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App Store "Updates" looks very wrong

I'm on a mid-2012 Mac Pro (model MacPro5,1) running the latest version of macOS 10.13.6 (High Sierra). I have not installed any updates since March 31, 2021.

Yesterday (April 7, 2021), I received notification that an update is available, so I opened App Store with the intention of reviewing an installing updates. The Updates tab of App Store is very messed up, as shown in the attached screenshot. I've tried deleting plists, clearing caches, signing out/in, and other suggestions that I found via a Google search. But I'm stumped. Any help will be very much appreciated. Thanks!

Chris

Mac Pro

Posted on Apr 8, 2021 9:30 AM

Best reply

ChrisPixelZoom Author

Level 1

20 points

Posted on Apr 8, 2021 5:22 PM

Apple support suggested that I reinstall macOS 10.13.6, which I did following the instructions at https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204904. That did not fix the problem, and got me escalated to a tier 1 specialist.

The tier 1 specialist said that she had several reports of this today. We verified that the problem occurs in Safe Mode. This got me escalated to a tier 2 specialist.

While speaking with the tier 2 specialist, I remembered that I have an older MacBook Pro running macOS 10.11.6. This same problem occurs on that device. And there have been no changes to that device is months. So I have 2 older (and different) versions of macOS that spontaneously developed this problem.

On my wife's MacBook Pro running Catalina, there is no problem. On my newer MacBook Pro running Big Sur, there is no problem (and no Updates tab in App Store.)

So here's my theory about what is happening. The Updates tab contacts an Apple server, which responds with markup - probably HTML + CSS. I'll bet that markup is not being tested for older version of macOS, and is now broken. If App Store can't understand the markup (probably the CSS), then that would explain why it looks like a bad HTML page. It's doing its best to display HTML that it doesn't understand.

The tier 2 specialist said that there's nothing more he can do for me, and suggested that I post in this forum. It seems like I'll need to either wait for Apple to fix the problem (either on their server or via a patch), or live with an ugly Updates tab.

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44 replies

meO-Bp

Level 1

4 points

Jun 22, 2021 8:32 AM in response to ChrisPixelZoom

This remains a problem on each of my devices.

It is clearly a Server-side problem as a result of how the App Store is feeding the layout design for this page.

(As noted, other pages in the App Store do display correctly.)

How do we push this up so that Apple will prioritize a fix?? Surely they have the technical expertise to be able to build a basic Responsive web page that will display correctly in their own specialized browser environment (which is what the App Store is.)!

mlsmsw

Level 1

9 points

Jun 22, 2021 9:07 AM in response to meO-Bp

It is not a server problem, it is a greed problem. Apple wants our older hardware to become obsolete so that we are forced to buy new hardware. There is no "pushing up" or "prioritizing" that which Apple is well aware of and has designed to occur. Over time, you will find that more and more functions no longer function.

steve626

Level 6

10,217 points

Jun 22, 2021 9:23 AM in response to meO-Bp

meO-Bp wrote:

This remains a problem on each of my devices.

It is clearly a Server-side problem as a result of how the App Store is feeding the layout design for this page.

(As noted, other pages in the App Store do display correctly.)

How do we push this up so that Apple will prioritize a fix?? Surely they have the technical expertise to be able to build a basic Responsive web page that will display correctly in their own specialized browser environment (which is what the App Store is.)!

While the appearance of the App Store is not the same any more as it is on the more advanced MacOS versions, in High Sierra it still works. You can click on the buttons to upgrade, etc. I don't think there is anything to "fix" as the functionality is all still there. It is more of a cosmetic issue that stems from High Sierra not supporting the rendering now being used. It still works fine, however, there is nothing that needs fixing.

Jun 30, 2021 11:41 PM in response to BDAqua

Excellent! We had almost given up hope. This is a lesson in persistence. There must have been a lot of notes flowing into Apple Feedback. Still, it should not have taken three months to fix this! See how the problem was fixed without us (the client side) having to do anything? It was always a "server side" issue – a CSS file that had been deleted from Apple's s.mzstatic.com server.

We are "back in business" with maintaining our old Mac workhorses. This week, in fact, I am fixing my niece's 2010 MacBook Pro (corrupted rotational hard drive) and my sister's 2010 iMac (won't power on).

Fixing Macs is hardly my main business, however. My profit center is graphic design, web development and music production. I use a lot of different apps, some of which won't run on anything higher than Mohave. My 2009 Mac Pro (48 GB) does not support Metal so I am resting comfortably at what I consider the current "sweet spot" of MacOS versions – High Sierra.

Long live our old Macs!

I sent this note to Apple Feedback just three days ago (my second note, in fact):

Apple must restore CSS to the App Store Updates tab. It has looked wonky for three months on El Capitan, Sierra and High Sierra, on four of my Macs.

Do it NOW!

So many longtime Apple users are upset about what looks like a hacked App Store.

Call me at 612-XXX-XXXX and tell me that at least ONE Apple tech cares about restoring the missing CSS file on your s.mzstatic.com server.