Like most online-based services, the iOS App Store keeps a local cache of information on a user’s iPhone or iPad in order to speed up the experience while browsing the store. If your App Store app is acting up — e.g., slow to load pages, frequently crashing, displaying corrupted images — one possible fix is to reset or clear this cache on your device. Here’s how to do it.
First, grab your iPhone or iPad and launch the App Store. You’ll notice the familiar App Store navigation icons at the bottom of the screen (“Featured,” “Top Charts,” etc.). Repeatedly tap on one of these icons ten times and you’ll see your App Store screen go blank for a moment, followed by the relatively slow re-load of the store’s interface.
You can tap any of the App Store’s navigation icons to trigger the cache reset, but note that once you make your first tap, you must tap the same icon each of the remaining nine times.
This trick basically clears any stored information about the App Store from your device, and forces the app to re-download everything from scratch, a technique that can often solve unusual issues with the app. The only minor downside is that it will take slightly longer the first time you load a new section of the App Store after clearing the cache, as the app will need to download all of the data and images fresh from the server, which may take some time depending on the speed of your network connection.
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