ERROR on install - unable to connect to Apps Server (???)

Before anyone tells me I have to increase to max_execution_time: to 120, I just did and I still get the same error.
values are now as indicated:
memory_limit: 128M
max_execution_time: 120

Anyway, the first time I set up Open Outreach and seemed to have it working smoothly for a day or two, max_execution_time was at 30, the default at this server.

Any suggestions anyone?

added the BTW thing

Appearance of error explained in more detail:

The first time I got this message from the apps page was after I had gone to /admin/content/file and from there "unpublished" some of the graphics that come with the apps, since I didn't want them to appear. At first I thought the error would go away after re-publishing them. Since they didn't I thought this action might have messed up something more profound in the Drupal or Apps installation itself, so that's when I decided to start a new fresh install.

But with the 2nd fresh install it kept coming up, so then I asked the server to increase that time-out limit, which they did. But it still did not solve the problem,
And now I have tried a third fresh install, with all the values as suggested, and I still get an "unable to connect to Apps Server" error.

So now I'm definitely lost. It now seems as if the error is being produced from somewhere within the server itself, which I think would be very strange....

However, on the local version that does access the apps, there is another error which might be related:
/admin/content/file shows this error:

PDOException: SQLSTATE[42000]: Syntax error or access violation: 1064 You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near ')' at line 1: SELECT fid, published FROM {file_managed} WHERE fid IN (); Array ( ) en file_admin_form_file_entity_admin_file_alter() (línea 99 de \profiles\openoutreach\modules\contrib\file_admin\file_admin.module)

Now I suddenly have found this, but I don't really get it:

• Installation of Apps requires that modules are installed on your site using the same mechanism as the Update module in Drupal core. This functionality depends on certain PHP extensions being enabled on your server. Below is the documentation & verification for the various methods of installing.
• Verificar soporte para Apps
• FTP (ENABLED!)
• To install with FTP, you will need an FTP username and password that has permissions to write to your site directory on your server. Be aware that FTP is not an encrypted protocol and your credentials will be transmitted in the clear.

Who exactly needs that FTP username? Do I understand that the updates are done by the website itself, so the website needs FTP access??? And does this mean that the FTP username should be equal to "admin"??? If I can update languages automatically, does this mean it complies requirements?

Ok, today Apps did, misteriously, return to working again! My server tells however me they didn't change anything. I didn't change anything either. And I'm quite sure the Apps people did not change anything either.

So here we are with one of those typical Drupal misteries again, that sometimes you do something exactly the same as the time before (or exactly as you are told to do) and even if the first time worked out, there absolutely no guarantee that the next time will work too. On the other hand you may do something completely wrong or random (or do nothing) and without reason some problem suddenly disappears.

I actually hoped for this to happen (definitely not the first time). On one hand very nice, because now I can continue with my project and my life. But on the other hand quite worrying, because you never know when this is going to happen again, although you do know it will happen. Just like earthquakes, volcanos and meteorites. So as always with Drupal, just hoping to live through it.

Still, if anyone would have some answer or even a hypothesis of why this might have happened it could avoid some days of worrying for other people.

added "for a second time" at the beginning