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Simon · Mar 24, 2009, 03:31 AM

I have the latest iTunes version and it's working fine with my iPhone 3G for the most part. But there's one little issue that has started to bug me.

Next to the applications menu there's a little badge claiming there's one app update waiting. If I go to the app window and click on '1 update available' the iTS comes back saying no updates available. But the badge next to the app entry just doesn't go away. Any ideas?

all2ofme · Mar 25, 2009, 09:26 AM

Mine was doing this until recently too - upgrading to 8.1 fixed it for me, though.

Have you tried binning your prefs? Feels like it should be a local thing, since checking properly never turned up anything for me either.

Simon · Mar 25, 2009, 09:30 AM

Which ones exactly? I don't really feel like trashing all iTunes settings.

all2ofme · Mar 27, 2009, 05:11 AM

com.apple.iTunes.plist is what I'd try - there's not a heap that I'd need to reset afterwards so it might be worth a go.

Have you tried updating something (or installing something new) from the phone? Might prompt whatever's causing this to be updated correctly next time around.

I'm just kicking around ideas, though, this isn't based on fact or knowledge of why it might be happening!

There might be something held elsewhere (i.e. not in prefs) that specifies available updates and the success or failure of previous checks.

JKT · Mar 27, 2009, 10:06 AM

I have had this happen to me on a lot of occasions - the system is just buggy. It eventually solves itself, usually within a day or two.

One possible reason why it might happen - the app has been updated in the US or another market, but hasn't yet filtered through as a download to the stores in your location. Apps do not appear simultaneously on each store from what I can tell.

Edit: I should also say that they don't necessarily appear in the US first either.

Simon · Apr 6, 2009, 04:29 PM

Tried deleting the prefs but no dice. It has been like this for two weeks now. No change.

Apple just released an iTunes update. I was hoping that might solve the problem as suggested above. Unfortunately it didn't. The badge is still there even though there's nothing to update.

Any other ideas?

JKT · Apr 7, 2009, 04:17 AM

Hmmm, anything happen if you Check for Available Downloads... from the Store menu in iTunes?

Simon · Apr 7, 2009, 04:19 AM

Good idea. But unfortunately, no change.

Simon · Apr 7, 2009, 04:22 AM

I also tried signing out from the store. That removed the badge.

I then signed back in. The badge reappeared and I got a dialog telling me there were updates. I selected view updates. I was then again presented with the familiar 'no updated availbale' screen. And of course that badge was still there, dammit.

JKT · Apr 7, 2009, 05:35 AM

Only thing I can suggest now is to start looking at each app individually - do a Get info on it in iTunes and see what version is installed (there's probably an easier way to do that but I'm not aware of it myself) and compare it with the one listed as a download on the App store. Are there any discrepancies? Perhaps it is an app that has been discontinued/censored by Apple but you still have installed on your phone or in iTunes?

kylef · Apr 7, 2009, 07:41 AM

I used to get this all the time, but instead mine actually started updating them to versions they had already been updated to. Annoying! Although recently it's stopped happening (upgraded to a 3G and haven't experienced it yet, but I doubt the upgrade itself was the root of the problem lol)

Apr 12, 2009, 08:14 PM

Apple updated to iTunes 8.1.1. Install this version and see if that fixes it.

Simon · Apr 13, 2009, 03:51 AM

Originally Posted by Andrej

Apple updated to iTunes 8.1.1. Install this version and see if that fixes it.

That's what I was talking about above. Applied the update but no change.

Simon · May 15, 2009, 07:39 AM

Applied the 10.5.7 update hoping it might get rid of the stupid badge. No luck though.

Waiting for the next iTunes update...

Hal Itosis · May 25, 2009, 05:35 PM

Originally Posted by Simon

Applied the 10.5.7 update hoping it might get rid of the stupid badge. No luck though.

See if the explanation/quasi-solution in post #2 of the following thread makes sense and/or works:

iTunes Applications constantly shows 1 in column

Simon · May 26, 2009, 02:27 AM

What he says definitely sounds plausible. But with my rather large app library it would likely take quite a while to find the culprit. I don't feel like wasting that much time.

If his explanation is right it's definitely a bug and Apple should fix it. What good is indicating an update people can't actually get?

colourfastt · Jun 1, 2009, 03:38 PM

I've been having this exact same problem with my iPhone for about a week now ..... it supposedly has 1 app to update, but when I do an update I get the message there are no apps to update.

graceyhead · Jan 3, 2010, 11:04 AM

I had the same problem for a long time and was basically ignoring it unless I found a simple solution. I was able to fix it this morning (took about 30 minutes). However, I do not have that many apps (~75). If you have a lot of apps, this will probably take a few hours.

In iTunes, I selected all apps to be synced to my iPhone. I put them on a separate page so that I knew which ones to delete later. I synced everything and on my iPhone checked the App Store for updates, which it showed the 3 culprits that needed to be updated. Updated these on the iPhone and synced back to my computer. I then deleted the "unwanted" apps from my iPhone using iTunes on my computer. The 3 apps didn't delete on the first shot even though I had unchecked them. Had to delete them again (no big deal), but finally the update badge in iTunes went away.

I noticed that my problem apps were ones that I had downloaded on my iPod Touch before I got the iPhone. Not sure if this is the root cause of the problem... Anyway, good luck!

dwightb · Aug 12, 2010, 01:05 PM

I plugged my mom's iPad into my computer to update her apps, and forgot to log out of my account. I synced it once with my account, and went to buy her an app (using her account), only to discover I was still logged in as myself. I logged out as myself, and she logged in and updated things, syncing again with her account. She logged out of her account once her new apps were installed, but a few days later, I started getting the "2 updates available" message, even though it said I had no more downloads to complete. She came back and logged into her account, and lo and behold, there were 2 apps that needed updating. I suspect this is the cause of this problem. I wish there were a good way to remove all traces of syncing her iPad from my account, but I've not found such a way.

abblaz88 · Sep 2, 2010, 02:41 PM

Is there more than 1 iTunes account authorized for that computer? I had the exact same annoying issue. It just so happened that my wife also had her iTunes account authorized for my computer, so when she would have updates, it would somehow show up on my account (definitely a bug). I had to sign in as her and update the apps then deactivated her account on my computer and logged off. When I logged back into my account and the issue went away.

Hope that helps...