App updates are an important part of keeping your Mac and your applications running smoothly. But sometimes, app updates can go awry.
Specifically, you may find that you’re not able to update an app. When you attempt to, you’ll be hit with an “Update Unavailable with This Apple ID” error message.
The message will go on to state that the update isn’t available because the app “was bought by a different user or the item was refunded or canceled.”
But sometimes, that isn’t the case. Luckily, while annoying, the error message can be done away with pretty easily. Here’s how.
Why Does This Happen?
Basically, when you download an app from the Mac App Store, that particular instance of the app is tied to your Apple ID — or the one that made the purchase.
That app can then only be updated by the specific Apple ID that made the original purchase. This applies to both free apps and apps that cost money.
This can cause issues if there are multiple users using different Apple IDs on a single computer. Similarly, people with used or third-party refurbished computers may run into this problem (since their Apple ID is different than the original owner’s).
There are cases of some apps, particularly iWork or iLife apps, that show this error even if a user has only ever used one Apple ID (on a computer that has never had another owner). This weird behavior may be attributable to a bug.
For the most part, the method below will fix any errors associated with app updates being unavailable.
That includes apps that were downloaded by a different Apple ID or apps that you downloaded yourself that (somehow) have the “update unavailable” bug.
Your own mileage may vary depending on your Mac and what other Apple IDs are logged in (or have been logged in), of course.
In any case, it’s still worth a shot.
Find the app that you can’t update in the Applications folder. Delete it.
Empty your Trash.
Open the Mac App Store.
Make sure you’re signed in to your primary Apple ID, or the Apple ID you’ll be using on this particular Mac. If you’re not, sign in with your email address and password.
Find and re-download the app that caused the update error.
This, of course, means that you’ll have to shell out the money if it’s a paid app. That’s an unfortunate side effect but there isn’t anything to be done.
On the other hand, it’s worth noting that Apple’s suite of apps — like Pages, Number, Keynote and GarageBand — is free for all users. So you can re-downloaded them with no problems.
What to Do in Other Circumstances
While the method above will fix the “update unavailable” error message in most cases, there are some other things to note.
You may not have accepted the purchase of the app in question. Open the Mac App Store, navigate to the Purchases page. If there’s an Accept button next to any apps that are causing you issues, click on it.
Sometimes, you switch Apple IDs. If you downloaded the app with an old Apple ID you no longer use, you’ll need to log into that account to update it. You can try to gain access to it by using Apple’s suite of account recovery or password reset tools.
If you installed first-party Apple apps via DVD or you bought an Apple Certified Refurbished computer directly from the company, contact Apple for a redemption code. You may need the DVD part number.
If you have a used or third-party refurbished Mac, the apps are linked to the original owner’s Apple ID. Technically, they cannot be transferred to you. But it may be worth contacting Apple Support to see if they will grant an exception.
We hope that you found this article informative and helpful. Please let us know in the comments below if you have any questions.
Mike is a freelance journalist from San Diego, California.
While he primarily covers Apple and consumer technology, he has past experience writing about public safety, local government, and education for a variety of publications.
He’s worn quite a few hats in the journalism field, including writer, editor, and news designer.
My issue is Big Sur show Pages Update for months now, and it’s getting annoying. Now I don’t need that particular update but I update it from the apt store anyway. It shows since I’m in correspondence with apple since they give me new passwords during the process. But then cannot get rid of that warning. And! although I got a free apt form the appt store cannot get rid of a old a (email password) a year ago. deleting from the apt doesn’t make sense!
I have an iPad Pro, with an Apple ID I used when I had my fourth gen iPod. I bought an Macbook Pro 13″ for school and made a new ID as I didnt want anything on my iPad to show up and clutter my Mac, as I only want it for school purposes. I can’t update apps that already came with my Mac because I was getting that update not available notification. I thought creating a new ID wouldn’t have this problem. Why am I having these problems with a totally new ID? What can I do?
Okay I have a guess about what is causing this. I bet my Apple ID is old enough that it got converted from a legacy system to some updated system internally so now Apple thinks I’m both an old and a new customer, even though I am the same customer with the same Apple ID.
I am having the same issue as David Smith – just purchased new 13” MacBook Pro. Getting the same update error for Pages, Keynote, Numbers and GarageBand. I have been using the same Apple ID since I purchased my first iPod. Also, none of my previous app purchases from my iPhone or iPad are able to be downloaded and need to be repurchased
I just purchased a new Macbook Pro 2019 model 16″ transfered from my old 15″ 2010 model. Since everything transfered simply I was real pleased, however, I am getting app update messages from the App store saying 3 to update (Pages, Keynote and Numbers) I try but get told it was purchased or refunded on a different ID. What do I do? Also I now run on Catalina if that matters
Hey I am not able to update only what’sapp ”due to refunded or it was purchased with other I’d error”
And this error I m getting in both my iPhones
Would request you to help with this as there is hell lot of data in what’s app including many imp videos,docs and pics and uninstalling and re installing will delete all the data Of the app
Hi, i just bought this Mac and found that there are three system apps that needs to be updated so i guess i can’t delete them…but i haven’t changed my apple id or anything. so what should i do? thanks
Yes, if you delete the iMovie app, your data is also deleted from that app. However, you can save those files to the Files app or AirDrop them to another device using the Share Button.
Pages is a free app from Apple (along with iMovie, Numbers, Keynote, and GarageBand for both Mac and iOS) so what we suggest you do is delete the current Pages app that’s tied to someone else’s Apple ID and then go to the App Store and download it again using your Apple ID.
So try this out and see if you can delete Pages (and any of those other apps) and then downloaded them from the App Store. If so, we say enjoy your iPad Pro!
my iPad has minecraft and when i try to update the app it says you can not update because this app was purchased by a different apple ID and if i delete the app i will loose all my stuff please help me.
First, you should contact Minecraft support to see if they have a process in place for transferring gameplay between devices.
The easiest way you can update the app is to temporarily sign in with the Apple ID used to purchase the app originally.
If you do not have access to that Apple ID, what you can try is offloading the app rather than deleting it, then see if you can purchase Minecraft with your Apple ID. To be fair, we’ve never done this with an app that was purchased using a different Apple ID, so we are unsure if it will work.
1) Offload app–go to Settings > General > iPad Storage. Locate Minecraft and tap it. Choose Offload app.
2) After it offloads, choose Reinstall app and see if it installs the latest version.
Again, we have never tested this with a different Apple ID, so you do risk losing your data and gameplay.
If you do not want to risk it, we suggest you contact the person with the Apple ID that originally purchased the app OR don’t update the app.
Hi
While I was in that visiting my cousins, I put another card in my iPhone and since I came back, I cannot update messenger any more .
If I delete it and reinstall, will I lose all my messages?
Thanks a lot and best regards
Ariane
It depends. If you use iCloud to sync and store your Messages (Settings > Apple ID > iCloud > Messages) then those messages should return. If you do not use iCloud to store/sync Messages, then it’s likely you would lose those messages.
If you’re talking about FaceBook’s Messenger app instead, then if you delete it and reinstall it, you should retain those messages since they are stored on FaceBook’s servers.
Try signing out of iMessage and FaceTime–go to Settings > Messages and toggle iMessage off. Repeat for FaceTime. Then restart your device, and return to those settings and toggle iMessage and FaceTime on, then sign in with your correct Apple ID–ideally, the same Apple ID that’s listed in Settings’ top of screen.
I recently helped my friend with the issue described here and these steps did not quite work so I would like to share what did.
I deleted her apps from her computer running Mojave but the page on the app store for each of the iWork apps still said update, which would, of course, prompt for the password to the Apple ID to which she did not have access.
To get around this I created a new user account on her computer, I gave it admin access just in case installing apps would be an issue with any of the other permissions, then I was able to download any of the apps that I had deleted from the original user.
If the apps were not deleted it would still prompt for the inaccessible Apple ID.
After I hit “Get” for the apps that I had deleted, I was able to log back into the original user account and “Get” the apps from the app store on that user as well, for the first one it asked me to type in the Apple ID and I entered the one she did have access to and it worked from then on for the rest of the apps.
After all of them were successfully reinstalled I deleted the other temporary user from which I started the process and everything was fine.
Hope this was helpful to anyone else having a similar problem.
cheyennemendozadelosantos says
My issue is Big Sur show Pages Update for months now, and it’s getting annoying. Now I don’t need that particular update but I update it from the apt store anyway. It shows since I’m in correspondence with apple since they give me new passwords during the process. But then cannot get rid of that warning. And! although I got a free apt form the appt store cannot get rid of a old a (email password) a year ago. deleting from the apt doesn’t make sense!
Frances says
I’ve never changed my apps Id so no idea why I keep getting this message ?
Amelia says
I have an iPad Pro, with an Apple ID I used when I had my fourth gen iPod. I bought an Macbook Pro 13″ for school and made a new ID as I didnt want anything on my iPad to show up and clutter my Mac, as I only want it for school purposes. I can’t update apps that already came with my Mac because I was getting that update not available notification. I thought creating a new ID wouldn’t have this problem. Why am I having these problems with a totally new ID? What can I do?
Becky says
Okay I have a guess about what is causing this. I bet my Apple ID is old enough that it got converted from a legacy system to some updated system internally so now Apple thinks I’m both an old and a new customer, even though I am the same customer with the same Apple ID.
Jules says
I am having the same issue as David Smith – just purchased new 13” MacBook Pro. Getting the same update error for Pages, Keynote, Numbers and GarageBand. I have been using the same Apple ID since I purchased my first iPod. Also, none of my previous app purchases from my iPhone or iPad are able to be downloaded and need to be repurchased
Becky says
Me too! Only it’s a new MacBook Air and I’d add iMovie to the list.
Jonathan Baba says
Same problem very frustrating disappointing experience with my first mac top. Enjoyed my iPad and iPhone but I feel like returning the Mac
David Smith says
I just purchased a new Macbook Pro 2019 model 16″ transfered from my old 15″ 2010 model. Since everything transfered simply I was real pleased, however, I am getting app update messages from the App store saying 3 to update (Pages, Keynote and Numbers) I try but get told it was purchased or refunded on a different ID. What do I do? Also I now run on Catalina if that matters
Sachin mudgil says
Hey I am not able to update only what’sapp ”due to refunded or it was purchased with other I’d error”
And this error I m getting in both my iPhones
Would request you to help with this as there is hell lot of data in what’s app including many imp videos,docs and pics and uninstalling and re installing will delete all the data Of the app
Liz says
Hi, i just bought this Mac and found that there are three system apps that needs to be updated so i guess i can’t delete them…but i haven’t changed my apple id or anything. so what should i do? thanks
Hades says
I want to update iMovie and it says the same thing. If I delete Imovie, will all my edited files which is stored in “imovie library” also be deleted?
Elizabeth Jones says
HI Hades,
Yes, if you delete the iMovie app, your data is also deleted from that app. However, you can save those files to the Files app or AirDrop them to another device using the Share Button.
See how in this Apple Support document
Çağlar says
Pages app on newly purchased ipad pro cannot be updated with your apple id because it was refunded or purchased with another apple id.
I got iPad pro device that I got a closed box from apple.com.tr.
It uploaded without error in the next try.
I made the initial setup (first setup) of the device and used a completely new Apple ID.
I thought it might have been a previously used device.
however, Apple officials stated that the product with the closed box is unlikely to be used.
They said I could return it and buy a new product if I wanted to.
There is also a small pitting at the bottom corner of the device (it is not noticed if you do not look carefully).
What would you do if you were?
I bought the device a few days ago and I’m curious about your answer. thanks. Greetings from Turkey.
Elizabeth Jones says
HI Caglar,
Pages is a free app from Apple (along with iMovie, Numbers, Keynote, and GarageBand for both Mac and iOS) so what we suggest you do is delete the current Pages app that’s tied to someone else’s Apple ID and then go to the App Store and download it again using your Apple ID.
So try this out and see if you can delete Pages (and any of those other apps) and then downloaded them from the App Store. If so, we say enjoy your iPad Pro!
G says
Thank you so so much!!! Your instructions saved my work!
Jordan the Monster slayer says
my iPad has minecraft and when i try to update the app it says you can not update because this app was purchased by a different apple ID and if i delete the app i will loose all my stuff please help me.
Elizabeth Jones says
Hi Jordan,
First, you should contact Minecraft support to see if they have a process in place for transferring gameplay between devices.
The easiest way you can update the app is to temporarily sign in with the Apple ID used to purchase the app originally.
If you do not have access to that Apple ID, what you can try is offloading the app rather than deleting it, then see if you can purchase Minecraft with your Apple ID. To be fair, we’ve never done this with an app that was purchased using a different Apple ID, so we are unsure if it will work.
1) Offload app–go to Settings > General > iPad Storage. Locate Minecraft and tap it. Choose Offload app.
2) After it offloads, choose Reinstall app and see if it installs the latest version.
Again, we have never tested this with a different Apple ID, so you do risk losing your data and gameplay.
If you do not want to risk it, we suggest you contact the person with the Apple ID that originally purchased the app OR don’t update the app.
Ariane Brackeva says
Hi
While I was in that visiting my cousins, I put another card in my iPhone and since I came back, I cannot update messenger any more .
If I delete it and reinstall, will I lose all my messages?
Thanks a lot and best regards
Ariane
Elizabeth Jones says
Hi Ariane,
It depends. If you use iCloud to sync and store your Messages (Settings > Apple ID > iCloud > Messages) then those messages should return. If you do not use iCloud to store/sync Messages, then it’s likely you would lose those messages.
If you’re talking about FaceBook’s Messenger app instead, then if you delete it and reinstall it, you should retain those messages since they are stored on FaceBook’s servers.
Donna Simpson says
Messenger says it can’t update because it’s been refunded or under another Apple ID. I haven’t changed anything. How can it be fixed
Elizabeth Jones says
Hi Donna,
Try signing out of iMessage and FaceTime–go to Settings > Messages and toggle iMessage off. Repeat for FaceTime. Then restart your device, and return to those settings and toggle iMessage and FaceTime on, then sign in with your correct Apple ID–ideally, the same Apple ID that’s listed in Settings’ top of screen.
Franklin Ribeiro says
I followed the steps in The Usual Cases and it worked. Thanks!
Daniel says
When i delete the app will i loose my progress for example sim city buildit?
Milica Milic says
Hello.
I recently helped my friend with the issue described here and these steps did not quite work so I would like to share what did.
I deleted her apps from her computer running Mojave but the page on the app store for each of the iWork apps still said update, which would, of course, prompt for the password to the Apple ID to which she did not have access.
To get around this I created a new user account on her computer, I gave it admin access just in case installing apps would be an issue with any of the other permissions, then I was able to download any of the apps that I had deleted from the original user.
If the apps were not deleted it would still prompt for the inaccessible Apple ID.
After I hit “Get” for the apps that I had deleted, I was able to log back into the original user account and “Get” the apps from the app store on that user as well, for the first one it asked me to type in the Apple ID and I entered the one she did have access to and it worked from then on for the rest of the apps.
After all of them were successfully reinstalled I deleted the other temporary user from which I started the process and everything was fine.
Hope this was helpful to anyone else having a similar problem.