Trouble accessing iTunes store

Mac OS 10.4.11 iTunes 8.0.2

Haven't accessed the iTunes store for a month or two. Now I get the
following error when I try to access the iTunes store.

We could not complete your iTunes Store request
The iTunes Store is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later.

No matter when I try again (over several days), I get the same error.

I'm wondering whether my version of iTunes (8.0.2) is now too old to
access the store. What is the oldest version of iTunes that can access
the store?

I have minimal requirements for the iTunes store. Browse the music.
Listen to music track samples. Buy music tracks. Not interested in the
other stuff. So, I don't feel any need to update to the latest version -
just a version that meets my minimal requirements. I do have a .dmg for
itunes 9.2.1 so maybe it's time to upgrade to that version.

- should that version be able to access the store?

- is that a troublesome version?

TIA

Eric

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>,
Sandstone <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> Mac OS 10.4.11 iTunes 8.0.2
>
> Haven't accessed the iTunes store for a month or two. Now I get the
> following error when I try to access the iTunes store.
>
> We could not complete your iTunes Store request
> The iTunes Store is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later.
[snip]
> I do have a .dmg for itunes 9.2.1 so maybe it's time to upgrade to that
> version.
>
> - should that version be able to access the store?
>
> - is that a troublesome version?

No problems here with iTunes 9.2.1 on Mac OS 10.4.11.

Sandstone wrote:
> Mac OS 10.4.11 iTunes 8.0.2
>
> Haven't accessed the iTunes store for a month or two. Now I get the
> following error when I try to access the iTunes store.
>
> We could not complete your iTunes Store request
> The iTunes Store is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later.
>
> No matter when I try again (over several days), I get the same error.
>
> I'm wondering whether my version of iTunes (8.0.2) is now too old to
> access the store. What is the oldest version of iTunes that can access
> the store?
>
> I have minimal requirements for the iTunes store. Browse the music.
> Listen to music track samples. Buy music tracks. Not interested in the
> other stuff. So, I don't feel any need to update to the latest version -
> just a version that meets my minimal requirements. I do have a .dmg for
> itunes 9.2.1 so maybe it's time to upgrade to that version.
>
> - should that version be able to access the store?
>
> - is that a troublesome version?
>
> TIA
>
> Eric

Some more information related to this problem. It turns out that I can
get into the store if I do Store-->Search from within iTunes. Once in, I
can browse, listen and buy/download as usual. I can also sign in, sign
off and acccess my account information. I cannot access the itunes Store
home page without getting the message described above.

Right now, I'm inclined to believe that version 8.0.2 may not be the
problem.

Eric

Sandstone <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> Sandstone wrote:
> > Mac OS 10.4.11 iTunes 8.0.2
> >
> > Haven't accessed the iTunes store for a month or two. Now I get the
> > following error when I try to access the iTunes store.
> >
> > We could not complete your iTunes Store request
> > The iTunes Store is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later.
> >
> > No matter when I try again (over several days), I get the same error.
> >
> > I'm wondering whether my version of iTunes (8.0.2) is now too old to
> > access the store. What is the oldest version of iTunes that can access
> > the store?
> >
> > I have minimal requirements for the iTunes store. Browse the music.
> > Listen to music track samples. Buy music tracks. Not interested in the
> > other stuff. So, I don't feel any need to update to the latest version -
> > just a version that meets my minimal requirements. I do have a .dmg for
> > itunes 9.2.1 so maybe it's time to upgrade to that version.
> >
> > - should that version be able to access the store?
> >
> > - is that a troublesome version?
>
> Some more information related to this problem. It turns out that I can
> get into the store if I do Store-->Search from within iTunes. Once in, I
> can browse, listen and buy/download as usual. I can also sign in, sign
> off and acccess my account information. I cannot access the itunes Store
> home page without getting the message described above.
>
> Right now, I'm inclined to believe that version 8.0.2 may not be the
> problem.

I'm inclined to believe it is. I've found at least one other discussion
on the Internet with someone else running iTunes 8.2.1 who has recently
encountered exactly the same problem.

http://forums.macrumors.com/archive/...t-1055364.html

That discussion referenced a frequently asked question list at Apple,
which states that iTunes 8.2.1 is the minimum version required to access
the iTunes Store (at least for movies, TV shows and music videos).

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2729

You can download iTunes 8.2.1 and try that, as it should be a relatively
minor change to your iTunes experience from 8.0.2. It is still available
here:

http://support.apple.com/kb/DL857

That page says it is "iTunes 8.2.1 for G3", which is Apple's way of
saying that it is the last version of iTunes for which all features
still work on a G3. iTunes 9 requires a G4 processor or better for some
features.

I expect that Apple has made a change to the store recently, and it now
requires iTunes 9, but they haven't told anyone about it, or updated the
page above.

If you can't get 8.2.1 working either, then your next option (if your
computer is compatible) is to update to iTunes 9.2.1, which is the last
version that works on Mac OS X 10.4.11. The user interface changed quite
a lot between 8.2.1 and 9.2.1 so this will be a bigger jump.

--
David Empson
(E-Mail Removed)

David Empson wrote:
<snip>
>>
>>Right now, I'm inclined to believe that version 8.0.2 may not be the
>>problem.
>
>
> I'm inclined to believe it is. I've found at least one other discussion
> on the Internet with someone else running iTunes 8.2.1 who has recently
> encountered exactly the same problem.
>
> http://forums.macrumors.com/archive/...t-1055364.html
>
> That discussion referenced a frequently asked question list at Apple,
> which states that iTunes 8.2.1 is the minimum version required to access
> the iTunes Store (at least for movies, TV shows and music videos).
>
> http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2729
>
> You can download iTunes 8.2.1 and try that, as it should be a relatively
> minor change to your iTunes experience from 8.0.2. It is still available
> here:
>
> http://support.apple.com/kb/DL857
>
> That page says it is "iTunes 8.2.1 for G3", which is Apple's way of
> saying that it is the last version of iTunes for which all features
> still work on a G3. iTunes 9 requires a G4 processor or better for some
> features.
>
> I expect that Apple has made a change to the store recently, and it now
> requires iTunes 9, but they haven't told anyone about it, or updated the
> page above.

I think you're right. In the iTunes section of the Apple Discussion
Board someone posted the same complaint that I have. The reply to the
post stated something like "I think 9.2.1 is the minimum version needed
to access the Apple store".

>
> If you can't get 8.2.1 working either, then your next option (if your
> computer is compatible) is to update to iTunes 9.2.1, which is the last
> version that works on Mac OS X 10.4.11. The user interface changed quite
> a lot between 8.2.1 and 9.2.1 so this will be a bigger jump.
>

For now, I think I'll stay with 8.0.2 and enter the store through the
back door (via Search). When that stops working I'll go to 9.2.1.

Thanks for all the information.

Eric

I ended up installing the latest version of iTunes and starting a chat with apple's support rep http://www.dominikras.com/2012/11/th...mporarily.html . He asked a couple of clarifying questions and after a pause he said I should be all set.

I would never suspect that before, but there must have been some weird issue with my account that only back-end admins could rectify.

The good old live chat with Apple's support was the fix for me.