iTunes store temporarily unavailable?

Same thing here. I'm trying to give an old iBook G3 to a friend for her daughter, but I know she'll want iTunes access. You can sort of get on through through the back door by going through the podcast directory, but then the "Music" and "iTunes Home" sections provide this message. All the other parts of the iTunes store seem to work fine.

I was able to download app updates from the store earlier this evening on both my phone and my iPad, and am able to browse the store freely. It's only upon trying to buy anything that I get "We could not complete your iTunes store request. An unknown error occurred (-50). There was an error in the iTunes Store. Please try again later."

I was able to purchase and download items within the last few days, and NOTHING has changed on my computer or network since the last time I successfully downloaded something. I am running the latest version of iTunes (I always update in hopes that it will fix the mysterious unacknowledged "unknown error" that keeps me from syncing contacts to my iPhone 4 or iPad).

I really wish that Apple would figure out that these unacknowledged "unknown errors" really make them look more stupid than if they would just acknowledge the issue and fix it.

Well, I purchased a bunch of songs yesterday with no problem. Still can't get onto the music homepage but I can work around it. Hopefully, after Sunday things will "fix themselves."

I am getting this message as well. Does anyone know how to fix this?

i just bought a brand new ipod touch for my girlfriend an cant register the thing because it wont connect to the internet ***?!?

It is DEFINITELY the date change. I think they still must be set to the old time change dates on their servers. I could not connect to ht iTunes store AT ALL, then changed the clock on my computer back an hour manually, and everything works.

Apple really needs to address this, but it seams as it they will just ignore it as they have not even been willing to acknowledge a problem.

I have also been getting this message last few days, ie:" We could not complete your iTunes store request. The iTunes store is temporarily unavailable.Please try again later"

I have emailed apple support & one of their suggestions was to ask here! I know it is not a problem my end as it was fine until last week & others here have the same issue. Like another post here I do not want to upgrade from itunes 8 unless I have to. For info the reply from apple support follows:

Greetings from Apple iTunes Store Customer Support. I am Abdul and I am glad to assist you with your concern.

I understand that you are unable to connect to iTunes Store as you are receiving the error "the itunes store is temporarily unavailable. please try again later". I apologize for any inconvenience that may have caused you. Rest, be assured that I will do my best to get the issue resolved.

I have verified that the iTunes Store is functioning and accepting connections, which indicates that the issue is related to your internet connection, local network, or your local computer itself. This article outlines some of the likely culprits:

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1368

Apple Discussions are another source of information about iTunes, where everyone from new users to professionals can interact and share their knowledge and experiences. You may find another user with the same operating system or ISP that may be able to help resolve this issue. You can find the iTunes discussions group at:

http://discussions.apple.com/category.jspa?categoryID=149

If the issue is still not resolved, please feel free to write back to me. I will be more than happy to help you with this.

Thank you for being a valued iTunes Store Customer. Have a good day!

Hi everyone,

I've also been having this problem for about 3 days and Ellyll is right, it is definitely a time thing. I put the clock forward 1 hour on my computer and iTunes store opened straight away with no problems.

I've been getting the iTunes store unavailable message for a week. Time change didn't fix a thing. So now what?

I can get in through the backdoor by searching an artist so it's not a connection issue, firewall issue, isp issue or anything else Apple support would tell me.

It's obviously a widespread problem that Apple chooses to ignore. Never had a problem in five years until now.

I'm an Apple shareholder and am pretty disappointed by this.

Agree. Time change did nothing. Firewall settings, hosts file etc are all fine.
Nothing has changed with my ISP.

Same problem here. It's not my connection or ISP; my wife's computer (in the next room on the same network) can access the iTunes store just fine.

EDIT: Quite possibly this is much ado about nothing. If I just ignore the error msg, click OK, and do a search, it goes to the iTunes store and finds what I am looking for. I just bought a song and it worked just fine.

Message was edited by: ggunn

I think everyone can get in by doing a search but there is obviously something wrong when trying to get in by clicking iTunes Store in iTunes (as most have done forever) gives the unavailable message. C'mon Apple, address this!!!

I am having this problem too, but only with app updates.

For the past few days, when I click "X Updates Available" I get the store unavailable error message and nothing loads. However, if I go to the iTunes Store directly, it loads fine. I am able to browse the App Store and download apps. I downloaded the latest version of Facebook and it decreased the number of reported updates available by one as expected, but I still cannot access the list of updates.

I've had the same problem for days! For iTunes to post a refusal of service without warning the customers of cessation of an outdated system would be in breach of contract, so I doubt it can be that. An error is more likely. Also there have been articles in the news about an iTunes takeover, which may have some repercussions but it is unlikely it would affect the customer - again, we all have contracts in place with iTunes which they would respect. We all need an explanation from iTunes which can be distributed easily by e-mail or posted on the website instead of the current "try later" message!

I am still getting the message that the store is temporarily unavailable and i cannot go through by entering who im searching for.
Is anyone else still having this problem as i do not know how to fix it