Cracked Apps Asking For Apple Id On Start
I got a MacBook that a colleague of mine had used previously. It runs OS X 10.10.2. I created a new administrator account for myself and turned off the 'admin' flag on the old account.
I also entered my iCloud / Apple ID account, so that it syncs my calendars and contacts correctly, and even in the App Store, I am signed in with my correct account.
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But when I try to install pending software updates (that is, OS X system updates!), the window that pops up has the the e-mail address of my colleague filled in and greyed out—and I can't change it.
Note that I'm signed in with a different (correct) account in the App Store. When I go to Featured and click Account on the right, it has my correct e-mail address filled in:
How do I make the App Store 'forget' the old Apple ID?
I found a thread where it just says 'it's not possible', and that apps are glued to the original account the Mac was set up with, but that doesn't make a lot of sense, especially in a company where laptops may be handed over from one person to another.
4 Answers
Telling people to do a clean reinstall is anything but helpful. Solution below.
The laptop I am now using used to be my daughter's. She got the new one.
I can't update Pages, Numbers, or Keynote with the latest security patches, as a result.
For very good and plentiful reasons, I did not and do VERY MUCH NOT want to do a clean install. That's just a ridiculous solution to a problem that ought not to exist.
I should be able to just replace them. Or uninstall and reinstall from the UI, at least.
But worst of all, it doesn't even give me a hint of what the problem is. It's presently asking me under my own ID for my own password, over and over and over and over.
But what DOES work, is to delete the application from the Launchpad. Hold down the icon until they all jiggle and the (x) appears. Click that on the app you want to delete, then confirm.
If you do this while the App Store's Updates page is displaying the application, you can then just update!
If not, you will have to download it again. This might mean paying for it again. But if it's family plan eligible, it will show as needing to buy it and you'll have to confirm payment, but then it will inform you that it's family plan eligible and you'll get to download it again for free.
Cracked Apps Asking For Apple Id On Start
If going through this leaves the app missing from the Launchpad (it did for me one time), then drag the app to the trash (confirming with your password if necessary), wait 10 seconds, and drag it back (possibly confirming again). That should alert Launchpad to its presence.
I hope this helps people in the future. I wasted a lot of time figuring this out, and couldn't find a clue on the web.
It won't 'forget' the old ID as each download from the Mac App Store embeds the purchasing account. Those previous apps were purchased/downloaded for free on that ID & are only licensed to that ID.
The only way round is to either use that ID for those apps, delete and redownload each affected app one by one or to wipe the machine & start over being careful to not copy back apps from backup copies and only to use the new account in the store.
For corporate use, it would be far better to not purchase through the App Store, but to buy multi-seat licenses directly from the app creators.
That OS X asks for the old apple id is probably because you didn't do a clean install.
You could make a backup of all your data with time machine and start your mac in recovery mode (press cmd+r) on startup. Here you can erease the hard drive and install os x again.
my computer prompted me to update iphoto, but had my daughter's email/apple id and i couldn't change it. That version wasn't compatible with my 2016 MacBook pro 13, so i deleted it (the icon had a no smoking circle/slash over it). after that the App Store stopped prompting me to update the program.
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protected by bmike♦Mar 30 '17 at 12:57
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