iOS 16.7.4 Update Fixes Issue That Prevented Built-In Apps From Being Reinstalled

Alongside iOS 17.2.1, Apple today released iOS 16.7.4 and iPadOS 16.7.4 updates that fix an issue with built-in apps. In some cases, if a user deleted a built-in Apple app on a device running iOS or iPadOS 16.7.3 or earlier, the app would not be able to be reinstalled.

General iOS 16 Feature Yellow
From Apple's release notes for the update:

This update fixes an issue where built-in Apple apps that may have been deleted may not reinstall.

While we haven't heard many complaints about the issue, that is likely because the majority of users have transitioned over to iOS 17. For those who are having a problem with reinstalling a deleted app in iOS 16 or iPadOS 16, the new update will address the problem.

Apple's iOS 17.2.1 update also included bug fixes, but Apple did not provide specific details.

Related Forum: iOS 16

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Saturday October 18, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across the Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, Clock, and Safari apps. More features and changes will follow in future ...
iphone air thickness

Apple Said to Cut iPhone Air Production Amid Underwhelming Sales

Friday October 17, 2025 8:29 am PDT by
Apple plans to cut production of the iPhone Air amid underwhelming sales performance, Japan's Mizuho Securities believes (via The Elec). The Japanese investment banking and securities firm claims that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are seeing higher sales than their predecessors during the same period last year, while the standard iPhone 17 is a major success, performing...
ios 26 1 liquid glass opaque

iOS 26.1 Beta 4 Lets Users Control Liquid Glass Transparency with New Toggle

Monday October 20, 2025 10:57 am PDT by
With the fourth betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS 26.1, Apple has introduced a new setting that's designed to allow users to customize the look of Liquid Glass. The toggle lets users select from a clear look for Liquid Glass, or a tinted look. Clear is the current Liquid Glass design, which is more transparent and shows the background underneath buttons, bars, and menus, while tinted ...
iOS 26

iOS 26.0.2 Update for iPhones Coming Soon

Friday October 17, 2025 7:35 am PDT by
Apple's software engineers continue to internally test iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. iOS 26.0.2 will be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet. The update will likely be released by the end of next week. Last month, Apple released iOS 26.0.1,...
Apple iPad Pro hero M5

New iPad Pro Has Six Key Upgrades Beyond M5 Chip

Saturday October 18, 2025 10:57 am PDT by
While the new iPad Pro's headline feature is the M5 chip, the device has some other changes, including N1 and C1X chips, faster storage speeds, and more. With the M5 chip, the new iPad Pro has up to a 20% faster CPU and up to a 40% faster GPU compared to the previous model with the M4 chip, according to Geekbench 6 results. Keep in mind that 256GB and 512GB configurations have a 9-core CPU,...
iPhone Siri Glow

Some Apple Employees Have 'Concerns' About iOS 26.4's Revamped Siri

Sunday October 19, 2025 7:39 am PDT by
iOS 26.4 is expected to introduce a revamped version of Siri powered by Apple Intelligence, but not everyone is satisfied with how well it works. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said some of Apple's software engineers have "concerns" about the overhauled Siri's performance. However, he did not provide any specific details about the shortcomings. iOS 26.4 will...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple's Next Rumored Products: New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and More

Thursday October 16, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro with its next-generation M5 chip, but previous rumors have indicated that the company still plans to announce at least a few additional products before the end of the year. The following Apple products have at one point been rumored to be updated in 2025, although it is unclear if the timeframe for any of them has...
m4 macbook air blue

M5 MacBook Air Coming Spring 2026 With M5 Mac Studio and Mac Mini in Development

Thursday October 16, 2025 3:57 pm PDT by
Apple plans to launch MacBook Air models equipped with the new M5 chip in spring 2026, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple is also working on M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro models that will come early in the year. Neither the MacBook Pro models nor the MacBook Air models are expected to get design changes, with Apple focusing on simple chip upgrades. In the case of the MacBook Pro, a m...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

New 14-Inch MacBook Pro Has Two Key Upgrades Beyond the M5 Chip

Thursday October 16, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with an M5 chip, and there are two key storage-related upgrades beyond that chip bump. First, Apple says the new 14-inch MacBook Pro offers up to 2× faster SSD performance than the equivalent previous-generation model, so read and write speeds should get a significant boost. Apple says it is using "the latest storage technology," ...

Top Rated Comments

Populus Avatar
24 months ago
The fact that you couldn’t install a native app once you delete it for more than one year that iOS 16 has been around, and it only got fixed almost in 2024 is, in my humble opinion, something they should think about on Apple Park.

Also, this and the battery drain problem when you deleted a native iOS app, are a couple of reasons why I’ve never deleted one, hiding them on a folder instead.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JOLoughlin Avatar
24 months ago
Oh my god, glad there’s a fix. Essentially had to start over on two iPad Pros (not eligible for iPadOS17) to resolve the issue.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tgdbowler Avatar
24 months ago
Update limited to iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPad 5th generation, iPad Pro 9.7-inch, and iPad Pro 12.9-inch 1st generation.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201222
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JonYo Avatar
24 months ago

This is the exact issue I'm having right now with an iPhone 8 Plus that I restored from an iPhone 6s Plus, and afterwards the iPhone 8's native apps all went black and won't run/install, while 3rd party apps are all ok. I was at my wits end after lots of dead end googling. Installing 16.7.4 now, we'll see how it goes.
Nice, all issues appear resolved after the firmware update completed.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zany.ninja Avatar
24 months ago
I’m taking credit for this one. Just yesterday I was unable to install the default apps on my iPad (5th gen) after a device reset. Phoned Apple support, they did a screen share of my device, spent 10 minutes trying everything, then said the problem is from their end and a fix would be issued soon - this year they assured me. So I wake up this morning and wow! Never thought it would be this soon! I’m flipping impressed Apple!…

And say what you want about this being a long-standing problem, I’m still going to take credit for this getting fixed :cool:
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LoveToMacRumors Avatar
24 months ago
Only for those ios 16 is the last supported ios for the iPhone. Kinda stupid haha
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)