Dammit Apple....

[SkyHog]

Apple has finally gotten to the point where I don't know that I could say that a grandmother could use their product without help...

I am trying to do a complete wipe of my iMac and reinstall OSX. For some reason, it requires me to sign in using my Apple ID, but when I do - I get the following error:

"This Apple ID has not yet been used with the App Store. Please review your account information."

There are two buttons - "Cancel" and "Review." Review closes the window and does nothing. Cancel cancels the action. I literally have no way forward. I tried logging into the website to see if there is some new terms and conditions or something I need, but nothing came up. I tried creating a new account, and get the same error.

So - how does one move forward? I tried to ask Apple, but they laughably want to charge me $30 for the pleasure.

 

[ggroves]

Go to the iTunes or Mac App Store app and sign-in using your AppleID. Make sure account information is complete there. 'Review' is reported broken by a lot of users.

 

[NJP_MAN]

Go to the iTunes or Mac App Store app and sign-in using your AppleID. Make sure account information is complete there. 'Review' is reported broken by a lot of users.

Strong avi to thread topic ratio.

 

[SkyHog]

Go to the iTunes or Mac App Store app and sign-in using your AppleID. Make sure account information is complete there. 'Review' is reported broken by a lot of users.

Turns out the scam is that I had to give Apple a credit card number. Gave them one that has a max authorization of 39 cents.

Now - getting a fantastic error that says "That Item is Temporarily Unavailable. Try again later."

Putting on my grandma hat, I'd have already given up.

 

[EdFred]

Turns out the scam is that I had to give Apple a credit card number. Gave them one that has a max authorization of 39 cents.

That's awesome.

 

[ggroves]

Turns out the scam is that I had to give Apple a credit card number. Gave them one that has a max authorization of 39 cents.

Should be an option for 'None' when creating a new Apple ID. It will verify you by eMail.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204034

If you have an existing account, you should be able to go back after the fact and change it to 'None' as well.

It will require a CC at first to verify that you are legit if you do enter a payment method. It is absolutely not required for 'Free' purchases.

 

[SkyHog]

Should be an option for 'None' when creating a new Apple ID

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204034

If you have an existing account, you should be able to go back after the fact and change it to 'None' as well.

It may very well require a CC at first to verify that you are legit. It is absolutely not required for 'Free' purchases.

There was no option for "none." Turns out, I had two apple IDs, and for some bizarro reason, downloading free software to install the OS required that I find access to the other Apple ID that I hadn't used in years. Rather than giving a useful error message like "You can only download that software with the same Apple ID you originally downloaded it with," I got an awesome error message that said "That Item is Temporarily Unavailable. Please try again later."

Good thing I didn't wait a few hours and try again, taking them at face value...

As for not having a payment method - for downloading free software, why does Apple need to verify my legitimacy? Are they afraid that I might cheat them out of my identity?

Whatever. That credit card won't be valid for much longer, and once I get rid of this iMac, I'll be done with Apple completely anyway.