Apple says it has resolved the App Store corrupted updates problem

Apple issued a statement late Thursday saying it has resolved App Store issues that were plaguing recently updated apps with crashes.

After the problem arose early Thursday with developer blogs and later news reports that more than 50 iOS and Mac apps were being affected by crashes that would immediately shut down apps, the Cupertino, Calif., tech company began telling developers that it was stepping in.

Then Thursday evening the company sent out a statement.

“We had a temporary issue that began yesterday with a server that generated DRM code for some apps being downloaded,” Apple said in a statement to All Things D, saying the problem affected only a small number of users. “The issue has been rectified and we don’t expect it to occur again.”

Though some question whether the problem did affect just a small number of users or was more widespread than that, at the very least, the problem is done with.

The problem grew to affect more than 100 apps, including the Los Angeles Times’ own app. On Thursday we recommended users hold up on updating any apps lest they begin crashing, they can stop worrying about that now.

Along with users being free to update without worry now, Instapaper’s Marco Arment says it appears Apple will also be helping developers by removing any one-star reviews they may have received as a result of the fiasco.

Arment, one of the first people to point out the problem with a blog Wednesday, said it appears Apple is sending out a “reupdate” for those affected apps, which he says is good news for developers for two reasons.

The first is this reupdate will reset all reviews posted by users for the current versions of affected apps, which was what developers were hoping for. And the second reason this is a good fix is that by just issuing a new update, users will be able to install on top of the current corrupt version they have and not lose their data, which could have been the case if users were forced to delete and install a new version of the app. That could have caused a huge issue for any apps that store their data locally.

Although the problem may be fixed, at least one other developer claims Thursday’s issue highlights the fact that Apple needs to be more open with its developer community and communicate better.

“Developers need to have confidence in the platform and remain focused on building great apps,” said Chad Taylor of the app Thrillcall, in an email. “I think the lesson learned here will be that Apple should make sure they acknowledge these types of issues and give developers timely updates like other platform companies.”

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