App Store – Unable to Purchase error (Fix)
A dialog box appears with the header of “Unable to Purchase” and the error goes along the lines of “Forum for iPhone” and 4 other items could not be purchased at this time. Please try again later.”
Here’s an example.
Unable to Purchase Error
The name of the app and the number of “other items” will vary from person to person, and over time the number of “other items” will also increase. The error is frustrating because if you click on the OK button, you can purchase or update the apps without any problems so it clearly doesn’t stop anything from working. The error also comes up intermittently which adds to your frustration.
I came across a fix that appears to have resolved the issue for me and several other people, and thought i’d share it with others experiencing the same issue. The fix is extremely simple, and doesn’t require jailbreaking your device. My iPad 2 is not jailbroken and it works just fine after performing the fix. This fix should also work fine with the iPhone and iPod Touch, but I haven’t personally tested it with either.
Here’s how to fix the issue.
1. Go to the following website and download a program called iExplorer. It’s free and no other add-ons, or mucking about is necessary.
Simply download and install the iExplorer program.
http://www.macroplant.com/iexplorer/
Ensure your iPhone, iPad, or ipod Touch is not plugged in via USB and that iTunes is not running.
2. Run the iExplorer program
3. Plug in your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch via USB. At this point the program should auto detect the device and give you an explorer like interface showing you all the files and directories on the device.
4. In the top left hand window you should see the ‘Downloads‘ folder. Click on this folder (not the plus sign as you want to be in the root folder). At this point you should see a lot of files appear in the right hand window that resembles this:
iExplorer window
Note: If your device is Jailbroken, the file is located in /var/mobile/Media/Downloads.
Mac Users: You need to expand the Downloads folder, because there’s no explorer pane on the right. Also, you need to expand the Media folder to find Downloads.
5. You don’t want to delete anything here. But what you do want to do is scroll to the bottom of the window where you’ll find a file that contains the word sqlitedb and rename it to something else. Eg. Mine is called downloads.28.sqlitedb which I renamed to downloads.28.sqlitedbold. Note: To rename the file, simply click the filename twice (slowly with approx 1 second between clicks). Technically you can delete the file instead of rename it but to be safe I recommend to just rename it.
6. Once you’ve renamed the file to something else, simply close iExplorer, and shut down the app store app on your device if it’s running, and then restart it. The error will be gone and if you open up iExplorer again, you’ll notice the database file has been recreated.
That’s it! Easy eh!
The database will be automatically rebuilt when you go back into the App Store on your device which is why you see two files in the above image.
The app store will still find future app updates and everything should be working as it should. I’ve found no issues by performing these steps but as usual I take no responsibility if things don’t go to plan for your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. I’m pretty confident you’ll have no issues though.
Feel free to leave a comment and let me know if the tutorial helped resolve the problem.
Geoff
My other websites
http://www.flighttracker.gleff.com – Track aircraft live in Sydney Australia
http://www.livepolice.info – Listen to Live Police in Sydney Australia
www.gleff.com – Various photos, blogs, etc
www.bestsettings.gleff.com – Favourite settings for various Android apps
Thanks!!!
Found your tutorial on the Apple Support Forum, and it worked. Thank you for this! Regards, Gary
Same as Gary – found link on forums. Simple process and appears to be fixed. Thanks!
What do we do with the downloads.28.sqlitedbold file? can we just delete that file?
Yes.. it can be deleted.. I only recommended renaming the file as a safeguard.
Nice clear instructions.
Seems to have worked, thanks
awesome!!! worked for me!
This. Is. Great. Solved my problem. 31 apps and growing…
Thank you!
I haven’t tested it yet, but I was so relieved that I wasn’t the only one having this problem AND that a fix that at least works for some was published. My error doesn’t come up every time, so only time will tell if this fixes the problem for me. I’ll try to remember to repost either way.
Question – what about those apps that were trying to install but couldn’t? The error message says “Unable to Purchase…and 15 other items could not be purchased at this time.” What about those other 15 items? Any way to still get those? Example: I saw that Trial Xtreme 2 was for free; tried to download it and couldn’t. Now it’s $1.99. Guess AppStore doesn’t see that I attempted to download it and couldn’t.
Seems to have worked, thanks. Should I be concerned that the db has not grown anywhere close is size to the orig db ? (was 612KB new db is now 80 KB)
Thanks
The error above shouldn’t have prevented the downloading of apps.. The error was a nuisance but not a hinderence. I would think you had another issue if you were unable to download apps.
The small database size is normal because it’s been rebuilt. Over time it will probably increase in size.
thanks! it helps a lot!!
Thank you for these very helpful instructions but I don’t know how to rename the file. The only options I get when I highlight the file and right click are Add New Folder and Delete Selected. Would you please be kind enough to inform me how to rename the sqlitedb file? Thank you.
Hi Brian,
To rename the file, just click once on the file with the left mouse button, then wait a second, then left click again on the same file. You should be able to rename it then.
Thank you, Geoff. All is well! I can’t thank you enough for your very clear instructions which enabled me to get rid of a problem that has been bugging me for weeks. I was hopeful that Apple would fix this problem with 5.1 but, alas, they didn’t . . . but you did!
Hi there,
I’ve followed your instructions but when I click on the‘Downloads‘ folder I don’t get a list of files appearing in the right hand window.
I tried it with another iPhone4S and it worked, I can see it, however that phone doesn’t have a problem only mine does.
Any other suggestions please?
Thank you!
Hi Shirley,
I don’t have an answer for you? Was your device new when you got it? Perhaps it’s jailbroken in which case the file will be located somewhere else?
Thanks! It worked for me. The only thing I noticed was there was no way to rename the file. It was not a option I could find, so I just deleted it.
Hi Nozero,
To rename the file you just need to click on the filename twice. Deleting the file is also fine though. When I get a moment I’ll add this to the tutorial.
Cheers
Geoff
Hi Shirley,
I’ve found the alternative directory if your phone is jailbroken. I’m not sure if yours is though. Can you have a look at the following directory for the file and see if it exists.. You may or may not even be able to get to the directory unless your device is jailbroken but it’s worth a try.
Instead of going to /Media/Downloads/ go to Root/private/var/mobile/Media/Downloads
I’m not sure if Root is a directory or just referring to the upper most directory though as I don’t have a jailbroken device to check.
If you can see the file in the above directory, you can follow the same instructions but with the new directory.
Geoff
很好。谢谢。(Very Good. Thank you)
Thanks Geoff, that may help others who share my lack of insight. Thanks again!
michael
perfect…, worked for both my iPad and iPhone…, thanks for the tip!
THANK YOU, AWESOME:)
Worked for me on my jailbroken 4s, did it using Ifile. I don’t know how you figured this out, but I’m SO grateful, that message was getting on my nerves!
Worked perfectly , Thanks
Good work ! Thanks !
Thank you so much for posting this blog. I’ve been searching for a fix to this for weeks and everything I found was for Jailbroken devices. This flaw in Apple’s programming (i.e. you should be able to reset this database from within iOS) and the lack of acknowledgement of this error by Apple has been bugging me no end. I thought I’d have to go to one of those church-like Apple Shops and get indocturinated.
Thanks again…. oh and iExplorer is definitly a must have
When updating my ipad apps, I always get “could not be purchased…” message, even though I deleted the apps.
I haven’t jail-broken but I find any name with sqlitedb.
There may be normal names as you describe.
Do I have any other option?
Hi Michael,
The sqlitedb file is the database that seems to contain a history of apps downloaded in the app store. Even though you may have deleted the apps, the database will likely still contain a reference to it. I’m not an expert on what the database file contains but database corruption occurs with just about all databases from time to time. In the case of the iPad and iPhone etc, the database is recreated in the event it gets deleted.
I’m not sure I undertand what you’re saying but if you are unable to find the sqlitedb on your device, you may be looking in the wrong place.. I’m pretty sure it will be there somewhere. Using the iexplorer you should be able to find it and remove/rename it. As far as I’m aware, there’s no other options to fix the issue.
Geoff
Hi geoff….i did what u have mention above….and after i restart my ipad 2, and connect to apps store…i cannot download or update any apps….i open back ieplorer and the file did not create again….please help me….
Now when i want to install any apps form apps store…just white icon and waiting queue appeared in springboard…not downloading the apps…
P/s: i open purchased tab in apps store and new apps that i choose to purchased shown but got the cloud logo…when i click that, it show ” you have purchased this apps but did not downloading.if any problem appeared please connect to itunesto download the apps and sync with ipad….
Thanks geoff…hope u understand…i’m from malaysia and my english is very weak….
Hi,
If you’re using springboard it sounds like you are jailbroken. I’ve never jailbroken an ios device so I’m certainly no expert.
Just a suggestion though.. Reboot the device, then sync with iTunes. The last time I was stuck on waiting it was because of an interupted download.. when I deleted the ‘waiting’ icon and then performed a sync with iTunes it downloaded the app in itunes and then subsequently onto my iPad.
Hope that helps.
Geoff
I am not technologically gifted at all… how do I shut down the app store app?
Hi Whitney,
Just double press the home button on your device and then long press on the app store icon until it wiggles.. then you should see a red circle with a dash.. just press that and the icon should disappear from the taskbar. Then double press the home button again to return to the desktop.
Thank you so much!! It worked!
Seems to have worked ok for me as well. Thanks for the solution. Hopefully Apple will look at this problem as well at some point.
You, my good sir, are a genius. Worked great! My file tree looked a bit different than your image, but with a bit of digging I found it. Jolly good show!!!
it works!!!!! thank you very much!!
Hi, I might be missing something here but safari won’t let me download this file. Rod
Pls ignore my query …..I’m new to iPad /iTunes and have now sorted out the issue. Thanks very much… Very impressed. Rod
I cannot thank you enough for this tip! I wasted a lot of time with Tech Support. This glitch was driving me mad. Works perfectly. Many thanks!
Worked a treat, it’s just working up the confidence to do it! Thank you!
Thanks!
Just makes me wonder, if so many people are affected by this bug, it is a known issue and does not relate to jailbreak manuevers, how come Apple does not have an official solution for this yet…
Jobs would be disappointed!
This has been bugging me for a while. Seems fine now. Fingers crossed. Thanks.
Thanks so much!!! I thought I am the only one who get this problem, and my iPad became so laggy with this bug. I am almost going to do a master reset on my iPad. But now I fixed the bug without losing any data! You are the best!!
Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for this, solved it for me!
I have iphone 4s. After installing iexplorer and renaming the file, the message is gone but the aps are still not updating/downloading. They are just hanging there with empty bars below them. Any suggestions?
Hi,
I think Apple are having some issues with their servers at the moment.. I’ve been having the same issue this morning. I also just checked Twitter and loads of people are having the same issue. Don’t worry, the fix you followed didn’t have any ill effects.. Once Apple fix their server issues all will be good again
Geoff
Thanks for publishing this great fix for a nerving problem! We Internet ‘takers’ are thankful to you ‘givers’.
THANK YOU for posting this great fix!
Yet another success story here – iOS 5.1 on a 3GS. Worked just fine.
Best fix ever. Are you a teacher? You’d be excellent.
Hey Geoff. I can’t thank you enough for this fix. It has been bothering me since christmas. I have over 80 apps that couldn’t be purchased now.
I found the link to this fix on a Norwegian iPhone forum. Saved it as a bookmark and will share this link if i come across other places where people has this issue.
Thanks again!
I’m about to run this fix. Anyone know if this will help with a few books in iBooks which seem to be in the same situation (unable to download; the image of the book is there, but with the empty progress bar at it’s base, and downloading it individually and deleting it numerous times doesn’t seem to make it go away). Thanks.
Hi,
I don’t think the fix will have any affect to what you’re experiencing however if you sync with iTunes on your PC/Mac it will often fix that issue that you’re experiencing. It’s a stuck download by the looks of things and doing a sync in itunes sort of forces itself to download the file properly. It occasionally happens to me with app downloads.
Give tha a go.
Geoff
Worked for me on my iPhone 4. You’re awesome Geoff! Thank you sooooo much!
Thanks for the info, but I have a problem – When I click on ‘downloads’ nothing shows up, no long list of files.
The only thing that shows is a PLIST file type named ‘manifest.plist’
Clicking that file doesn’t do anything either.
I’m using an iPhone 3GS model number A1303.
I have content uploaded from various iTunes libraries (from the office computer, school, and home) so syncing with iTunes is not an option.
Any advise on how to resolve this? Many thanks in advance!
Hmmm.. I really don’t have any explanation.. The only thing I can suggest is to upgrade your firmware to 5.1.1 released a couple of days ago.. apparently it resolves this bug.
I just updated the newest FireWire (5.1.1) and now for the first time I get the bug…so changing to the new FireWire doesn’t do anything…
Awesome !!!! I spent 1 week trying to resolve this issue, albeit unsuccessfully. Your instructions worked like a charm !
Thank You !
Geoff, I’ll add my name to the long list of happy customers here. Sorted the problem on my iPhone 4 (and I’ve discovered iexplorer – nice). Cheers mate!
Thanks — just wanted to add to the list of people above appreciative of your taking time to help with this. I’d had problems downloading app updates stuck in “waiting” state forever, since April! I had more than 70 updates that weren’t happening, until I did this — as soon as I did — problem fixed. I’m watching all the app updates loading right now.
FWIW, I had trouble renaming the file you mentioned, so I deleted it, apparently with no harm done.
Thank you!!! This problem had been annoying me for months.
Yay it worked! Thanks so much!
Perfect – thanks a million !
Thanks for posting this. Just received this error today after multiple attempts/reboots. Your fix solved the problem. Thanks Geoff!
I done all of this and it’s still not allowing me to purchase – still getting the error message. I am sooo frustrated.
I did as detailed but iexplorer did not run, ie pick up device.
What to do now?
Hi Sharon,
Two points.
1. The issue this fix is designed to resolve shouldn’t have any bearing with actually making a purchase. The issue here is merely a popup dialog box that complains about the ability to purchase but doesn’t actually effect the ability to purchase.
2. iexplorer should automatically pick up the device.. if it doesn’t, make absolutely sure itunes is NOT running.. even in the background.. go to your task manager and ensure it’s not running. You could also try re-installing itunes to ensure all necessary drivers are installed again ensurring it’s not running when trying to use iexplorer. I believe a program called DiskAid will do the same as iexplorer but I’ve never used it.
I hope this helps.
This is fantastic! It’s been over a month with this annoying issue until I found this article!
Thanks!
Thank you thank you thank you.. i have been trying to get solve this problem since two days and got your EASY fix. it worked like a charm
- rush
Geoff, thanks, that’s been pissimg me off for a long time!
By the way, if you fancy updating the path for jailbreakers it’s:
/var/mobile/Media/Downloads
Thanks Heaps josh.. I’ve updated the path.
Cheers
Geoff
This doesn’t work for me! The permissions and mobile:mobile were already set!
Worked like a charm:-)
This problem was bugging me from past so many days. Instructions are very clear. Lots of gratitude:)
Brilliant, finally managed to get rid of this opaque “computer says no” error and run certain apps again (took a couple of goes to get all of them for some reason).
iExplorer seems generally useful, and the free demo seems to work at least for a one off fix of this problem, but it’s not at all clear what the demo restrictions are and it does cost a significant amount to register.
Excellent – this problem was driving me mad. Many thanks for your easy to follow steps to resolve.
I may have missed this answer but am I to install iExplorer on my iPad or pc? I’m sorry I’m so tired of my iPad acting crazy! It’s been less than a year!
Hi, IExplorer gets installed on your PC.
Great solution, all Apps updatet – however, there still are some “waiting” on the home screen, and these will not load – any idea?
Hi Tom,
If you sync with iTunes it *should* resolve the waiting apps,
Geoff
Thanks!!
Hi Geoff,
and thanks for the answer. I had the problem some times and it is good to know there is a solution.
I need to contact you regarding the flight tracker but can’[t find your email. Can you contact me please?
Thanks a million,
Peter
I just did it but it failed to resolve the problem. Maybe I need to delete the file?
I had a problem with music and not apps, but it worked just the same! Thanks so much!