App Store: Major outage in old macOS versions worries users
For days, it was not possible to log in to Apple's app store – with serious consequences for apps purchased there. Now it seems to be working again.
(Image: Mac & i)
The App Store in older macOS versions is creaking considerably. Over the past few days, a growing number of users have reported that it is suddenly no longer possible to log in with their Apple ID or Apple account. The first such problem reports were heard in US forums over a week ago. The error messages included "An unexpected error occurred while signing in. The data couldn't be read because it isn't in the correct format" and a "plist parsing error".
Apps could no longer be opened
Such a failure can have serious consequences for apps that users have purchased from the App Store: Some programs could no longer be started and required users to log in to the App Store again, as frustrated users explained. Logging in then failed, of course, and the software remained unusable for several days. Updates for other apps could still be downloaded in some cases – at least as long as you were still logged into the App Store.
More than a week later, Apple seems to have solved the problem: since Friday afternoon, access has apparently been working again, as readers and developers have reported. Mac & i was able to reproduce this in virtualized versions of the old operating systems and logging in worked normally again.
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macOS versions up to 10.14 affected
According to the reports, several older macOS versions up to and including macOS 10.14 Mojave, released in fall 2018, which Apple provided with patches until 2021, were affected. The errors apparently did not occur under macOS 10.15 Catalina and newer versions. The long-lasting disruption triggered speculation that Apple had simply ended App Store support in the old macOS versions –. Apparently there were also misleading statements of this kind from Apple Customer Service.
The reason for the disruption remains unclear, as the manufacturer has not yet commented on it. Apple made a certificate change to the App Store at the end of January. These certificates are used to sign App Store receipts, which developers can use to ensure that their apps have been purchased correctly. However, it can be assumed that Apple made further changes which then paralyzed the App Store registration process in old macOS versions.
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