iPad, and there are some apps that are really only suited for and useful on a phone device.
The nice thing is that iOS makes it easy to turn these automatic downloads on and off for apps, books, and music individually or for all of them. Here’s how:
– Open the Settings app, scroll down the left sidebar a little way and tap on the ‘iTunes & App Stores’ section.
– You’ll see the ‘Automatic Downloads’ settings right in the middle of the screen. You can tap to toggle automatic downloads on and off for music, apps, and books.
It’s as easy as that and of course you can easily change these settings up as and when needed.
