Missing Purchased Movies

Brief Description:

Several years ago when Apple had added the Apple TV app for macOS, this addition caused all purchased movies to suddenly disappear.

When you sync your Apple devices such as an iPhone or iPad, those purchased movies were suddenly gone without any warning.

While it may be tempting to simply re-download the purchases, sometimes the download is blocked by a price tag.

What I have described has recently happened to me and if you are also facing a similar situation, then here is the solution.

Locate the missing movies:

1. Open the Finder
2. Click File ▷ New Smart Folder
3. Click the plus ➕ icon
4. Click the dropdown list that shows "Any" and change it to "Movie"
5. Locate and click any of the movies that you had previously purchased
6. Press Command + R to open in an enclosing Finder tab or window

NOTE: All of your purchased movies should all appear in this folder.

Close all of the other Finder tabs or windows to clear the clutter.

If the Path Bar is not shown at the bottom of the Finder tab or window, then simply press Option + Command + P to show the Path Bar.

The path you see in the Path Bar is where your movies are currently located.

We will need to move them, but first, let's find the correct location.

Locate the correct location:

1. Open the Apple TV app on your Mac
2. Press Command + Comma (,) to open the Preferences dialog box
3. Click Files near the top of the dialog box
4. The path of the correct location is shown
5. Click anywhere in the Media folder location
6. Press Command + A to select the path displayed
7. Right-Click the highlighted text to display a dialog box
8. From the dialog box, select Services ▷ Show in Finder
9. Switch back to the Apple TV app and press the ESC key to close the dialog box
10. Press Command + Q to quit the Apple TV app for now
11. Switch back to the Finder tab or window
12. Select the movies that appear in the first Finder tab or window and drag them to the other Finder tab or window to move them.
13. Press Command + W to close the Finder tab or window that contains your movies
14. Click on the other (empty) Finder tab or window that had previously contained your movies and press Command + up arrow (↑)
15. Press Command + delete to move the folder to the Trash 🗑️
16. Press Command + W to close the Finder tab or window

Connect the files:

1. Open the Apple TV app on your Mac
2. Click on the Downloaded entry in the sidebar to reveal your purchased movies
3. If the icon view is not shown, then click View ▷ as Grid
4. Hover your mouse pointer over each movie and click on the overlay of a circle with 3 dots to reveal a shortcut menu
5. From the shortcut menu that appears, click Show in Finder
6. If you are prompted to find the file, then click it in the Finder that appears and click the button to confirm
7. Simply repeat for the remaining movies

Authorize the movies:

1. From the Apple TV app on your Mac, click Account ▷ Authorizations ▷ Authorize This Computer
2. From the dialog box that appears, click the Authorize button, enter your Apple ID password, then click the Authorize button

Remove the price tags:

If a previously purchased movie has a price tag in the Store, then that movie has been hidden.

Let's unhide those movies to unlock your purchases:

1. From the Apple TV app on your Mac, click Account ▷ Account Settings
2. From the dialog box that appears, enter your Apple ID Password
3. Under Downloads and Purchases, Hidden Purchases, click Manage
4. Click the Unhide button under the movie(s) you wish to unlock 🔓
5. When done, click Back to Account >, then scroll down and click the Done button.

Let's wrap this up:

1. Plug your iPhone or iPad into your Mac
2. Open a Finder window
3. Scroll down and click on your iPhone or iPad entry in the sidebar
4. Click the Sync button
5. When complete, simply press Command + E to eject the iPhone or iPad
6. Press Command + W to close the Finder window
7. Press Command + Shift + Delete, then press the Return key to empty the Trash 🗑️

Click ▶︎ Apple TV App User Guide. 📖