New Delhi: Thousands of Apple users across regions woke up to broken playlists, stalled downloads and blank screens on Wednesday morning IST. Apple Music, the App Store and Apple TV showed signs of stress, triggering confusion among users who rely on these services daily. Social feeds filled up fast with complaints, screenshots and the familiar question. Is it just me.
By the time people reached office in India, the situation began to ease. Apple’s own System Status page showed green across the board, signaling that the disruption had been fixed. Music started playing again, apps resumed downloads and photos synced back without hiccups. Relief followed frustration, a pattern many Apple users know too well.
Apple System Status Page
Apple services go dark
Apple acknowledged the disruption on its System Status page, saying that “some users were experiencing issues with the App Store and iTunes Store,” along with “intermittent problems affecting Apple TV.” Apple TV Channels was also listed as affected, which can block access to paid channels or stop transactions.
Reports pointed to the first major wave of issues around 5 AM IST (6.48 pm Eastern Time.) That window matters. Evening hours in North America and parts of Europe see heavy usage, from streaming shows to buying apps. Even short failures can feel massive at that time.
More services added to the list
As the morning went on, Apple quietly expanded the list of impacted services. iWork for iCloud, Xcode Cloud and Apple Maps traffic were added. That widened the issue beyond entertainment.
For developers, Xcode Cloud trouble can slow builds and testing. For regular users, iCloud tools suddenly feel unreliable even when local apps seem fine.
Apple did not share a cause while the incident was live. That is standard practice. The focus stays on restoring access first. Explanations may come later or not at all.
How to tell if it is an Apple issue
There is one simple clue. If music, video and the App Store fail at the same time, it is likely on Apple’s side. Rebooting your phone or router rarely helps in those moments. Waiting does.
As of January 21, 2026, Apple says all systems are operational. The outage was short, but loud enough to remind users how much daily life leans on Apple’s services.