You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Apple ID on El Capitan does not work at all

HI everyone,


so I had some issues installing El Capitan yesterday but after I put my MacBook Pro into safe mode it all worked out OK, besides the fact that El Capitan is making the 3 year old Mac run about as fast as a dying 5,000,000 year old tortoise but I will forgive that for now.


the main problem is, I cannot sign into my Apple ID in El Capitan *at all*. I have two step verification which worked fine in Yosemite. I would just create an app specific password for iMessage, FaceTime, etc. it worked the day of the installation before the actual installation. Now, however, when I try my regular password, it says "authentication error". When I try the app specific password, it says "wrong password". therefore, I can't sign into iMessage, FaceTime, iCloud, etc. and I cannot use AirDrop or Handoff BECAUSE I cannot sign in.


what do I do? Besides this, the rest of the system seems to work fine and I am sure that the ridiculously slow speed will subside after a few days.


also, please forgive my capitalization errors. I am typing on my iPad and this discussion forum doesn't capitalize normally for some reason.


thank you all for your help!

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11), null

Posted on Oct 4, 2015 3:11 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 25, 2015 9:10 AM

The following procedure worked for me. Please note that it will delete your Apple ID account information for the current user and you will need to log in again.

  • if the App Store is opened and stuck in the login process, force close it

  • open the Terminal

  • issue the following commands:

    • sudo pkill -9 -f Account

    • sudo rm $HOME/Library/Accounts/*

  • open the App Store and log in

105 replies
Sort By: 

Apple ID on El Capitan does not work at all

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.