Cannot get anything from iTunes Store

[IWT]

My iMac specs are shown under my avatar.

iTunes opens and operates perfectly except that when I click on Store (as opposed to Library) and enter anything in the Search Field, I get no response.

All my previous searches are listed, but, equally clicking on them does not yield any results. This is true for all media types.

In effect the iTunes Store has stopped working. This started 3 days ago. I initially thought this might be a Server issue with Apple. But it persists.

What I have done so far:

1. Reinstalled a fresh version of iTunes.
2. Signed out of my iTunes account - rebooted the iMac - signed in to my account.
3. Re-authorised my iMac - this was confirmed.
4. Run OnyX with reboot.

All other iTunes function normally including iPhone BUs etc

My iMac behaves normally in all respects and DriveDx gives my iMac's Internal SSD an Overall Health Rating of 100% and an SSD Lifetime Left Indicator of 92%

Free Space on my SSD is 490GB out of 1TB.

What am I doing wrong? Because I feel that somehow it's something I've neglected, something simple.

Any help welcomed with open arms.

Ian

 

[pine man]

I can't really help other than to let you know that what you are doing is NOT wrong.

I don't use iTunes very often BUT carrying out the procedure you have described enables me to search and get results from the Store. What I did notice is that when I do a search I get a pop-down window below the search window offering me a further choice allowing me to search EITHER The Library or The Store. Either choice gives me a result.

Do I qualify for the 'Open Arms"?

 

[chscag]

An announcement on MacRumors several days ago stated that the iTunes Store and the Mac App Store were down. No reason was given for the downtime by Apple except to say that now everything is back to normal. This, however, referred to the US versions of the stores. I don't know if that had any effect on the UK versions.

I'm assuming that when you say you signed out of your account, you also signed out of iCloud? I just checked a bit ago and the iTunes store is available.

 

[IWT]

Thank you Peter and Charlie for your interest and support. I appreciate that very much.

I'm relieved to hear that maybe it's not my ignorance or fault. That said, I've not read of this being a widespread problem, especially here in the UK.

To answer your specific comment, Charlie, I only signed out of my iTunes account and back in again after a reboot. And, my iMac is most definitely authorised and I can add music to iTunes from a CD. Indeed, iTunes behaves normally in every regard bar the Store.

Because I go back a bit in Apple terms, my email address and PW are different for iTunes than for iCloud. I started with a .mac account, then a .me account, then an .iCloud account.

Sounds complicated, but, in fact it now comes down to: home email address + PW for iTunes and maybe Apple Store (not sure on that point); and example.me.com + PW for all iCloud services.

I shall keep you all posted on this. I do, of course, have AppleCare Plus which is still valid so I can resort to Apple assistance if the problem persists; but for now, I like keeping it "in the family", ie our Forums.

Ian

 

[pm-r]

According to this UK System Status, everything is up and working when I just checked:
Apple - Support - System Status


- Patrick
======

 

[MacInWin]

Because I go back a bit in Apple terms, my email address and PW are different for iTunes than for iCloud. I started with a .mac account, then a .me account, then an .iCloud account.

Sounds complicated, but, in fact it now comes down to: home email address + PW for iTunes and maybe Apple Store (not sure on that point); and example.me.com + PW for all iCloud services.

Sorry for being so late to this particular party, but if it's still an issue, the differing account (.mac, .me and .icloud are, in fact, all the same. And I think logging into the store should work with ANY of them as all of them should have the same password. At least that's how it works when I do that. I don't know if that helps at all with the store issue or not. What I would suggest is to call Apple and see if they can give any suggestions on what might be happening. It could be something on their end with your account changed, or some setting on your end. Not that it helps you, but on my Mojave system I just opened the US store from iTunes just fine. It's only music now, as all apps are in the store directly from the iDevice, but it did open.

 

[IWT]

Jake, I am immensely grateful to you for your PM and your wise reply above.

To add to the confusion, perhaps, if I add music to iTunes via CD, this is captured by iTunes Match and uploaded accordingly (I don't have Apple Music, but have had iTunes Match which I pay for, for some years).

As regards signing in: My account is linked to [email protected] with a PW.

If I sign into my account to get my iTunes details using [email protected] + PW, it conforms that (a) [email protected] is my correct address (b) it conforms all my payment details (c) that my iMac is authorised (d) shows me my special names as a security check - and so on.

If I log in with my Apple ID - [email protected] + PW, it says Welcome to iTunes and invites me to start a new account.

Therefore, my account details are correct, verified etc, but still don't allow me to access the iTunes Store.

As per your advice, it's a call to Apple.....

Thank you ever so much.

Ian

 

[pm-r]

Therefore, my account details are correct, verified etc, but still don't allow me to access the iTunes Store.

As per your advice, it's a call to Apple.....

GOOD LUCK and I send you all my hopes and prayers. I just hope it might help a bit and get the problem sorted out. Permanently!!!


- Patrick
======

 

[IWT]

Thank you, Patrick. You are most kind.

I did phone Apple this afternoon to learn that all iTunes Store/Apple Store/Apple ID/accounts problems are only supported online at - Get Support

Duly followed that advice. Turns out that you have to select a category of difficulty; which I did. Then, in 250 words max, explain your problem. Which I did. I can expect an email response within 48 hours.

You can imagine my excitement. Only 44 hours to go, and then an answer. I jest, of course

Now, I could, I suppose, have reported this as an iMac problem as the iTunes Store issue only affects my iMac; but (a) it's not really an iMac problem so much as an iTunes Store Account problem and (b) my AppleCare+ on my iMac expired 3 months ago.

We wait and see. I shall post back.

Thanks guys.

Ian

 

[pm-r]

Then, in 250 words max, explain your problem. Which I did. I can expect an email response within 48 hours. ...
... ... ...
We wait and see. I shall post back.

Thanks guys.
Ian

Oh right... I can see the reply now...


Thank you for contacting us STOP

Don't hold breath waiting for resolution STOP

Expect reply only when stating your problem in proper area STOP

Proper area will not be stated for this type of problem STOP

Use of proper area will not be allowed until original problem resolved STOP

Thank you for contacting Apple STOP

You will now know and appreciate why we are #1 in customer support help and assistance. STOP

Regards,

- Patrick
======

 

[IWT]

FOLLOW UP

I did get an email reply within about 12 hours. Excellent. It linked to an online Apple Site telling me what to do if I can't access iTunes Store. I had read this many times and followed all their advice. So no advancement so far.

BUT, there was a telephone number! Wow.

Phone, spoke to a delightful lady who took mr through everything.

And gave me the solution - wait for it - I have to upgrade to macOS Mojave in order to get access to iTunes Store. Apparently, even on macOS High Sierra, only one version behind the current I cannot get iTunes Store. New "rules" dictate that only the latest version of iTunes which comes with Mojave, will allow access to iTunes Store.

Can this be true? Apparently so. She confirmed this with a higher tier in the Apple Support system.

The reason all our iPhones/iPads work okay with the Store is because they are up to date (12.4). My iMac is not.

I have plans in place to deal with this. Will post back when I get Mojave.

Thank you all, my friends, for your patience & support.

Ian

 

[IWT]

ADDENDUM

I've just checked on my wife's MacBook Pro running macOS Sierra and she CAN access the iTunes Store and purchase music with the same version of iTunes as I have on High Sierra; so this advice that I must have macOS Mojave seems dodgy.

Any comments?

Ian

 

[MacInWin]

Yeah, I'm surprised that the recommendation was to move to Mojave. Just to be sure, we're talking the iTunes Store, right, not the Mac App Store? There really isn't anything in the iTunes Store anymore, other than music. No apps.

I'd call that number again and report that your wife is getting there just fine on Sierra and see what they say. Maybe you'll get a different tech support person this time.

 

[pm-r]

ADDENDUM

I've just checked on my wife's MacBook Pro running macOS Sierra and she CAN access the iTunes Store and purchase music with the same version of iTunes as I have on High Sierra; so this advice that I must have macOS Mojave seems dodgy.

Any comments?

Ian

I couldn't help thinking " that's BS" when I first read what you posted about Apple's reasoning, and that's now confirmed by the experience your wife had.

If I sign into my account to get my iTunes details using [email protected] + PW, it conforms that (a) [email protected] is my correct address (b) it conforms all my payment details (c) that my iMac is authorised (d) shows me my special names as a security check - and so on.

If I log in with my Apple ID - [email protected] + PW, it says Welcome to iTunes and invites me to start a new account.

Therefore, my account details are correct, verified etc, but still don't allow me to access the iTunes Store.

I dare say as I read the details, unless I'm misunderstanding something, it seems that your account details are NOT correct and only your [email protected] account is valid.

Unless your "[email protected] + PW" is also shown as a secondary name foe access if that's even possible.



- Patrick
======

 

[IWT]

You are correct, Patrick. My iTunes and Apple Store accounts (only) are linked to [email protected].

As stated before, I can get into my account, see all the PW details, credit card details, Authorised Macs and much more. So the Account is fine. But the iTunes Store continues to evade me.

@Jake, I tried phoning back, but they were closed for the rest of the weekend.

I have "a cunning plan"** and by next week will have sorted this out myself or contrariwise.

** For those you ever saw or followed "Blackadder", a British TV sitcom which I'm pretty sure crossed the Atlantic.

Ian

 

[dtravis7]

Ian, I just tried the iTunes store on my 2010 iMac with High Sierra. Got in and searching worked like normal. Someone at Apple must be wrong.

 

[ferrarr]

Could it have something to do with 2 Factor Authentication vs 2 Step Verification? Which do your accounts have?

 

[dtravis7]

Could it have something to do with 2 Factor Authentication vs 2 Step Verification? Which do your accounts have?

Good question. I know I am using 2FA here.

 

[pm-r]

You are correct, Patrick. My iTunes and Apple Store accounts (only) are linked to [email protected].

As stated before, I can get into my account, see all the PW details, credit card details, Authorised Macs and much more. So the Account is fine. But the iTunes Store continues to evade me.

Do I understand correctly that there are just no options to select anything from any of the iTunes selection areas???

Maybe set up a new admin testuser, and see what shows up when logged into the iTunes account???

Or maybe you have something blocking the iTunes from showing anything???>

What about trying by booting into safe boot mode???

But that looks like you have a plan. So I shall await the outcome...


EDIT:
BTW: You said:

1. Reinstalled a fresh version of iTunes.

What version of iTunes are you using???



- Patrick
======

 

[IWT]

F/U

Further online chat with Apple who, with due respect, are not giving up on this.

I have repeatedly, and politely, suggested that their advice is incorrect. They linked me to a fresh download of iTunes which turns out to be the same version as I have and which I have replaced twice before. (12.8.2.3). Still no iTunes Store. And they stubbornly stick to the Mojave upgrade theory. Were are still in discussion. Slow process.

Patrick I went into Safe Mode - still doesn't work. But something I learnt from the Safe Boot which might be of interest to others:

If you have a Bluetooth (BT) Keyboard and if your Mac still has a chime, wait till you hear the chime before holding down the Shift Key. This is because BT is not recognised/engaged until you hear the chime. Don't hold down Shift from the start. It didn't work.

If you don't have a chime (soundless newer Macs), then you have to gauge when the startup process begins, then hold down Shift; or use a wired KB where you can use Shift from the beginning.

Although Safe Boot had no effect on my iTunes Store problem, it did achieve something else.

In Safe Mode, I understand that the process of booting up also involves carrying out various cache clearances etc, etc. In my case, it solved a fair number of minor irritating inconveniences, some instances of delayed responses, the odd sluggish behaviour. In short, the iMac is behaving like new. Useful to know and may be worth considering for those niggling problems.

I have one or two things to do yet within "my cunning plan". Further F/U coming.

Ian