App store broken again on 10.14.6 - Unable to Download or Update Apps

Question

App store broken again on 10.14.6 - Unable to Download or Update Apps

I can't download anything, nor update any applications via the App Store on 10.14.6. I found several online discussions back around Sep 2020 with the exact same issue. It seems Apple pushed out a supplemental update around that time with solved many of the issues. I have that update and the latest version 10.14.6. I just noticed this issue tonight when I was attempting to update Slack and trying to install a few Safari Extensions.

I can't do either. It just shows loading forever (e.g. the grey loading circle just goes around and around and nothing happens). Extremely frustrating. Tried rebooting, PRAM and SMC resets. Logging in and out of App Store account. Tried deleting the valid.sqlite3 files. Tried creating a new user on the Mac and logging in with my App Store account, same result.

What's the deal? It almost seems like these bugs are self inflicted so that we get so frustrated and upgrade to new devices because the older operating systems are being injected with bugs that make the OS unusable.

MacBook Pro Retina

Posted on Feb 20, 2021 11:56 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

quartermarsh

Level 1

4 points

Feb 25, 2021 10:46 PM in response to americanninjaXX

Yup. It’s broken. Don’t waste your time on workarounds - file a feedback and cross your fingers. I know that the conventional wisdom is that filing feedback is useless but it really is the only effective recourse. They do read them. And numbers count for this kind of global (as in: all mojave users) problem. For a run down on the issue see Jeff Johnson’s blog at Lapcat Software:

https://lapcatsoftware.com/articles/mas-updates.html (note that the problem is even worse now than it was on Dec. 29 2020 when that blog post went up).

And yes, I’ve tried all the tricks I’ve learned as a 35 year Mac user. Spend your time filing feedback reports instead.

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Answer 2

Feb 23, 2021 12:00 AM in response to americanninjaXX

I remained shocked that nobody else has commented. I guess it's just me and ZBR with this issue. lol.

Anyway, I have gone ahead and upgraded to Catalina (10.15.6). After upgrading, voila, the app store magical works again. I was able to upgrade the apps that were outdated and I could finally install the Safari extensions I was trying to install. However, one problem, I don't want to be on Catalina.

So I have now confirmed that after installing a fresh copy of Mojave 10.14.5 AND 10.14.6, the App store does not allow you to download any new software or update your apps. This has nothing to do with my specific machine. After upgrading to Catalina, I can then do what I could not do in the app store (download apps and upgrade outdated apps).

This appears to be 100% on Apple blocking users with Mojave from using the app store. Can someone else confirm this? So is Apple really blocking users and forcing them to update their macbooks in the same manner they do with iphones. When is this type of behavior considered illegal? Why are there no class action lawsuits around this type of thing.

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Answer 3

Feb 26, 2021 9:26 AM in response to quartermarsh

Workaround from other "Using App Store" threads: With the app store open use activity monitor to force quit "appstoreagent" then proceed with updates. Works until app store is quit. In the case of a browser extension it may generate a problem report but there will be no ill effects.

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Answer 4

Mar 8, 2021 12:20 PM in response to americanninjaXX

Well this is balderdash....same problem here. Can't download an amateur radio app--talked to the developer--it is the app store refusing to allow 10.14.16, etc. ugh!

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Answer 5

zbr

Level 1

9 points

Feb 21, 2021 12:20 AM in response to americanninjaXX

I have the exact same question, running 10.14.6. Can't seem to download anything from the App Store: the grey circle just spins indefinitely, or occasionally returns to the cloud icon.

Very frustrating!

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Answer 6

Feb 21, 2021 12:29 AM in response to zbr

I'm downloading 10.14.5 right now and prepping a USB disk. You can't trust Apple anymore. They either push updates that slow down your device so that you trash a perfectly working piece of H/W for another or they introduce bugs that make the OS unusable. It's either that, or they can no longer keep their servers working properly and we are just experiencing another outage. Downloading the 14.5 image now and going to sleep. I'll have a solution by the time I wake up tomorrow one way or another. Pathetic.

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Answer 7

Feb 21, 2021 11:07 PM in response to americanninjaXX

Another update. I didn't want to wait for an update on this thread, so I just went ahead and downloaded a copy of Mojave 10.14.5 and did a completely fresh (reformat HD) install. After the install was finished, I logged into my account through App Store and attempted to install the Safari extensions. SAME ISSUE! Loading icon spins indefinitely, nothing downloads, nothing installs. What's the deal!?! This is a fresh install. Internet is working. I'm typing this message on the freshly install OS. Is the App Store down? Did Apple block users from using the App Store on Mojave and older OS. This makes no sense.

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Answer 8

Feb 24, 2021 8:29 AM in response to americanninjaXX

I can confirm the facts. App Store with operating system El Capitan or Mojave has not worked for about two weeks. Catalina yes. Phone support could not help further. Poking in the fog. If Apple stopped supporting the App Store for Mojave, there would definitely be an official discontinuation. So no idea where it is stuck.

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Answer 9

NFowler

Level 1

8 points

Feb 26, 2021 10:20 AM in response to quartermarsh

This hack worked for me this morning, finally, using Mojave 10.14.6 (18G8022).

If Apple can't keep their own App Store working properly, dismantle it and let us go directly to the 3-rd party vendor for SW and SW updates!!

I've been a sole Mac user since 1986, but it has never been this bad. Things used to "Just Work" but these days, not so much. Scared to try Catalina and Big Sur....just awful reports of poor user experiences.

And they think we will buy a car from this company?

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Answer 10

zbr

Level 1

9 points

Feb 21, 2021 11:58 PM in response to americanninjaXX

I'm surprised this hasn't got more attention too. Does anyone else have this problem? Can't download anything, just a grey circle spinning indefinitely.

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