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I wonder if anyone at Apple can give any insight as to when, or if ever, users with older machines and installing older macOS X versions using the recovery boot Command (⌘)-R, will again get some support from Apple instead of meeting the response "This item is temporarily unavailable".
<< I am not sure how I would get such entitlement and why I should need it? >>
Apple used to charge a substantial sum for its MacOS software. That was completely appropriate, based on how many people were required to produce, maintain, and support it. Microsoft still charges a non-trivial amount of money for Windows software.
Around about MacOS X 10.8, Apple decided to reduce the charge for MacOS. But they left in place the mechanism that you "purchased" macOS, they just reduced the cost to zero. There was still the tradition that you presented your Apple-ID in good standing, that you used a Macintosh computer with a valid serial number for the download, and then the software you received was modified as it was downloaded -- tagged with the Apple-ID of the "purchaser".
Later, if you went to re-load an older, non-current version of MacOS, The Mac App Store looked for it in your Apple-ID purchase History. If you never purchased that version, it was "unavailable..."
Readers here answered questions over the years about why the got the "item not available' message, and figured out the reason I posted above.
<< I am not sure how I would get such entitlement and why I should need it? >>
Apple used to charge a substantial sum for its MacOS software. That was completely appropriate, based on how many people were required to produce, maintain, and support it. Microsoft still charges a non-trivial amount of money for Windows software.
Around about MacOS X 10.8, Apple decided to reduce the charge for MacOS. But they left in place the mechanism that you "purchased" macOS, they just reduced the cost to zero. There was still the tradition that you presented your Apple-ID in good standing, that you used a Macintosh computer with a valid serial number for the download, and then the software you received was modified as it was downloaded -- tagged with the Apple-ID of the "purchaser".
Later, if you went to re-load an older, non-current version of MacOS, The Mac App Store looked for it in your Apple-ID purchase History. If you never purchased that version, it was "unavailable..."
Readers here answered questions over the years about why the got the "item not available' message, and figured out the reason I posted above.
We are fellow users and neither Apple, nor any product team participates in these public user supported communities. Thus, there is no inside Apple revelation or speculation about an internal Apple availability issue.
You may find more information by contacting Apple Support, or installing the iOS/iPadOS Apple Support App to communicate with Apple support. Mac - Official Apple Support
<<But they left in place the mechanism that you "purchased" macOS>>
The information in your your previous post is so very useful - I have spent hours and hours on this and was doing everything wrong.
I have two MacBookPro and I am aiming for El Capitan on the older one (MacBookPro5,3 I think is 2009) which currently has 10.6.3 running successfully twice over (two copies in two partitions). When I try to update to 10.6.8 it destroys the operating system and will no longer boot. This older laptop has had El Capitan on it a while back but it was unreliable - cannot remember where I got it from back then. It also will not boot from external disks. I followed advise on this about some setting to allow boot from external but it is already set to allow this.
The reason I would like El Capitan on it is because I have Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 on the Snow Leopard systems which I would like to migrate to another machine but the Migration Assistant on Snow Leopard 10.6.3 will not see other machines using wireless (the later MacBookPro has neither Firewire nor Ethernet ports).
On Snow Leopard 10.6.3 I have Firefox 48.0.2. I have always used the same Apple-ID but did not go to the App-Store to download - finding downloads from How to download macOS – Apple Support (UK) perhaps another mistake and also I was using my other MacBookPro.
However, I am thinking that one serious problem is that my Snow Leopard is 10.6.3 and I cannot get it to 10.6.8
Thank you so much for your postings the information in them is crucial for such projects. I may have another attempt shortly now that I am armed with new knowledge for the task.
Readers here are not Apple employees, so we are free to blurt out the blunt truth.
You posted only the first part of that message. If they had sent you the second part, it would say something like,
"until you present an Apple-ID entitled to download what you requested"
Thank you for your post - I was not aware of Apple non-participation - I had seen the Apple symbol against some postings which made me think they may be Apple staff. Thank you also of your mention of the iOS app.
To Grant
I am not sure how I would get such entitlement and why I should need it? There was no mention in the install process of any such entitlement needed - oh is that what you mean, that the installer maybe could have mentioned
"until you present an Apple-ID entitled to download what you requested"?
There is a team of Apple badged community specialists that directly support the Apple communities hosting team by responding to posts in these communities. They are not members of any product team, and cannot divulge internal Apple information, or why you received that product unavailable message.
What version MacOS are you trying to download?
What browser running in what version of MacOS are you using to make the purchase?
What Mac from what model-year are you using?
are you using the same Apple-ID you used to install when you opened the box from new?
Once you have 10.6.3 installed, you should be able to use its internal software update function to update-in-place. If you want any software by download, you must do so.
Once you get to 10.6.8, you need to keep applying any software update available in the same way until there are no more. At that point, you finally have the Mac App Store that can handle downloads of later versions, up to about 10.11 El Capitan.
10.7 was never freely available, so if you never [literally] purchased it, skip it and ask for a somewhat later version.
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When you get to the point you want 10.11 El Capitan or later, be sure to install 10.11 El Capitan as a waypoint. It contains the later version of the Mac App Store required for downloading anything later than 10.11 El Capitan.
This item is temporarily unavailable -- for how long Apple?
