Q: ITunes keeps asking me for a password to "Sign in to use this computer for automatic downloads"

This appears to have resolved what, for me, was becoming a very frustrating, pestering, and time-consuming annoyance!

Many thanks for offering this very helpful advice.

Hello. As I have mentioned in earlier posts, If you reset Safari or remove cookies that iTunes uses from Safari preferences, iTunes may ask for your Apple ID when you open it next. This is expected behavior. I will again recommend that if you want to change this behavior of signing into iTunes, please place your feedback to Apple. Apple's official statement concerning this issue was posted on April 17, 2012, Article TS3388.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3388?viewlocale=en_US

I just found the solution to this on another Apple community post. I followed the instructions and it worked after I relaunched iTunes.

Open iTunes, click the iTunes top menu > Preferences > Advanced and click reset warnings and reset cache. Close iTunes and relaunch it. You will have a 'what's new with iTunes 10' pop up but once you close that - your problem should be solved.

@Mat Morris 1987

Thanks, works so far.

This answer is the correct solution.

1. First, go to iTunes preferences (Command + ,).
2. Under the "Store" tab be certain that "Automatically check for available downloads" is deselected.
3. Close and relaunch iTunes.
4. From the prompt to log in enter your iTunes password.
5. Once logged in you will see your iTunes account name displayed in the upper right hand corner.
6. At the far right click the drop down triangle and click log out.
7. Close and relaunch iTunes.

Your mysterious login prompt should now be history!

Sign in with your password and click Keep Me Logged In or you don't have to type password every time.

This worked for me too.  Thank you jkrisp21.

Thanks Steve Knepp. This fixed it for me. Matt Morris' solution did not work, FYI.

iTunes > Store menu > Authorize This Computer...

This solution worked for me months ago but recently the problem returned (I suspect due to itunes 11 release even though I have not upgraded) and it still works now. It takes less than a minute so just try it!

My Mac has been free of this unwelcome prompt for several weeks now.  Here is what I did:  I launched iTunes and signed in to the iTunes store using my Apple ID and password.  I went into "Account" and clicked the "Reset all Warnings for Buying and Downloading" buttom at bottom.  I clicked DONE.  Then I clicked my Apple ID which is displayed at upper right, and then clicked SIGN OUT in the window that appears.  That's it.  I can now reset Safari all I want and the prompt does not return -- or not yet anyway!  Good luck -- it worked for me.

Another possible solution.  My iTunes started doing this recently (apparently whenever there was a download available for download onto my Mac), most likely after an update to my Mac OS or iTunes.  While looking for solutions in iTunes and on my Mac, I found that I was no longer logged in with my Apple ID within the App Store application.  After I logged into the App Store application, I was no longer promted to login within iTunes.

Here is a solution that I believe is working for me. 

My issue has been that I have a script that runs every 6 hours, at login, and 5am everyday.  It will push iTunes to perform a "Check for Available Downloads."  I also have an email rule that looks for the "A new episode of...." subject email and will ask for the check.  The objective is to not have to wait for downloads and always have my new content downloaded without me interacting. 

Recently I will come to my iMac and find I have iTunes in the forefront asking for my AppleID information.  It will have the ID prefilled, but the password needs to be verified.

I browsed may threads like this one, and it pointed me in a few directions that have thusfar proved useful.

First go to Safari, Preferences, and under Privacy Delete all Website data. 

Second in Sarari Preferences, go to Passwords.  Look for any entry you do not recognize and/or has an Apple rooted domain name.  For example appleid.apple.com or store.apple.com.  You can do 1 of two things: Click "show password" and verify the informaiton is correct for that domain - OR - REMOVE the entry.

What I found was Safari had remembered a few INCORRECTLY entered atttempts, as well as someone else's Apple ID that was entered and had been saved locally. 

My theory is the prompt was not a BUG, but rather the unlucky fact the first remembered entry iTunes was trying to use for your Apple ID happened to be an incorrect one.  So instead of trying other entries, it prompts.  This is good because it could lead to locking you out of an account without ever the chance to enter and save the correct entry.

For those having this issue, give this ago and see if it helps.  Thusfar, I did it, re-opened iTunes, did a check for downloads and it did not prompt me additionally for my AppleID.  I was still signed in to the AppStore and iTunes store, and the computer was still authorized to the machine. 

So the above worked for a very limited amount of time.  I am guessing it worked right off due to a time limit on the "remember me."  I am currently trying ttwo other solutions I have uncovered:

1. I changed my password to something a little more complex.  Before I was 6 all lower case letters.  Now I have upper/lower case, numbers, and special charcters.  I read that weak passwords may drive challenges more often??  Probably not, but I did need to strengthen my password either way. 
2. I went into the keychain utility, searched on iTunes, found the iTunes Password.  I made sure it had the new APPLE ID password I setup.  I then clicked into Access Control.  I then removed the restriction for access as well as made sure iTunes was in the list of allowed apps to request the KeyChain info. 

I will see after a longer period of time if this still works.  I am pretty much over this issue.  I went to all the trouble of setting up a script that could run out of email and the chron regularly to check for downloads.  That way my TV shows would always be downloaded by the time I would wake up.  With this wrench in the setup, I cme to my iMac to find iTunes icon jumping up and down, prompts all over my screen asking for password entry, etc...  So very much defeats the ppurpose of the script if I have to enter a password.  My iMac is in a secure location of the house, locks with a password, and sits behind 2 firewalls, plus keychain is encrypted anyway.  So I dont get why if I want to NOT have to enter the password I would be forced to over and over again.  Very much counter productive to those of us wanting some sort of automation with TV Show downloads on Season passes as the TV shows become available. 

I had a problem with iTunes on Windows not remembering my password and continually prompting with popup warning windows but I have fixed it now by closing iTunes then go to C:\Program Files (x86), find the folder named iTunes, right click on it, go down to Properties, switch across to the tab labelled Security, in the window Group or User names select Users ([COMPUTERNAME]/Users), just underneath it says To Change Permissions Click Edit click on the button marked Edit, in the Security popup select Users, the window underneath shows Permissions For Users click on Full Control - Allow. When Allow is selected all Allow boxes should now have ticks in them. Save and exit by clicking OK and OK.

Now when you make changes or click OK on popup warnings in iTunes they should be remembered because you have given the User (you) the ability to make changes to the iTunes program folder.

Can someone recommend a replacement to iTunes.

I am not interested in the constant barrage of junk crap Apple is throwing at me.  I just want to use iTunes, once in a blue moon to back up and restore.

What I need is a good music organizer to play music on my computer, including flac files that I have not used in years.