I get the message "com.apple.extensionKit.errorDomain error 15." on my MacBook Pro macOS Ventura when I try to access Internet Accounts.

Hi!

I was having this problem (and some others) on my primary admin User account. I finally figured out a simple fix I hadn't seen anyone else mention.

Solution Summary

I created a NEW USER ADMIN ACCOUNT. After I created the new admin account, I realized it was NOT having the same problems as my corrupted original admin account.

Problem Cause and Symptoms

The problems I'd been experiencing on my original admin account were caused by me messing around with some permissions and making a broad change by accident across my Users folder. Here are some examples of problems I'd been experiencing to see if you can relate:

• ExtensionKit Error 15 when going to certain areas of my Settings
• Unable to open certain applications - in this case Microsoft Word
• Finder essentially did not work; kept hanging
• Chrome wouldn't work
• App Store - wouldn't download apps; got stuck on preparing to download.
• As I type this, I think most of the applications that wouldn't work were open at the time of my change.
• Everything that WAS working was running so slowly, you'd think it was Windows ME running on a 1989 computer; it was bad.

Attempted Repairs

• Didn't Work: Messing around even more with the settings (don't do this, you'll just make it worse and go mad)
• Didn't Work: Tried using diskutil to repair permissions in the Terminal (if you don't know what this is right now, don't try to figure it out)
• Didn't Work: Tried Disk Repair utility in regular mode, safe mode (restart and hold down shift), and recovery mode (restart and hold cmd + r). Please note there are several ways to load recovery and safe mode for different purposes. The keyboard shortcuts I'm sharing here are just examples; please check Apple Support docs for more info.
• Didn't Work: Tried a reinstall twice; still had errors in main account.
• Probably would have worked if I'd have tried it: Calling Apple Support, who was very helpful and recommended an erase & reinstall to get computer back to default. I am just stubborn and didn't want to try this until very last resort so I didn't have to setup everything...plus I wasn't confident everything was backed up (just my important stuff, which I guess is what matters).

Solution:

1. I created a new (2nd) Admin account.
2. I did one more basic reinstall in Recovery Mode without erasing anything through Disk Utility.
3. When the reinstall completed, I logged into my normal admin account, check to see if it was still screwed up. It was, so I logged out.
4. I logged into my NEW Admin account and realized the problems were not happening there. I was able to access all settings, apps, etc. without any errors.
5. I began comparing the permissions (right click, get info, view permissions) between the two admin accounts for Users/YourUserID$/Library and began to see that the permissions for my OG Admin were totally different. (Not part of the solution, but in case you wanted to verify this is what was screwed up in your situation.)

Choose Your Own Adventure Wisely

With all of this being said, now I am still at the point where I need to decide what to do...and where you need to figure out what you will do if my solution works for you.

Options for Next Steps:

• Continue wasting time trying to fix main admin account (not recommended): If you can figure out how to do this, please let me know.
• Use the Opportunity to still access my files wisely and follow Apple Support's instructions (recommended): Consider this a miracle and use the opportunity to back up everything I wasn't sure I'd backed up before when my main profile got messed up, and listen to Apple by doing an erase and reinstall in order to restore computer back to its default. Please note there is a special way to do this. Find the documentation and follow it! This is not just a reinstall; it's an erase and reinstall.
• Keep using the new admin account and keep or delete the original admin after replication (?): I don't even know if this is a good idea! I don't know what would happen if I deleted that OG account or if it's even possible. It doesn't seem like I can even delete it using the new admin account.

Option 2 is probably the best one. Count your blessings, save your stuff using the 2nd admin account, and start over from scratch.

Don't waste time going through error logs trying to fix 8 billion little errors unless you REALLY know what you're doing, have that kind of time, and find it absolutely necessary.

Please note that my new admin account was able to have access to all my apps and files because of how I'd setup the original admin account. I had installed apps so that they would be available to ALL USER ACCOUNTS. And I also have permissions for the new admin account so that it has access to my old admin account's files. I will not be elaborating on how to do this.

If you have the same problem I just got done dealing with, I wish you the best of luck and godspeed. I hope my solution helps some desperate folks out there, especially those who forgot to do a proper backup.