iOS 11 Update Issues

Top 6 Ways to Fix iBooks Not working on iPhone after iOS 17/16 Update

by Jenefey Aaron   Updated on 2023-08-08 / Update for  iOS 11

I’m getting a two page display in my books when in portrait. Is anybody else experiencing this? Is this the way it is now supposed to be or just a bug? This is annoying.

Many users are suffering from Apple Books/iBooks issues after upgrade to iOS 17/16. Common ones are: wrong portrait display in Apple Books in iPadOS 16, iBooks isn't syncing between devices, iBooks won't read PDF/ePub files, iBooks opens with a blank screen.

To help users troubleshoot Apple Books cannot connect to the bookstore, here are 6 tips and tricks.

Way 1: Clear iBooks Cache on iPadOS 17/16 and iOS 17/16

To deal with iOS 17/16 iBooks not working properly, the easiest way is to open iBooks/Books app from Home screen, and tap any option (like My Books, Features) on the taskbar below repeatedly for 10 times, and iBooks will reload itself and be refreshed with new content. If luckily, you won't have problem with iBooks app not loading or responding.

clear ibooks store app cache

Way 2: Sign out and Sign in Apple ID Back to Troubleshoot iBook

If it's the case that iBooks cannot access library after update to iOS 17/16, or iBooks not working on iPhone and iPad, you can try to log out your Apple ID for purchasing in Settings > iTunes & App Store > Apple ID > Sign Out, then log in after a while to see if it helps.

clear ibooks store app cache

Way 3: Reset Privacy and Location Services

Situations may also happen that iBooks shows blank screen after iOS 17/16 update, and some users successfully fixed in this way. Go to Settings > General > Reset and choose Reset Location & Privacy. Enter you passcode to proceed. After that all apps will stop using location until you grant the access permission.

reset location and privacy for ibooks app

Way 4: Reinstall Built-in iBooks App on iPadOS 16

Along with iOS 17/16, you can remove some built-in apps from iPhone or iPad, so when iBooks keeps crashing iOS 17/16, you might as well uninstall the program and redownload it from App Store. Hold the iBooks app icon till it wiggling and tap the little X to delete it. All purchased books including PDFs, ePubs, Audiobooks can be regained after enabling iCloud services, not including these books acquired from other sources though.

reset location and privacy for ibooks app

Way 5: Hard Reset iOS 17/16 Devices

After iPadOS 16 or iOS 17/16 update, find Apple Books doesn't working? A hard reset somehow will be helpful, which is also known for Recovery Mode.

  • Press both power button and Home button for about 10 seconds until you see the Connect to iTunes screen.
  • Replace the Sleep/Wake button with volume down button on iPhone 8 to iPhone 14.
  • When you device reboots, you may be able to fix iBooks search not working on iPad and iPhone. For rebooting other iPhone brands, check How to restart different brands of iPhone.

Way 6: Downgrade iPadOS 16 or iOS 17/16 and Upgrade iOS 17/16/iPadOS 16 Again

Should you still not able to fix the problems like cannot read iBooks on iPhone/iPad, iBooks app not connecting or responding, etc, the ultimate solution is to downgrade to the newest iOS 17/16 or iPadOS 16, and update iOS 17/16/iPadOS 16 again. You can directly update iOS in Settings > General > Software Update or let iTunes update it.

The Bottom Line

Some users also shared with use how they solved iBooks app not working after iOS 17/16 upgrade by below methods, which can also be taken into consideration.

  • Reset Language.
  • Make data and time are correctly set in Setting > General > Data & Time.
  • Open a link to iBooks Store pages in Safari and click on it.
  • Go to Settings > Safari and change enable Block All cookies.
  • Turn off iCloud service for iBooks app.
  • Toggle all options about iBooks in Settings to off.
  • Go to iTunes and search for a book. Click sample then click on Store on the top right corner.
  • Contact Apple support center for help.

Hope you are lucky to repair iBooks with all methods provided. If you have any better solutions, please share out via the comments below and help more people.