Apple's operating systems and services are proud to be the most stable, fast and reliable. Indeed, within Apple services, errors and failures occur less frequently than competitors, but this does not mean that there are no errors at all. The online services of the apple corporation sometimes behave more unpredictably than competing solutions. Especially when it comes to such a "machine" for the sale and synchronization of content, like iTunes.
Why do I need the iTunes Store?
Absolutely all Apple users are familiar with the program and iTunes services. This is a powerful media combine, combined with a store of applications, music, podcasts, books and films. Recently, an iTunes streaming music service has been linked to an iTunes account.
This is a necessary element of the software ecosystem of iOS and macOS, without which the meaning of using gadgets developed in Cupertino is lost. Therefore, it is very important to have a working iTunes account that runs smoothly throughout the entire time so that you do not lose access to your music collection and programs used on the iPhone or iPad. Alas, not everything works smoothly, and iTunes refuses to work, responding only with a connection error message.
Why can't connect to the iTunes Store? Consider all the options that interfere with the normal operation of the service.
Check your internet connection
If your iPhone or iPad says, “Failed to connect to the iTunes Store,” first check your Internet connection. Although it is commonplace, but it happens. Sometimes, due to problems on the side of the router or even the provider, problems arise that prevent a particular computer or smartphone from accessing iTunes services. Ideally, you should have a stable Wi-Fi connection and be close to the router.
If this does not help, try disconnecting from Wi-Fi and connecting using cellular data. If the iTunes Store works when connected via cellular data, then you should contact your ISP and see if they block access to Apple services.
Problems on Apple Servers
Do not forget that Apple has problems. In March 2015, there was a massive collapse when all services related to the iTunes Store “fell”. Thousands of people tried to download the application or song, but received only an error message. No one is safe from repeating those events, so before you start to panic and change something on your devices, go to the official A pple website and make sure that the services you need are highlighted in green (this signal means that the service works all over the world and everyone has access to it).
Parental Control Settings
Sometimes the situation when you can’t connect to the iTunes Store on your iPhone, iPad or Mac arises due to the fact that age restrictions were set here at one time. To verify this, you must:
- open the iTunes application;
- go to the “File” menu (in the upper left corner);
- select the sub-item “Settings”;
- there it is necessary to find the Parental Controls / Restrictions submenu (a yellow circle with a picture of people);
- when you see a few “checkboxes” below, make sure that the iTunes Store is not ticked; if so, remove it.
In the same menu, you can open or close access to other Apple services, but only the computer administrator can do this.
Reboot devices
If before you discovered that you can’t connect to the iTunes Store, you used it on the same Network and with the same gadget without any problems, then you may need to resort to a mass reboot. This is perhaps the easiest way to fix anything.
Start with a router. It is enough to turn off the power by pulling the plug from the outlet, and after half a minute (this time is necessary for a full reboot), turn it on again. If this still does not help, restart your smartphone, computer or tablet. To restart your iPhone or iPad, hold down the Home button and the lock button at the same time, wait 10 seconds. To restart your macOS computer, hold down the power button and hold it for 15 seconds.
Date and time setting
Apple gadgets have an interesting dependency on date and time. Many people remember what resonance caused the failure, destroying smartphones and tablets simply because of the change of date for 1970, which speaks of iOS's special love for punctuality. Moreover, many devices (not necessarily from the Apple Corporation) cannot access the Web at all if they have the wrong date, because of this, web resources cannot verify the authenticity of certificates.
The Internet is already smart enough to calculate the time on your device and the real time in your time zone, and they must match each other. To change the date in a smartphone and tablet running iOS, you need:
- open the Settings app;
- go to the "Basic" submenu;
- then open the sub-item “Date and time”;
- then two ways - either you turn on the “Automatically” toggle switch and the gadget sets the time itself, or find out the exact time and manually set it.
Sign out and sign in
Another way to resolve the "Cannot connect to the iTunes Store" error is to use a simple relog. In order to do this, you must:
- open the Settings app;
- go to the iTunes Store and AppStore submenus;
- click on your name (mailbox address);
- select the “Log out” option, and then log in again and check if the service is working.
Software update
Top managers from Cupertino insist that every owner of a smartphone, tablet or computer from Apple should use only the latest software and call it almost the most important solution to all the problems that arise with their gadgets. To update your device to the latest software version:
- open the Settings app;
- go to the “General” submenu;
- select the “Software Update” sub-item and wait for the update to finish.
Instead of a conclusion
Many of the procedures described above seem commonplace and ineffective, but in reality everything is different. The structure of Apple's cloud systems is so complex and unpredictable that a banal reboot can dramatically change the behavior of the gadget. Therefore, before annoying technical support employees, try all the options described above, maybe one of them will be right for you, and the error "Could not connect to the iTunes Store" on iPad, iPhone and Mac will disappear.