Everything you need to know about the massive Apple App Store outage

By Joe Maring Published April 3, 2024

App Store on-screen illustration — Apple

Happy Wednesday evening, everyone! You’re unwinding for the day, getting ready for a relaxing night, and … you realize that the App Store and a bunch of other Apple services aren’t working. Don’t worry, you aren’t alone.

What Apple services are down? When did the problems start? Is the outage still ongoing? Here’s everything you need to know.

Recommended Videos

When did the App Store outage start?

According to DownDetector, reports of outages with the App Store flooded in a little after 6 p.m. ET. Reports appear to have spiked at over 6,000, indicating pretty widespread problems.

Attempting to open the App Store showed a “Cannot Connect” message, followed by “Something went wrong. Please try again.”

This came just a few hours after WhatsApp and Facebook were down earlier this afternoon.

Are other Apple services down?

In addition to the App Store, other Apple services were down, too.

Apple Podcasts, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Sports, and Apple Fitness+ all experienced similar issues.

Is the Apple outage over?

Thankfully, all appears to be OK now. As of around 7:40 p.m. ET, almost all of Apple’s services are back to normal. The Apple System Status website shows one lingering outage for Apple’s Developer ID Notary Service, but that’s it.

Checking on our end, the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, and all other Apple services are working as intended.

Former Section Editor, Mobile

Joe Maring has been the Section Editor of Digital Trends' Mobile team since June 2022. He leads a team of 13 writers and…

Topics

Phones

Samsung finally switched to silicon-carbon battery on Galaxy Z Fold 8. What’s so special about it?

One of Galaxy Z Fold 8’s biggest upgrade is hiding inside

Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra with Fold 8

Samsung has finally joined the silicon-carbon battery race with its latest batch of premium foldables packing the new battery tech. But details for this change were rather hard to spot on the spec sheets. The company has confirmed during media briefings that the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold 8, and Galaxy Z Flip 8 all use silicon-carbon batteries.

Even then, the resulting capacities are hardly record-breaking. The Fold 8 Ultra carries a 5,000mAh battery, the regular Fold 8 gets 4,800mAh, and the Flip 8 has 4,300mAh. Rivals from Honor and Motorola have already crossed the 6,000mAh mark. But the figures only tell part of the story.

Phones

I’ve used foldable phones for years. Here’s how to pick the right one between the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Flip 8

Samsung’s three new foldables solve very different problems

Galaxy foldables with its screen visible

After years of reviewing foldable smartphones, I have learned that choosing one involves much more than what looks pretty or how large you want. Book-style foldables are usually sold as productivity machines, while flip phones cater to people who value portability. Samsung’s latest lineup complicates that choice by introducing two very different book-style models alongside its familiar clamshell.

Most of their shared specifications fade into the background once you start using them. Their shapes and screens have a much greater impact on daily life. So here's how I'd make a decision when choosing between the new Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold 8, and Galaxy Z Flip 8.

Computing

How to set up selfie video sign-in for your Google account

Your face can now serve as a way to get back into your Google account. Here's how to set it up.

Google account selfie sign in tutorial featured

Losing access to a Google account is rarely a quick fix, but Google has been actively working to make things easier. Last year, the company introduced a feature called Recovery Contacts that lets you designate a trusted friend or family member to verify your identity if you ever get locked out. Now, Google has introduced a new option, one that uses your face to get you back in instead of a phone call to a friend.

Like Recovery Contacts, the new selfie video authentication feature requires some setup before you can use your face to sign into your Google account. This involves recording the reference video that Google will use to verify your identity whenever you attempt to log in this way. Here's how to set up selfie video sign-in for your Google account.