macOS 10.14.6 Mojave - can't update mac apps from the Apple Mac Store

While running App Store go to Activity Monitor app and force kill appstoreagent process.

Starting download/update again everythig works as expected, but until quit App Store,

then problem apear again.

"While running App Store go to Activity Monitor app and force kill appstoreagent process.

Starting download/update again everythig works as expected, but until quit App Store,

then problem apear again."

Can confirm the above works.

Hi Marek_137! You, sir, are a genius!! Thank you so much...your solution works beautifully! I was finally able to update WhatsApp. Let's hope Apple get this sorted out in an update or a patch! Regards, Ian.

" I started to try the Activity Monitor workaround but I saw nothing called "appstoreagent process" in the subcategories of App Store in Activity mMonitor."

Go to "CPU" kategory and check "all processes in'' "view" menu.

It must be there...

If Apple did this intentionally (which I still don't think they did but who knows), for the purpose of making someone go out and spend their hard earned dollars to replace perfectly good hardware, then F--- them.

I got tired of waiting around to see if Apple would fix this issue, so I decided to tinker...

Yep, that's Big Sur 11.2.2 running on a 2010 Mac Pro. Mojave was the last supported OS for this machine, but two can play at this game...

I don't have great news for you, but misery does love company.

I've tested this across several machines and the Mojave Security Update 2021-002 10.14.6 seems to have broken the App Store's ability to download or update apps

Another way you can test to see if this is a problem is to click on your user name from within the App Store app. It will show all your previous purchases, however, instead of an "open" oval, everything will look like a download cloud. I believe this is because there is no manifest.plist file to tell the App Store what apps you have.

I have an active case with Apple engineering and will be happy to update folks when I get information.

In the meantime, if you have Mojave (and perhaps Catalina) and have not yet applied the latest security patch, I would advise against it.

I still have one machine where it remains unpatched and hopefully the Mojave Security Update 2021-002 10.14.6 patch will disappear, as a first indicator that Apple realizes they have made a mistake. My guess is they will either reissue Mojave Security Update 2021-001 10.14.6 or, more likely, release an emergency patch of Mojave Security Update 2021-003 10.14.6

Bottom line, Mojave Security Update 2021-002 10.14.6 = no bueno

Based on other users' testing, this is a pre-SU2 issue and is likely on Apple's end; perhaps a certificate issue.

Someone already reinstalled Mojave 18G103 which is a pre-patch, pre-COVID distro and the issue remains. This tells us that the last 2021-002 update which was released on 9 February has nothing to do with it. Personally, I recall being able to update applications just a few days ago and I had installed 2021-002 the day it was released.

More info here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/suddenly-unable-to-update-or-download-from-appstore.2285116/page-2

I am also running Mojave 10.14.6, because I need it for a 32-bit app for which there is no 64-bit alternative, and I installed the latest security update about a week ago, and even though I have an update notice on the App Store icon on the dock it won't update. I was able to download an app about two weeks ago, but now I see the download button for most of the other apps I've already downloaded. I can't download any apps, even if they're not downloaded already nor can I update them. I started to try the Activity Monitor workaround but I saw nothing called "appstoreagent process" in the subcategories of App Store in Activity mMonitor.

I sometimes think Apple purposely creates issues or doesn't take enough time to work them out for updates to older OS because they don't care about them and they want people to update there operating system, but that's not feasible for everyone and is rather high-handed of Apple. If I have to update to the newest operating system eventually, I will just buy new computer and use my current one to be able to use the 32 bit app I need. I still have a mid 2012 MacBook Pro that I never updated past Mavericks 10.9.5, and they broke Safari working on YouTube for 1080p video with their latest update for that--the update for Safari did not include HTML5--it was in the operating system for El Capitan--and YouTube deactivated flash player in that Safari update.

I thought they used to be a way to edit posts but don't see that function now. I wanted to edit a typo or two and mention that Mavericks is running on an older computer, not the one I'm using now, but I guess that's an obvious since I said I was still using Mojave. PS now I see where the edit function is, under the down arrow below the post. I think it used to be somewhere else, maybe; I don't it's, been a while since my last post here.

Well, it wasn't in CPU, but it was under Network. I force quit appstoreagent, and then the app updated right away when I pressed the button. but it is NordVPN IKE and it acted very weird it's a VPN when I tried to connect to a country, asking neagent once access to private Keychain login password information, but I wasn't sure which password it wanted but it was not accepting any and when I copied my app login password from Keychain and pasted it it froze up with a spinning wheel; finally I was able to quit everything but the app was moving very slowly when I selected a country and not connecting, so I quit again and then shut my computer off and waited 10 seconds and restarted and then everything was working perfectly with no password asked for. I opened the app store and it showed the option to open the app, which I didn't do, I closed the app store, opened it again and it was backed to not showing the right information, or maybe it showed that I could open the app before I restarted my computer, I don't really remember. But at least now I know a workaround, so thanks for that. Are you sure that appstoreagent was other CPU on your system? As I mentioned, it was under Network in mine.

I just got off the phone with Apple tech support.  Engineering is aware of the issue, however the rep said that the more people that call and provide information will help narrow things down.  That said, I suggest everyone affected give Apple a call.  It'll take less than 10 minutes and you'll be provided with a case number.  At the very least, you'll be able to get status updates as to a fix if you provide your email.

Remember, Apple engineers might read the community forums, but don't usually respond.

I tried that kill appstoreagent trick again, but I couldn't find appstoreagent listed, even under Network--I saw something called usereventagent, and I killed that, questions into do anything but after restarting my computer it looked like the notations for the apps for back to normal but it turns out they didn't work to open the app server anything, and then after closing and opening the App Store again they we're back to their original malfunction. Opening the app store and checking activity monitor again, I briefly saw appstoreagent, but then it disappeared seemingly replaced by usereventagent. I'm not sure what's going on with that, I saw also saw in activity monitor of App store,, expressvpnd, which is strange because I do not have ExpressVPN but I downloaded it from their website. I also have NordVPN IKE, which is from the App store, but is the one I couldn't update until I cried your workaround.

I thought I had posted this reply a little earlier but doesn't seem to have gone through (Edit: now it's showing up after I posted this.) I tried use the workaround again and I couldn't find appstoreagent, even under Network, but saw usereventagent, so I killed that and it seemed to allow the button to open the apps after I restarted my computer but they didn't function, and after closing the app store and opening it again it was back to the previous nonfunctioning download buttons. I tried the process again and I briefly saw appstoreagent, but then it disappeared, seemingly replaced with usereventagent. I'm not sure what's going on with that.