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I started to download Microsoft Excel app from App Store onto my iPad, but after almost an hour it was not yet half way downloaded (it's a huge file and I have slow wifi, so it's understandable). I decided to cancel the download. Now Excel is on the home screen and cannot be removed the usual way. I press and hold on it until it wiggles, then I click the x, and the usual message appears to ask me if I want to remove it, and I say yes, but nothing happens. The grayed-out Excel app icon just stays on my home screen.

How can I remove this app?

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  • Do a hard restart of the iPad by holding down the power & home buttons simultaneously until the iPad restarts. Did this help?
    – IconDaemon
    Nov 24, 2016 at 17:55
  • No. It is still there.
    – Zeynel
    Nov 24, 2016 at 18:13

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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From this site:

Sometimes iPhone applications get stuck waiting or loading when installing. These apps might be frozen with a blank icon and no way to remove them for days. Holding down on the home screen to delete the stuck app won't even show the black circle with an "x" that appears on other icons. Here are instructions on how to delete these waiting applications:

  1. Reboot your iPhone normally. See this link for instructions on how to restart your iPhone.

  2. If the apps are still stuck on the home screen, try logging out of the App Store temporarily. Navigate to Settings -> iTunes & Store -> Apple ID -> Sign Out. Now open the App Store and Navigate to the Featured section. Scroll to the bottom of the page and touch the Sign In -> Use Existing Apple ID. Log in and the stuck apps should reset.

  3. Still have strange icons on the screen or frozen downloading apps? Connect your iPhone to the computer and open iTunes. Navigate to the app store. Install the apps you are having a problem with on the computer then sync your iPhone.

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  • I tried your second suggestion but it did not help. By the way this is ipad not iphone. I don't know if it makes a difference.
    – Zeynel
    Nov 24, 2016 at 18:15
  • It shouldn't matter if it's iPad or iPhone, it's all iOS. Try tapping the App Store Update tab button 10 times to clear the cache, then restart the device. See if that helps.
    – fsb
    Nov 25, 2016 at 2:01
  • Where is this App Store Update button?Thanks.
    – Zeynel
    Nov 26, 2016 at 18:09
  • In the App Store app there's 5 tab bar buttons on the bottom. The one on the far right is Updates. Tap that, or any of the tab bar buttons, 10 times in a row.
    – fsb
    Nov 26, 2016 at 22:42
  • This did not work either. I wonder if I could try to resume downloading and let it finish and then try to delete it.
    – Zeynel
    Nov 27, 2016 at 5:07

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