Can't open News app after changing region/country

Question

After changing region/country, News can't be opened.
App Store shows installed, with "Open" button next to the App.
Tapping on it does nothing.

Asking Siri to open it, Siri says "can't right now".
I'm using an iPhone SE and the storage is not full.
The widget shows. Tapping on articles (in widget) opens Safari.

Anyone else had this, and solved it?

Answer 1

News App has been limited to specific countries.

You can change your country under Settings > General > Language & Region > Region to keep using News, if your country no longer has access to it otherwise.

Note: you can always use the App's widget in other countries.

More:

• https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202329 (Apple's page about News)
• https://www.imore.com/how-get-apple-news-uk-australia-canada-and-more (an article explaining how to change your country in Settings)

Answer 2

About the best troubleshooting for an installed app is:

1. put device in Airplane mode
2. power off device
3. power on device
4. try app
5. if it fails - open up settings and be sure you have 1 GB of free space and restart again in Airplane mode
6. if things still fail - consider enabling networking and check for updates.

Barring that - you can either delete the app and reinstall it or consider making a backup and erasing all content and settings. Then try a vanilla device with no iCloud, no personalization.

Answer 3

The News app cant handle a region change, which is what it uses to decide what feeds can be accessed. After changing region in settings even if you can launch the app most feeds will say “this feed is not available in your region”. The solution is to uninstall the News app and then install it again from the App Store. This process clears out its preferences and allows it to work in the new region. Works on iOS 12.