Day One stuck on loading when launching
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Hi there – I have the same problem. The app’s not launching at all. I tried accessing it from the App Store and nothing happens. It just remains on the App Store. It’s been three days and unable to record anything, very frustrating. Re-booting my phone doesn’t help either.
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Update. I gave up trying to figure it out as I didn’t have the time to continue messing with it. As if this afternoon I’m happy to say the DayOne app is up and running on my iPad again. I guess it just needed time to reset.
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I signed into the site but it’s not showing any of my journal entries. It does show that I have 4 locked journals hidden and requires a key to unlock.
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@thektle and @snooksherri
To confirm, when you say Day One is stuck updating, do you mean the app is showing update progress from the App Store? If so, the issue is an App Store issue, not specific to Day One. Day One and the developers do not control the app update process. These are the recommended steps from Apple troubleshooting to resolve the app-update issue: https://support.apple.com/en-us/102632
If you are experiencing a different issue than the app not updating from the App Store, please let us know.
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@dianaquino Sounds like you need the encryption key. https://dayoneapp.com/guides/troubleshooting/finding-a-lost-encryption-key/
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To confirm, when you say Day One is stuck updating, do you mean the app is showing update progress from the App Store? If so, the issue is an App Store issue, not specific to Day One. Day One and the developers do not control the app update process. These are the recommended steps from Apple troubleshooting to resolve the app-update issue: https://support.apple.com/en-us/102632
If you are experiencing a different issue than the app not updating from the App Store, please let us know.
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i have also been stuck on “Waiting” on my home page since yesterday. I have tried, but am unable to open from the App Store. I am able to access the MacOs version, but I typically make my entries by phone. When will this be fixed?
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@amyleighng When you say you’re stuck “Waiting” on your home page, is the update waiting?
Is the app icon grayed out and you can’t tap it?
What does it show in the App Store when you try to open it from there?
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yes, the app icon on my Home Screen indicates “Waiting” and is grayed out. On the App Store, there’s a button that says “Open” but it does not let me click it. It just acts like a dead button.
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I’ve not experienced this problem myself as I don’t have Day One on the phone. But a number of people have posted to this forum a workaround that helped them get past this.
In the app for the App Store, tap and hold the icon for the stalled update. After a couple seconds, a context menu should display. On that menu, there should be a command to cancel (referring to cancelling the update attempt that is stalled). Choose that command. Then try updating again.
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@frowningsteve I followed your advice and held the “Open” button for 20 seconds and nothing happened, unfortunately. So I am still stuck. Thanks, though!
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@amyleighng to clarify, don’t tap and hold the open button, do this on the app icon itself on your Home Screen (or App Store)
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@helper-james Aha! That worked. I accidentally discovered that menu yesterday and I selected “Prioritize Download”, which did not solve my problem. Just now, I used the option to cancel download and now I am back in the mobile app and it seems to be working fine. THANK YOU!
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@amyleighng awesome! You’re welcome!
I hope this helps the others in this thread. I know it seems like it’s just a Day One issue but developers don’t control the app-update process from the App Store; it’s an Apple issue.
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I still experience the issue of getting stuck on loading when I launch the app. The only way to make it work again and fully open the app is to shut down and restart my phone, which gets tedious and frustrating. I believe I am on the most updated version: Version 2026.7.2 (2722)
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Hi @dianaquino,
Thanks for the follow-up. To set one thing aside: the “Cancel Download” trick that helped @amyleighng earlier in this thread is for a different problem, where the App Store update itself gets stuck and the icon stays grayed out on your Home Screen. The screenshot you shared shows Day One opening and then hanging on its own splash screen, which is a separate issue, so that workaround wouldn’t apply to you.
A few things to try before reaching for a full phone restart:
- Confirm the app is fully up to date. App Store > your profile icon > scroll to see pending updates. You noted you’re on 2026.7.2 (2722), but the latest version is 2026.8 so it’s worth trying that update to see if it helps.
- Force-quit Day One specifically (swipe up from the bottom and pause in the middle to open the App Switcher, then swipe the Day One card up and off the screen). Then reopen it. If you haven’t been doing this already, it’s usually faster and less disruptive than a full phone restart, and often clears this kind of hang.
- Give it extra time on launch once. Try leaving it open for two or three minutes before deciding it’s stuck.
If it keeps happening after that, we’d like to take a closer look at your specific case, as forums aren’t the best place for account-specific diagnostics. Please reach out through the in-app support form (Settings > Support) or via https://dayone.me/support. If you can include roughly when it started, and whether anything changed (new iOS version, restored from backup, etc.), that helps a lot.
Thanks!
Day One Forums 