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Updating apps on your iOS device is typically a pain-free experience. You tap the “update all” button, and it just works. If you haven’t been doing this regularly, you may see something like this:
Beware of “Update All”
If you have numerous apps waiting for updates, do not hit the “update all” button. Even if you have the fastest Internet connection, the App Store’s back end is the bottle neck. Your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch will be updating apps for a long time. You can still use your device. The update downloads slow down when you need to actively use your Internet connection. However, if you don’t have a super-fast Internet connection (like most people), hours of app update downloads can hamper activities such as streaming video. Even worse, if you have a capped internet or mobile data plan, updating too many apps at a time can wreak havoc.
Update no more than 3-5 apps at a time, depending on your Internet connection speed. If you have many apps pending updates, click on each update button for 3-5 apps, instead of the “update all” button. Repeat updates in small batches until they’re all completed. Ideally, you should update apps frequently. That way, you can just hit the “update all” button when you have a few apps pending updates.
You may want to hold off on updating critical apps, however. Sometimes updates can introduce new or regressive bugs. If you rely on the app, make sure the update is reliable. You can read reviews in the App Store or search the web to verify that an update is stable. For the most part, app updates are better and more stable than their predecessor. When it comes to critical apps, it never hurts to exercise care.
How To Stop Apps from Updating
If you made the mistake of hitting “update all” and it’s hogging your Internet bandwidth, don’t worry. You can fix this. Go to the home screen and tap the app icon of each updating app. The app icon will display a message that it is paused. If many apps are updating, this is a somewhat painful experience. The paused apps cannot be used until they are updated. (continue…)