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On some wireless networks, whenever I try to download or update an app I get the following message: 

Unable to download application.
<Your App> will be available for download when you log in to the
iTunes store on your computer.

I assume it is some kind of firewall issue. Assuming it is, does anyone know what firewall ports are required to download apps via WIFI to an iPod Touch?

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Does it show as a popup message on your iPod? Sometimes in my iPhone or iPad I will attempt to download an application, which proceeds to place an icon on the home screen with a little progress bar before popping up a message saying that the application could not be installed. Attempting to install again usually works fine, but sometimes have to try two more times before it would work. – Nippysaurus Sep 17 '10 at 6:42
It shows a pop-up on the iPod with the message in my question. It has "Retry" and "Quit" buttons. Retrying does no good. – JohnFx Sep 17 '10 at 16:16
Are you sure the wi-fi network (and the connected network) you are doing this on is reliable? Even my AirPort Extreme drops out periodically. You've pretty much eliminated all of the other possibilities in the responses. – Philip Regan Oct 5 '10 at 15:01
@Philip - I suppose you can never be 100% sure, but other apps that use the Wifi connection seem to operate normally on the same network. I'm still thinking it is a firewall issue of some kind. Does anyone know what ports are used for app downloads? – JohnFx Oct 5 '10 at 16:00
Did you ever solve this? I am having the same problem, only with apps. I had to bypass my home network to get it to work so, I agree, it must be a port blocking issue int he router. Just wondering if you found the ports that are being used? – user4085 Mar 2 '11 at 3:13
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5 Answers

up vote 2 down vote

I had this twice on my iPod touch.

When it happened first, there was not enough free memory on the iPod.

The second time it was an app (yxplayer) not designed for the iPod. I even could not install it after I had downloaded it in iTunes. If I remember correctly iTunes told me that this app can not be run on an iPod touch. After i "upgraded" my iPod to an iPhone 4, I could install the app without any problems.

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I am pretty sure it is a networking thing. The apps install just fine if I connect the iPod to the computer and use i-Tunes, or if I use my home wifi to download/install them. It just does this on my work wifi connection and some other public wifi hotspots. Also, at these locations it consistently happens for all apps, not just a specific one. – JohnFx Sep 17 '10 at 16:18
up vote 1 down vote

From the following source:

Have you ever had this error message on your iPhone while trying to download an application or a game: Unable to download application.

There is a pretty easy fix for this and here is how it works:

Simply double tap the icon of the application that gives you trouble and wait for a few seconds. It should then be available.

If it does not work, the problem may also be that the app didn’t get downloaded completely. So, remove it and try downloading it again. I found it much better to download app over wifi, rather than 3G.

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up vote 0 down vote

Try Settings > Store (near the bottom) > View Account. I think that if your Apple ID hasn't been recorded, then you will see the prompt to do so, otherwise, you'll just see "View Account" and "Sign Out".

UPDATE: The one other thing I think you should try is make sure your iPhone has the latest iOS it can support. There shouldn't be any need to open/close ports for the App Store on the network; it should just be like any other http traffic. I used to sometimes have the problem you are having, but I haven't in quite a long time and casual observation through other forums shows that you aren't the only who has had this problem, and an upgrade to the latest OS was the fix.

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I am fairly certain that isn't the issue. For example if I buy an app it records the purchase just fine and it is waiting for me in iTunes the next time I log in, it just seems to want to force me to download it from the computer instead of over Wifi. – JohnFx Oct 5 '10 at 14:26
up vote 0 down vote

It happened to me today when my app was approved and available in store. I got same message. The reason it was happening for me because i was using same Apple ID which i used for submitting app. I changed the apple ID and it downloaded without any issues.

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This happens for all apps, not just a single one. And since I haven't written/submitted any apps, I doub't that is the issue. – JohnFx Mar 31 '11 at 20:48
up vote 0 down vote

I juSt received the same message when an app I was attempting to download required a newer version of iOS than I have. found another app that was compatible and had no problems. worth considering...

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