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iTunes account login doesn't work - I've tried it all...

Dear Community


I already tried a lot. Any additional inputs would be very much appreciated!


Problem:

All of a sudden I can't get a reliable connection to my iCloud Music Library (iTunes account) anymore.

No changes made to network settings, no Firewall activated, no little snitch in use. Internet connection via Wifi Airport extreme.

Attempts to login fail 4 out 5 times with constantly changing following symptoms:

iTunes telling me Apple server can't be reached.

Login dialog window disappears but I stay logged out. After several tries I manage to successfully log in.

"Connecting to iTunes" dialog window stays forever (e.g. 10hours over night) without ever reporting an error message

Checkbox for activiating iCloud Music library toggles itself off automatically whenever I toggle it on -> after login via "activate iTunes match" it toggles itself on automatically


Once logged in non of the iCloud Music library related actions are working properly.

Making available (showing my list of songs) of iCloud Music content fails with 99% certainty. Grey spinning wheel keeps turning without any progress ever happening.

In very rare cases suddenly my songs list is appearing nonetheless. But I am not able to download any of the content to my MacBook. The download gets stuck immediately and won't proceed anymore. (Grey spinning wheel again.)


In fact I cannot get content out of the Library into my iTunes nor can I upload new content into the Cloud.

This is only affecting iTunes for the Mac. On my 2 iPads an 1 iPhone iCloud Music Library is working fine.

Also Mac Appstore (on the Mac) is working fine although I use the same User ID as for iTunes.

For iCloud Drive I am using a different account. Everything works fine.


Interesting: even trying to log in to my itunes account via safari browser takes forever. Several minutes until the connection is established.


IMPORTANT DETAIL: As soon as I connect my MacBook to internet via the iPhones personal Hotspot... everything works fine. The list of my songs is synced from the Cloud and I can download/upload content. So it seems to be all about the network. Still I can't the problem solved.


Things I've tried and checked without the slightest success:


Log in/out of iTunes account on all devices

Deleting activated/authorized devices from the list in my account overview. Activating them again

Cookies in Safari are activated

Reset settings and alarm messages in iTunes

Reinstalled iTunes from Apple download page

Reinstalled MacOS Sierra on blank Harddrive. Tried to connect to iTunes account from a blank, freshly installed MacOS -> same issues.

Reimported programs and documents from timemachine without importing settings

Deleted network profile on the mac. Created a new network profile.

Factory reset Airport Extreme. Configured a new Wireless Network.

Checked Host settings as described in Erweiterte Schritte für die Behebung von Problemen mit der iTunes Store-Verbindung - Apple Support

Deleted /Users/Shared/SC Info

Changed password for iTunes account

Re-entered credit card informations in the account settings

and so on and so on...


Except from my connection to the iTunes account my internet (speed, reliability) is working perfectly fine from my Macbook as well as from all other devices in my household.

MacBook Pro with Retina display, macOS Sierra (10.12.4)

Posted on May 1, 2017 2:19 AM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on May 5, 2017 2:33 AM

Hi Alex


Whooohw! I tracked this one down. And it's pretty bad stuff.


My solution:

1. Reset Airport Extreme to factory setting by using AirPort utility instead of pushing the reset button

2. Set up a new network (no previous settings imported)

3. Here it comes: only use 2.4 ghz connection instead of 5 ghz ?!?!?


I still have the 5 ghz option on the Airport Extreme activated but as soon as I connect my Macbook via 5 ghz instead of 2.4 ghz -> Voila! I get the same problems as before. I change back to 2.4 ghz -> iTunes/Apple Music/iTunes Match work like a charm.

I'm currently downloading all my iTunes Match content again and after 1000 songs already downloaded I have not experienced any "spinning grey wheel without progress".


When I switch back to 5 ghz -> iTunes consistently and immediately gets stuck already at syncing Genius results, making available my Apple Music library or the first song I want to download.


Note: I have not experienced and do not experience any connection, speed or reliability issues with any other application when being connected via 5 ghz except for: iTunes.


Browsing, iCloud Drive, up/downloads to Dropbox, streaming, Youtube... everything works fine when being connected via 5 ghz. Only iTunes does not.


Now, what do you think about that? - Airport Extreme broken... but only for iTunes?!


Regards, Adrian

10 replies
Question marked as Best reply

May 5, 2017 2:33 AM in response to chuck_3rd

Hi Alex


Whooohw! I tracked this one down. And it's pretty bad stuff.


My solution:

1. Reset Airport Extreme to factory setting by using AirPort utility instead of pushing the reset button

2. Set up a new network (no previous settings imported)

3. Here it comes: only use 2.4 ghz connection instead of 5 ghz ?!?!?


I still have the 5 ghz option on the Airport Extreme activated but as soon as I connect my Macbook via 5 ghz instead of 2.4 ghz -> Voila! I get the same problems as before. I change back to 2.4 ghz -> iTunes/Apple Music/iTunes Match work like a charm.

I'm currently downloading all my iTunes Match content again and after 1000 songs already downloaded I have not experienced any "spinning grey wheel without progress".


When I switch back to 5 ghz -> iTunes consistently and immediately gets stuck already at syncing Genius results, making available my Apple Music library or the first song I want to download.


Note: I have not experienced and do not experience any connection, speed or reliability issues with any other application when being connected via 5 ghz except for: iTunes.


Browsing, iCloud Drive, up/downloads to Dropbox, streaming, Youtube... everything works fine when being connected via 5 ghz. Only iTunes does not.


Now, what do you think about that? - Airport Extreme broken... but only for iTunes?!


Regards, Adrian

May 2, 2017 1:18 PM in response to raumbuechse

Greetings raumbuechse,

Thank you for using Apple Support Communities. It seems like you are not able to connect to Apple servers. It looks like you have already done some troubleshooting. Since this is isolated to the MacBook Pro, you have reinstalled macOS, and you can establish a connection using cellular data from an iOS device, this makes me think this is specific to your user profile. I see you have already changed or restored settings from a backup, but another thing you can do is to create a test user account on the original drive and not a blank hard drive and see if the issue persists. Since you have already reset the Wi-Fi network, make sure it is using the recommended settings too.

How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac
Recommended settings for Wi-Fi routers and access points
Take care.

May 3, 2017 1:17 AM in response to brenden dv

Hi Brenden dv,


Thank you a lot for assisting me with this issue!


I just tested both of your suggestions: booted in safe mode, created a new user.

Unfortunately in both cases iTunes showed the exact same behavior as in normal mode and with my standard user account.

After a few tries I always manage to log in but than none of the Apple Music / iTunes Match features will work.

Endlessly spinning grey wheel in the top left when trying to make my library available. No success in uploading or downloading any of the content.


I also changed the DNS server for a try. Same behavior also with different DNS server.


My (strong) impression is:

Although it looks very much like being a (local) network issue... it actually "feels" like the actual cause is Apples' login server or the "state" of my iTunes account at Apple.

The server might "dislike" the way I am connecting to it (MacbookPro Retina Mid 2012, Wifi, Airport extreme).

It looks like causing time-outs already at the login stage. (When logging out/in on an iOS device I experience a very laggy behavior too. It takes several attempts to get in again. But - unlike on the Mac - once I am logged in on the iOS device the connection is stable and everything works as it should.)


User RichardMG discovered a very interesting fact:

" In the end, after 2 hours of wasted time, i gave up last night and did a free 3 month trial to iMusic; then the music on my macbook uploaded within minutes to the icloud drive and populated on itunes on my imac.."

Re: no option to turn on iCloud Music Library


So, he created a new iTunes account and subscribed for a 3 month free trial. Within the new account iTunes and Apple Music suddenly worked fine... On the same Macbook he couldn't get iTunes to work properly and without any changes made to the network connection.

From my point of view this is a very strong indication that the cause of the problem can be found on Apples' (iTunes Login, Account, Content) servers.

This also matches with the fact that I had neither made any changes on my network settings nor installed any kind of network affecting software before iTunes stopped working.


If there are any possibilities to "reboot, restore, reset" an iTunes user account on Apples' servers... I guess that would be the next thing to try. Except from waiting for an iTunes update which will hopefully also solve the problem.


Best regards,

Adrian

May 3, 2017 2:43 PM in response to raumbuechse

Hey raumbuechse,

Thanks for keeping us updated. So you are not able to sign in consistently using Wi-Fi or cellular data if you're signing in through iTunes using the MacBook Pro or an iPhone. If we remove the network from the equation, and the account does work sometimes, one option is to see if you are able to login with the Apple ID through iCloud.com to see if it may be an Apple ID issue. Also, see if you are able to establish a connection and sign in using a different Wi-Fi network. Do you have any additional security like two-factor authentication or two-step verification?


Go to iCloud.com, then sign in using your Apple ID (the one you use with iCloud).​

iCloud: Use iCloud.com


Thank you for using Apple Support Communities. Have a nice day.

May 4, 2017 1:08 AM in response to chuck_3rd

Hi Alex,


Thank you for supporting me.


I can state the following:


  • I always manage to log into my account. No matter which connection to the internet I use. Sometimes it takes several attempts but finally I am always logged in. I can also log in on iCloud.com and make changes to my account. iTunes/Apple Music are working perfectly fine on all iOS devices. This problem is only about iTunes for the Mac.
  • Once being logged in into my account in iTunes on the Mac:


-> Macbook Pro connected to the Internet via iPhone Personal Hotspot -> Apple Music/iTunes Match are working perfectly. Music Library is synced and I can upload/download content. There is consistently not the slightest problem occurring when I connect via iPhone Hotspot.


-> Macbook Pro connected to the Internet via Wifi or directly via Ethernet/Modem -> Apple Music/iTunes Match don't work. Cannot download/upload content. Apple Music Library is sometimes displayed sometimes not. Depends on where exactly the grey spinning wheel gets stuck.


I just tried the direct connection via Ethernet/Modem this morning. Expecting that - without any doubt - this way of connection would make it work... but no: to my big surprise iTunes shows the exact same behavior as via Wifi. I was able to download about 2 or 3 tracks from my Apple Music Library before downloads got stuck again.


In the process of looking for a solution for this problem I activated two-factor authentication for my iTunes account. It didn't change iTunes' behavior so I deactivated it again.

I also changed my iTunes account E-Mail address to give it a try. All the symptoms remained the same.


Detail I mentioned before:


My account for the Mac App Store on the Mac is the same as my iTunes account. -> No problems occuring in the Mac App Store. Works perfectly fine.


Regards,

Adrian

May 4, 2017 3:28 AM in response to chuck_3rd

Hi Alex, Hi Brenden


I'm trying everything that comes to my mind...


I just downgraded to iTunes 12.5.5

Deleted all iTunes related content on my MacBook. All folders, plists, system library entries - everything.

Then installed iTunes 12.5.5 -> exactly the same issues occured.

Upgraded to 12.6.0.100 again.


Phew!

Any other suggestions? - Is there a possibility to let Apple reset my account on its servers?

May 4, 2017 2:40 PM in response to raumbuechse

Hello raumbuechse,

Thank you for keeping the information coming. Seeing everything that you have tried so far isolates what may be causing this to happen. Since you do not have trouble when you are connecting to a personal hotspot, but you do when you connect through the AirPort Extreme even after a factory reset and still after directly connecting to the modem, one of the last things is to try to connect the MacBook Pro to a different Wi-Fi or ethernet network at another location. Since Apple Music and the Mac App Store are working perfectly using cellular data and the issue persists through the different version of iTunes and through a new user and fresh macOS install, using another network connection will isolate the Wi-Fi network.

Have a nice day.

iTunes account login doesn't work - I've tried it all...

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