Apps and defaults
Automatic Downloads
Most people call this apps and purchases arriving on all your devices.
Apps, books and music bought on one device can download automatically to your other devices, and a separate switch controls whether that happens over cellular.
This setting is present on your iPhone.
- We have this path on file but have not yet confirmed it against an official source.
Where to find it - iOS 13 and later
- Settings
- App Store
- Automatic Downloads
What it does
Automatic Downloads covers new purchases. App Updates covers keeping installed apps current. Both have a cellular data limit you can set.
What changes
When it is on
Purchases and updates arrive without being asked.
When it is off
You install and update manually.
Should you turn it on?
Good reasons to turn it on
- A new iPad has your apps ready without any work.
- Security fixes in apps arrive promptly.
Good reasons to turn it off
- Large downloads over cellular are expensive.
- You prefer to choose what appears on each device.
Battery
No real change
Privacy
No real change
Performance
No real change
Cellular data
Costs you something
Storage
Costs you something
Out of the box: App Updates on, with cellular downloads asking above a size threshold.
Questions people actually ask
- Why do apps appear on my iPad that I installed on my phone?
- Automatic Downloads is on for apps. Turn it off under Settings, then App Store.
If it is not working
- Cellular Data at the bottom of the App Store screen is where the cellular limit lives.
- If updates never install, check whether this is off or whether storage is full.