Apps button missing on iPod touch

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Apps button missing on iPod touch

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Q: I just got an iPod touch. I went through some tutorials online even before opening the box. I got all of my music on there just fine, did some other things, but I don’t have an Apps button. Is it just supposed to be on the main screen? Could I have possibley done something to delete it? Is there a way to get it back? I am not completely electronically retarded, but close! Sorry if this is a dumb question!

- Brittani

A: If you’re thinking of the App Store icon, this should definitely just appear on the main iPod touch screen, down near the bottom-left corner:

(Note that the “Nike + iPod” icon will only appear if you have a second-generation iPod touch and have enabled the Nike+iPod feature in your Settings menu).

However, application support was not added to the iPod touch until this past summer with the v2.0 firmware update. If you have purchased a first-generation iPod touch, it is possible that it simply has not yet been updated to the latest firmware version, as some stores may have models in stock from before the v2.0 update was released.

You can check the version of firmware currently on your iPod touch by opening the Settings application, tapping General and then About. If the “Version” line does not read v2.1, then you should connect your iPod to iTunes and update it by hitting the “Check for Updates” button to download and install the latest firmware.

If you are in fact running the latest v2.1 firmware and still cannot see the App Store icon, then the other small possibility is that you may have inadvertently disabled it under your iPod touch’s Restrictions settings. You can check this by going into your iPod touch Settings menu and selecting General and then Restrictions. If restrictions are enabled, you will be prompted to enter your four-digit passcode. Once you have done this, simply ensure that the “Installing Apps” feature is set to “On” or disable restrictions entirely by tapping the “Disable Restrictions” button at the top of the screen.

Note also that if you do have a first-generation iPod touch, then unless you were specifically looking to save money by purchasing an older model, you may want to look at how much you paid and the model that you received. The second-generation iPod touch was released in September, and includes a number of new features over last year’s model, including a built-in speaker and voice recording support, and would definitely have come with the latest v2.x firmware already installed on it. Some stores are still selling last year’s iPod touch model at relatively high prices, so this is definitely something to be aware of.

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