Cannot update pre-installed iLife suite from App Store.

Thank you.

Just purchased a new iMac, and started up with the AppleID I use for iCloud, not the one I use for the iTMS/MacApp Store ID. Once I changed my ID in the App Store, I lost the ability to accept. Deleting the plist allowed me to accept again. Thanks for the help!

After I delete the plist file, the App Store allowed me to accept the 3 iLife apps again and when I clicked Accept again it says these apps are already installed/ assigned to my Apple ID and available in my Purchases. It doesn not appear in my Purchases and neither did it install :s what to do :/ ?

I followed Saul's directions and now I'm getting the same issue as fverloy. I even tried Saul's directions and then had the system look for updates. It found iWork (which I just recently reinstalled), yet it's not finding iLife. I paid for the iLife upgrade October, 2011 and really don't feel like paying for it again.

Me too - in March 2013. They haven't fixed this since the original post two years ago? And if they can't get my free apps back for me in the app store, do you really think I'm going to ever buy anything from the app store? Nope. conscientious objector. The software that is FREE with the OS (in certain cases) should be associated with the computer's serial not the apple id of whomever touched the computer first. They know this and fix it for some people and there are still others in the bazillion threads I read who they don't fix it for.

I have 2x new retina 13" that both had problems with updating iLife.

I eventually got the first to update, I'm not quite sure how, I tried every suggestion in this long thread. It had been migrated from another machine, but that was a macpro also. I deleted iPhoto and it reinstalled correctly which is how I think I jagged it.

The second proved to be more stuborn - even when I deleted the adoption.plist in Mac HD/Library/appstore and tried to 'accept' the iLife apps (in the MAS purchased list) it gave me message that it was already attributed to another Apple ID.

I was sure I had never used another apple ID on that machine, but maybe another family member's old ID (via family shared software) had been brought over via the migration and subsequently (accidentaly) associated with the (Retina 13") OEM iLife.

That machine had been migrated from an old macbook that had my MAS purchased version of iLife11 installed with a different Apple ID.

I reluctantly called support. I was expecting hours of inane instructions repeating the steps I'd already tried, but I was pleasantly suprised. This is the first time in 9 years and a lot of apple stuff that I have ever called support, I find the robotic trouble shooting 'procedure' of support lines a bit frustrating. I'm pleased to report this experience was different.

The support person listened to everything I had tried and appeared to be familiar with the stuff I was talking about. She recognised it as an iTunes account problem and said she put me on hold whilst she engaged a chat session with them and they looked into that particular Apple ID (and machine serial#) to see if iLife OEM was in the purchased list.

She came back saying that it looked like the OEM iLife suite had been attached to a different ID (and asked me what it might be - I told her mine which had purchased the MAS iLife suite prior)

She asked me to go through the delete adoption.plist > accept iLife process again.. I wondered why but didn't argue. To my amazement after hitting 'accept' the 3x iLife apps transfered down to the 'purchased' list, before my eyes.

It looks like the iTunes support people either transfered the OEM iLife from my ID to my daughter's ID or they simply added a new license to my daughter's ID. They didn't tell me, I didn't ask. (I don't appear to have 2x versions of iLife 11 in my purchased list)

Now I can get back to real stuff, my faith been restored / enlightened. I hope this helps others with this frustrating issue.

@nick4077

This was a brilliant suggestion. It worked like a charm. Actually, it wasn't a workaround, it was just a common-sense feature but tucked away in a place that most people wouldn't think to look. How can I mark this as a "read this first before trying anything else" message?!

Open the App Store

Click on the Purchases

Click on the Accept button

Click on Updates after Accept feature is complete

Update all of the preloaded Apple apps using the password for your Apple ID when prompted