You’ve probably heard all about Apple’s disagreement with Epic – the company behind the popular game Fortnite. The two are currently battling it out in court, the result of which will, or won’t, mean that Fortnite is permanently banished from the iPhone and iPad.
Apple banned Fortnite from the App Store in August 2020 after Epic set up an in-app payment system in an attempt to bypass Apple’s 30% charges for selling apps in the App Store.
You’ll no doubt be wondering what this all means to you – especially if you play, have played, or want to play Fortnite on your iPhone or iPad.
If you play Fortnite on your iPhone or iPad you might be worried about losing the ability to play the game. Equally, if you have played it on your iPhone the past, you might be thinking that you’ll never be able to play it again. And those of you who have never played the game on your iPhone, but are now wondering what you’ve been missing out on, might be casting a glance to eBay where iPhones are showing up with Fortnite installed and wondering whether to succumb to temptation.
We’re here to stop you panicking about losing Fortnite on your iPhone. We’ll explain how to re-download it, and what to do if you really want to play Fortnite on the iPhone or iPad now it’s no longer in the App Store.
Below we will run through the steps you can take to get Fortnite on your iPhone now – we wrote this back in Augus 2020 when Apple first removed Fortnite from the App Store. If these steps don’t work for you the good news is that Fortnite may make a return to the App Store, regardless of the outcome of the Apple vs Epic lawsuit.
The return of Fortnite could be made possible if you run Geforce Now from Nvidia on your iPhone or iPad. Geforce Now gives you access to PC versions of games that are streamed to your iOS device from servers.
Because Geforce Now for iOS is a web app Apple cannot stop it. It was released as a beta in November 2020 and at that time Nvidia claimed that Fortnite would be released “soon”. But Aashish Patel, product manager for Geforce Now, was called as a witness in the ongoing trial and said that the launch could potentially be in October 2021.
How to download Fortnite on iPhone or iPad
If you don’t have a copy of Fortnite on your iPhone or iPad, but have installed it in the past, you are in luck. It’s easy to download the app again despite Apple removing it from the App Store.
- Open the App Store on your iOS device.
- Tap the Account icon (usually shows your Apple ID profile photo or Memoji.)
- Tap All Purchases > My Purchases to access a list of all the apps and games you’ve ever downloaded.
- Search for Fortnite (you could use the search bar).
- Tap on download icon to download Fortnite again.
Get Fortnite on iPhone or iPad if you’ve never downloaded it
The problem with that method is that it will only work if you have previously downloaded Fortnite. So what if you have never installed Fortnite on your iPhone?
One possible solution could be to link your account to someone else’s via Family Sharing.
If a member of your family has downloaded the app in the past, and your accounts are linked by Family Sharing you should be able to download the app to your iPhone.
To set up Family Sharing follow these steps:
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap on your name to access your Apple ID settings.
- Now tap ‘Set Up Family Sharing…’ (If you’ve already got the service set up, this will just say Family Sharing.)
- Select Purchase Sharing and make sure it’s turned On.
- You’ll also have to add a payment method – note that if you are setting up Family Sharing and enter your card details you will be paying for all the downloads on all the Family Sharing accounts!
- Now go back to to the App Store as per the steps above.
- Tap on your name icon.
- Tap on Purchased.
- Tap on your Family member’s account.
- Now search through the apps until you find Fortnite.
We run through how to set up Family Sharing here.
Does this mean Fortnite will disappear from my iPhone?
You might be wondering if Fortnite will be removed from your iPhone. The answer is no. Fortnite isn’t going anywhere. It will remain on your iPhone. The only possible issue might be if bugs cause the app to stop working in the future.
Should I buy a iPhone with Fortnite on it?
If you aren’t lucky enough to have a family member (or a friend you consider to be family) who has installed Fortnite what can you do?
iPhones with Fortnite installed have been turning up on eBay and you might be thinking that buying one would be a good solution.
Our advice is that it would be a bad idea. In order for the iPhone to be sold with Fortnite installed it would be linked to someone else’s account. In which case they could completely wipe your iPhone, and potentially access information you added to it.
Should I sell my iPhone with Fortnite on it?
Nor should you attempt to make a fast buck by selling your iPhone with Fortnite installed for the same reason. You should always properly wipe an iPhone or iPad before selling it or you risk someone spending your money.
Here’s how to wipe your iPhone before you sell it.
Will Apple let Fortnite back into the App Store?
We expect that this is all a storm in a teacup and that before long Fortnite will be back in the App Store. Whether as the result of a vicious count battle, or because Apple realises it looks really bad. Read about how the Epic battle could force change at Apple here.