If you own an iPhone, then you know that it comes with some native apps, which are ones that come preinstalled on the device. You can also download non-native ones from the App Store as long as you have enough iPhone storage left. This is typical with all smartphones, not just iPhones, although Android has what it calls the Google Play Store instead.
You might find that you have a situation sometimes, though, where you can’t delete apps on iPhone. Deleting apps is something that virtually every iPhone owner will need to do at some point, though, so this experience is probably going to upset you.
What should you do if you can’t delete apps on iPhone? We’ll talk about some possible fixes right now.
Are There Any Apps You Can’t Delete from an iPhone?
Before we talk about some possible solutions if you can’t delete apps on iPhone, we should mention that there are some built-in apps that you’re not ever going to be able to get rid of. Built-in apps include your Settings app, Safari, Photos, Messages, Camera, and the App Store itself.
If you’re trying to remove apps that are native to the phone, don’t bother. You can’t remove apps that are considered by Apple to be integral parts of your device, so you’re stuck with them for as long as you have the iPhone.
Now, let’s talk about what you can do if you can’t delete apps on iPhone that you’ve purchased from the App Store or downloaded from it for free.
Restart Your iPhone
Restarting your iPhone is the first and most obvious thing that it makes sense to try. Restarting your iPhone is also sometimes referred to as resetting it.
If you own the iPhone X or a later version than that, you must start at your Home screen. Press and hold down the Side button along with either of your Volume buttons.
You must let go when you see a Slide to Power Off slider. Slide it to the right, and the Apple logo appears on the screen, indicating you have executed the maneuver correctly.
If you have an iPhone SE second generation, or a model 6, 7, or 8, you must start at your Home screen. Press and hold your Side button till you get the Slide to Power Off slider. Slide it to the right and wait while the phone restarts.
If you have an iPhone SE first generation, an iPhone 5, or an earlier one than that, start at your Home screen. You can press and hold down the Top button until you get the slider. Slide it over and wait for the phone to restart.
Now, see if you can delete apps that you no longer want. If you can’t get rid of unwanted apps after this maneuver, then move on to our next fix.
Check Whether You Have Any Restrictions for Deleting Apps
It’s also possible that you’ve put some restrictions for deleting apps in place, whether accidentally or on purpose. You will need to modify those if you have.
Do this by starting at your Home screen. Opening your Settings app from your Home screen and open up Screen Time. Head to Content & Privacy Restrictions. Hit iTunes & App Store Purchases. You might have put a screen time passcode in place. If you do, put in that code at this time.
You might have restricted your screen time if you felt like you were using a particular app too much. You may also have set up a screen time restriction if you have a child who borrows your device and uses it sometimes.
You should next go to where it says Store Purchases & Re-Downloads. Deleting Apps is what you want to hit next. It should say Allow. Hit that.
Now, try to delete apps you no longer want again. If you can’t delete apps, then move on to the next possibility. If you do not have any privacy restrictions or a screen time passcode, then this was never the problem in the first place.
Wait for the App Download to Conclude
Maybe you’re trying get rid of an app that you purchased or downloaded for free from the App Store. However, it has not finished downloading yet.
Deleting apps from the iPhone is impossible until they have finished downloading. It’s just a matter of being a little patient and waiting for the download’s conclusion.
Once it finishes, hold your finger on the app icon until the background blurs out and the app icon leaps into focus. You should now see an option to Delete App.
Tap it and see if the app deletes. If deleting apps after they’re fully downloaded is not possible, you’ll know that wasn’t the issue.
Delete App from Your Settings
You might be running into some kind of software glitch where you can’t delete waiting apps from your Home screen. If that’s true, then you can try deleting them from your Settings instead.
Go into your Settings app and hit General, and then Phone Storage. Scroll down. You should see a whole app library available, listed one by one.
Scroll through the app library. You should see an app icon for each one, and you will see its name, whether these are App Store purchases or ones that you downloaded for free.
Tap each app icon for the ones you’d like to delete. When you highlight each one, it should say Delete App as an option. Tap Deleting Apps. If you want to delete multiple apps, you can do that here.
If you can’t delete apps this way either, then there’s some other problem going on. Move on to the next fix.
Delete Apps Through the App Store
You have more options than just going through your Settings app and getting ridding rid of applications you no longer want. Deleting apps through the App Store is the next thing that it makes sense to try.
Open the App Store on your device. Tap your profile icon. You should see it on the upper right-hand side of the screen.
This should take you to your Accounts page. If you scroll down, you should see your app library. The app icons will also be there in a column going down.
Swipe left on each app icon to pull up the Delete Apps option. Tap each of the apps on iPhone that you want to get rid of.
If you can’t uninstall apps on iPhone this way either, there’s something truly unusual going on with your device. Keep reading.
Sign Out of Your Apple ID and Then Sign Back in Again
If you have not been able to find a way to get rid of waiting apps up to this point, then you must use a more uncommon way of removing them. You might have privacy restrictions or authentication issues associated with your Apple ID that are preventing you from deleting apps on iPhone.
Signing out and then back in might let you delete apps again. Open your Settings app and tap where you see your name at the top. Scroll down to the bottom of the page.
You should see an option to Sign Out. Tap it. After you have logged out, use your credentials to log back in again. Try to delete apps on iPhone once more. If it still doesn’t work, you might try getting the latest iOS version next.
Download the Latest Version of iOS
Sometimes, getting the latest version of iOS with patches for any software problems can help you if you are trying to delete apps on iPhone. Open your Settings app and tap General. Hit Software Update.
Tap Automatic Updates if you’d like the phone to do this for you automatically next time. Finish by hitting Install iOS Updates if there’s one available.
Make sure you are connected to Wi-Fi or that you have a strong connection to your cellular network for the best results. If you still can’t delete apps on iPhone, then it’s probably time to reset all of your settings.
Reset All Settings
Resetting all of your settings is a bit drastic, but if you still can’t delete apps on iPhone at this point, it may be your best option. Make sure you have backed up your device with either iTunes or iCloud so you can retrieve it later.
Open Settings and hit General. Hit Transfer or Reset Device. Hit Reset, and then Reset All Settings. Wait a few seconds while the phone returns to its original factory condition.
It’s highly likely that you can delete apps from your iPhone now. If you still can’t, then it’s time to involve Apple Support.
Bring Your Device to an Apple Store with a Genius Bar
Bringing your device to an Apple Store near you is the best thing you can do if nothing we’ve suggested has worked. If you can find one with a Genius Bar, the workers can take a look at your phone and see if there’s something going on with it that you haven’t addressed yet.
What’s Probably Going on with the Phone?
It might be pretty infuriating having gone through all of these steps and still not being able to figure out what’s causing the device’s inability to delete applications. If you’ve tried everything we’ve mentioned, then a software problem does not seem likely. There’s probably something going on with the hardware.
Do You Have an Active Warranty or an AppleCare+ Plan?
If you have an active warranty or an AppleCare+ plan, those cover hardware problems with your device. This means that you may not need to pay anything out of pocket to fix your phone.
If you no longer have an active warranty or AppleCare+ plan, then you will likely need to pay for the fix. Hopefully, it will not be too expensive.
If it is, you have the option of trading in your phone to Buyback Boss. You can put the cash we give you toward a new one.
