Downloading and installing apps in the app stores of mobile phones and tablets should be one of the operations that friends are familiar with. All major manufacturers have official stores, and Android parties can also search for APK installation packages by themselves. Relatively speaking, iPhone and iPad users do not have that freedom, but fortunately, those commonly used software can basically be found in Guoguo’s App Store.


Unless you are a person who likes to mess around with things, then the App Store can already meet the needs of many people.

However, many iPhone users frown when they download the App and find that things are not simple...

No, dude, why is my software downloading speed so slow from the official store? I can only stare at the circle...


This situation is not unique. There are many posts on Xiaohongshu complaining about the slow download speed of Apple’s App Store. Everyone generously gave their own solutions, such as changing DNS, restarting, turning on the accelerator, etc.


As an Apple and Android dual-wielding user, Tony himself often hears colleagues complain that the download speed of the iPhone's App Store is ridiculously slow. It is obviously the most basic function, but why is it so awkward?

So, Tony decided to study with his colleagues in the editorial department what was going on. After doing a lot of tests, I can tell you a very counter-intuitive conclusion here:

The slow download speed in the App Store is not necessarily Apple's problem, and the methods mentioned on the Internet are completely wrong. It's all luck and psychology.

The reasons behind this are a bit complicated, but what we are sure of is that it is at least related to the lack of cooperation between Apple and China Unicom.

As for why, everyone will know after reading this article and the test we did.

In fact, the test method is not difficult. Simply speaking, it is to capture the packets when downloading software from the App Store to see which province's Apple App Store distribution server the iPhone is connected to during the download process, which is also a CDN node (equivalent to storing the website's resource content on a server closer to you).


If during the use of any operator, the server IP is far away and the download speed is very slow, there must be a problem somewhere in the middle.

Of course, we have also tried the very popular method of modifying DNS on the Internet, and we can tell you directly that it is almost useless.

Next, let’s talk about our testing process. We will use the networks of the three major operators of China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom to download Weibo and Meituan Waimai from the Chinese App Store, and then download Google Gemini and Threads from the US App Store. Each App will be downloaded 5 times.


After all the tests of the three major operators are completed, if one of the test results is abnormal, we will follow the online tutorial to change the default DNS to "8.8.8.8" or "114.114.114.114" recommended by netizens and conduct another round of tests to confirm whether the method mentioned online is feasible.

The first one to appear is China Mobile. To be honest, Mobile is still very stable. We tried to download the Weibo App 5 times and only accessed two App Store servers. They are located in the computer rooms of Jiangsu Mobile and Zhejiang Wenzhou Mobile. They are both located in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, and they are also China Mobile's own resources.


In the process of downloading Meituan Takeaway 5 times, it selected 3 App Store servers respectively. Judging from the IP positioning, they are still mobile computer rooms in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai.


The basics didn't stump China Mobile, so next we got a little more intensive, exited the country ID in the iPhone, switched to the US App Store, and saw how the download server connected this time went.

Well... the result still hasn't changed much——

After downloading Google Gemini and Threads 5 times respectively, in addition to the Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai IPs, there is only one more mobile IP of Xiamen, Fujian. It is indeed a bit far away, but not much, and it is right next door to Zhejiang. And the download speed is also very fast.


At this point, not only you who are reading the article, but even Tony himself feels that this test may not yield any results, it is China Unicom's turn to make a shining debut...

When we switched to China Unicom's network environment to download Weibo, the App Store actually requested a full 32 times...


Not only were the number of requests ridiculously high, but the download speed was also consistent with what netizens said, so slow that it was unbearable to wait.

Later, when I looked at the App Store offloading server information that I was connected to, I saw that China Unicom actually sent us directly to the Unicom computer room in Changsha, Hunan...

Not only Weibo, but also Meituan Waimai will only be connected to an IP in Changsha, Hunan after downloading it 5 times. It is really outrageous. It feels like Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai are not connected to the Internet.

Then the question arises. If I switch to the US region, can I connect to Apple's offload server in Zhejiang?

The answer is not only no, but all IPs will go to Shandong

Jinan or Zibo...


Okay, now it is completely unclear that Shandong is the center of the universe.

But joking aside, Tony really doesn’t understand why he has downloaded the app so many times from China and the US, but there is not even an IP from Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai...

Of course, we also tried to modify the DNS to see if there was any improvement. We will put the specific test data later, but first show you the test results of Telecom.

As a result, Telecom is actually more stable than China Mobile. It is the only one that can download national apps five times in a row, and the IP can be locked in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai.


The test results in the United States are even better, and even Zhejiang Province has not...


In fact, at this point, the test results are already obvious. When using the same device but different network environments, and downloading the exact same App from the App Store, only China Unicom’s IP will run around everywhere.

And let alone Zhejiang Province, even Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai have nothing to do with each other...

Therefore, in our test environment, "iPhone plus China Unicom is almost equal to missing." This sentence is not only valid for 5G signals, but also valid for App Store downloads.

Of course, there is another ending here that everyone already knew at the beginning of the article. The actual effect of modifying the DNS is not great. Tony also compiled the test screenshots and data for everyone.

Tony modified the DNS twice, and each time he modified it, he re-downloaded the domestic and US apps 5 times, which is the same as the previous process.


As a result, there was still no change in downloading in the national area, and I still went to Shandong to download Meituan takeout.

The US area is a bit weird. Either stay in Hangzhou or go directly to Tianjin Jinnan District. There is no rule at all in the IP allocation.

In order to provide more test data, in addition to the DNS 8.8.8.8, we also modified another quite classic 114.114.114.114, but the results were even more confusing...


I'll go to Meituan Food Delivery in Hangzhou, and I can help you travel to Hunan, Tianjin, and Shandong, but I won't give you the local IP in Zhejiang...

So things are very clear here, just like I said to everyone at the beginning:

The download speed of the Apple App Store is very slow because there is no good cooperation between China Unicom and Apple, and modifying the DNS will hardly improve this problem.

The most direct way is that until the cooperation between China Unicom and Apple becomes closer, iPhone users who care about the App Store download experience can consider bypassing China Unicom...

So with this disappointing news after all the busy work in vain, this program is coming to an end.

But as for iPhone Unicom users in Shandong, either your download speed is very fast, or the IP assigned to you is from Zhejiang, so we went in both directions...