Customer Support for Failing App Downloads
On reportaproblem.apple.com, if the customer selects the option “App fails to install or won’t download”, the customer receives the suggestion to contact the app developer correctly:
If you’re having issues with this app, please contact the app’s developer directly, they may have more specific troubleshooting steps for their app. Click on the App Site button to open the developer’s support page.
Of course, this isn’t due to a bug in the app because the App Store hasn’t even downloaded it yet. Despite my selling far more software through direct downloads than through the Mac App Store, customers report more download/installation problems when using the store. Another case where the App Store reality is not what one would have predicted. It’s galling that this remains unreliable when Apple controls every aspect of the process—and then blames the developer. These are some of the worst e-mails to get. The customer is rightly upset that I’ve just taken their money, yet they can’t download the app, and there’s not a lot I can do to help them.
Previously: Apple Support Tells Customers to Ask Developer for Refund.
3 Comments RSS · Twitter
There also seems to be no way whatsoever to report apps that don't work.
I've seen this on my machine for some time too. Interestingly, this only occurs in the "Updates" section of the App Store. If you click through to the relevant application pages, and elect to update from those, the updates are successfully applied.
The quoted copy isn’t even proper English (the first sentence is really two, joined by a comma splice). Poor quality work from Apple.