Unable to Download from App Store after Mac OS Mojave Security Update 2021-002

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Level 1

9 points

Unable to Download from App Store after Mac OS Mojave Security Update 2021-002

I recently installed the Mac OS Mojave Security Update 2021-002 on my MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015). Since the Mac restarted, I have been unable to download or update any Apps via the App Store. All I see is a faint grey spinning wheel — which spins endlessly. I did many troubleshooting steps: logging out and in, updating the payment information in my Apple account, restarting the machine, resetting the NVRAM and read several forums, but to no avail.

After multiple attempts, re-installed the OS 10.14.6 (today on Feb 23, 2021) but the same issue persists!! :-( Am not sure if the issue is with the OS update or with Apple servers. Have lost a lot of time doing this when I should be working / being productive instead.

Have you faced the same/similar issue? Would appreciate any help. Thanks in advance.

Posted on Feb 23, 2021 11:45 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

amstel78

Level 1

108 points

Feb 23, 2021 12:43 PM in response to MayankBee

Apple broke something with regards to the App Store and Mojave. It's not just you. I also don't believe it's update related as others have performed clean installs with distros prior to the SU2021-002 update and App Store is still borked. Fortunately, you can workaround it until Apple fixes it.

When App Store is running, kill the appstoreagent process. See screen shot. Once that process has been terminated, you should be able to download updates or new apps. You can find the process under the CPU tab of activity monitor.

Bear in mind that this workaround only works for as long as the App Store is running. Once you quit and reopen the App Store, you will need to kill the appstoreagent process again.

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Answer 2

MayankBee Author

Level 1

9 points

Feb 23, 2021 8:34 PM in response to amstel78

amstel78, that solved my issue, like magic!! I can't thank you enough and appreciate very much your kindness. But at the same time, it is sad to realize that there is a 'fundamental problem' at the core of Mac Os Mojave (since App Sore is a functionality integral to the OS). More than loss of productivity (I spent hours troubleshooting), it results in loss of 'faith' in the OS. Can we trust Apple to fix this issue? I hope they do..

Thanks a ton again!

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Answer 3

steve626

Level 6

10,217 points

Mar 1, 2021 4:17 PM in response to Raymond2008

If you can't download from the cloud -- are you meaning here your iCloud account? -- then something else may be going on in your case. The App Store functions separately from iCloud storage. Can you log into your iCloud account directly through a browser?

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Answer 4

Mar 2, 2021 5:10 AM in response to steve626

I am talking about when I go to the AppStore app and go to my account there is a list of purchased items, some of which have the cloud symbol with the down arrow. When I click on the down arrow it does nothing. I don't know if that is normal. I have no problem with iCloud storage. In my previous problem, I restarted my computer and tried to up-date the program and it took about 5 minutes but I was successful. Thanks.

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Answer 5

MacMom

Level 2

268 points

Mar 2, 2021 12:12 PM in response to Raymond2008

Are you sure it's not working? When you try quitting appstoreagent repeatedly, do you ever get the icon in App Store when an update is being install that shows that the app is downloading? That's what happened to me, though the install downloaded much more slowly than usual. When I saw it I thought it was working, but the App Store was still showing me updates, so I thought it hadn't worked for me. However, when I checked the version of the installed app, it turned out my apps had updated, but the App Store wasn't updating to show me that the apps had been updated; the only way I could fix that was getting rid of the App Store cache.

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