Do you ever find the App Store, iTunes, Maps or other Apple iCloud services go down? Did you know it was possible to check whether there’s an issue?
Apple’s System Status page has been a long-running website from Apple itself detailing its various services, providing information on whether they’re down or experiencing issues, but one thing it’s often lacked is timeliness, or clarity. However, in an update to the site’s design, information is now easier to digest.
Many will have seen Apple’s System Service site before, and previously it simply listed all services, with a colored icon displaying green if everything’s okay. Below that was a timeline that showed previous issues across the board.
However, the update has now removed the timeline and each individual service is highlighted with a note if there’s been a recent issue. As you can see from the screengrab below, some services have had issues, which have since been resolved.
To find out what the issue was, and how likely it is you were affected, click or tap on the link. Most of the time it says less than 1 percent were affected. But it also gives an indication of the time that the issue arose.
Elsewhere, interestingly, we can now get a better idea if a problem is upcoming. For example, there is some Apple Pay maintenance scheduled soon – it might be worth avoiding using the service during this time to avoid issues.
So, if you think you’re experiencing a problem on your device with any of Apple’s services – and this can include Calendars, Contacts, Mail, Apple Music, and Apple Pay – here’s how to quickly find out whether it’s a problem with an Apple service, as opposed to cellular connectivity or a problem with your OS.
Head to Apple’s System Service site, and view the list of Apple services to see if there was a recent issue, a current issue, or a scheduled period of maintenance.