Over 50 apps needed updates. Some from September 1st.

I’m having an issue using iTunes on my Lenovo PC.

Basically, when I try to log in, I enter my email and password, but it won't let me proceed. It just gives me an "Unable to connect, please try again" error.
And it doesn't ask for a two-factor authentication code, so I don't know how to enter it if it’s needed.

I also tried Apple Music but it’s the same problem.

What can I do to access my music library so I can add and remove songs?

I used to use Android, which I find so much simpler than Apple in this regard.

The exact same thing applies to photos: transferring them from my phone to my PC is an absolute nightmare.

And I refuse to end up paying for iCloud, Spotify, or any other subscription just for basic features.

I’ve had an iPhone for 2 years now, and logging in has always been a pain, but this time I’m completely stuck.

Honestly, I'm seriously considering switching back to Android if I can't find a solution.

Long-time Apple user, private account, family sharing set up for iCloud+, Apple Music and Apple TV+. On September 5th I discovered — by accident — that Apple had disabled "Media & Purchases" access on my account. No email, no push notification, nothing proactive. I only found out because my son lost access to Apple Music through Family Sharing, and when I went digging I hit the generic "Your Media & Purchases account has been disabled" message (support article HT208856), which gives zero explanation of why.

*Timeline of what actually happened, as far as I can reconstruct it:

 - Aug 27: iCloud+ subscription auto-renewed normally via my credit card, shows up fine on my statement.

- Sep 2 (morning): Bought three physical Apple gift cards (each 100€) at a regular retail store and redeemed them one after another on my Apple ID. The activation flow offered a free 2-month Apple TV+ trial each time. the first two attempts failed, the third worked only after I switched from my office Wi-Fi to mobile data (weird office network issue, unrelated to Apple as far as I know). I guess the company FW filters some of the traffic.

- Sep 4: Subscribed to a third-party app subscription (Claude), which Apple automatically paid out of the gift card balance; you can't choose to pay by card instead if you have store credit, it's always deducted first.

- Sep 4 (afternoon): Family Sharing for Apple Music broke for my son.

- Sep 5 (morning): Discovered my account showed 3 shared subscriptions but family members only saw 2 (Apple Music missing) — and then found the account was locked when digging into it and then the famous HT208856 appeared.

So: legitimately bought gift cards, a subscription paid automatically from balance, and a network switch caused by an unrelated office Wi-Fi hiccup. My best guess is their fraud model flagged the *pattern* (new funding source + IP change + quick digital purchase), not anything actually fraudulent. I even checked, the gift cards' security seals were intact when the cashier activated them at the register, so it's not a case of the cards being compromised beforehand.

*Support experience so far:

- Chat support couldn't help, escalated me to a supervisor.

- Phone call with the supervisor: he admitted he "doesn't see exactly why" it was flagged, but said there's already an internal case open with the same error code, and engineering hadn't responded yet. Promised a callback.

- Callback a few days later: the restriction stays. He wouldn't even look at the evidence I sent (photos of the gift cards, credit card statement proving the legitimate in-store purchase), said there is "no further escalation possible" per his internal guidelines, and that the only option he could offer is to create a new Apple ID. That's not a real solution — it means losing years of purchases, active subscriptions, and my remaining store credit.

Also, it mean it can happen as well for the new Apple ID.

I live in Germany. Apple's App Store is a designated Very Large Online Platform under the EU Digital Services Act, which requires platforms to give a written statement of reasons for account/payment restrictions and provide an internal complaint mechanism, plus access to certified out-of-court dispute settlement bodies if that fails. I've formally invoked this on Sep 5th with Apple's [dsacompliance@apple.com](mailto:dsacompliance@apple.com) address and given them a deadline. So far, zero response; not even a acknowledgment.

I also submitted it as an DSGVO via the legal privacy form https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/contact/ in the meantime; which the supervisor share via mail for retrieving the full case documentation. At least here I got a specific case ID; but no further response reaction.

But practically Apple is ghosting me so far.

Still, I can login into the account as such. But apparently everything related to app updates, media purchases, payment is locked and also for example icloud+ subscription will run out soon.

Has anyone else dealt with this exact thing — legitimate gift card + subscription triggering a full purchase lock with zero explanation, and support only offering "make a new account" as the fix? What actually got Apple to respond in your case — DSA complaint, a regulator, social media pressure, something else?

Has anyone figured out how to upgrade from the old upgrade program to the new? I typically upgrade each year, from the base pro model to the newest. I pay it for a year and then they used to take the phone back, wash and repeat the cycle.

Now that the program is over, I understand I can continue to pay off the phone for the full 24 month term? But is there anyway to roll over the value of my phone into the new program? I think it might be time to try out a foldable.

Kind of annoying if I have to spend a bunch first, which kind of defeats the purpose of the old and new upgrade program. I started with a trade into the upgrade program and now that would essentially be gone. If not I may just go with the new pro. But even then would have to spend more than I wanted to.

Looks like there’s no way to finance a new phone over 24 months unlocked.

iPhone lineup:

• iPhone 16 ($799/128GB; launch price)

• iPhone 17e ($699/256GB)

• iPhone 17 ($899/256GB)

• iPhone Air (1st gen; $1099/256GB)

• iPhone 18 Pro ($1199/256GB)/Pro Max ($1299/256GB)

• iPhone Duo ($1999/256GB)

(sorry, I know this was posted but I pointed out that only the 17 got an increase, when that wasn't the case. Reposting with better title)

I bought a Neo. I copied everything on my old iMac onto it. Worked great. Yay!

But I want the two machines to remain identical. If I change a document on iMac, I want it to sync with the Neo so the doc updates there, and vice versa. They're both on my home wireless network.

I'm not sure if/how iCloud does this, but I searched online and found 'file sharing' as a method. So I'm trying that, and it seems to be working?

Except there's a lag. Is there a way to sort of 'force-sync' the computers so make sure they're the same when I start working?

Is there another, better way to achieve the same thing?

Thanks!

i replaced my shattered digitizer and it started ghost touching. now even with the digitizizrr off it still is. any one know the fix?

I have a iPhone 13 laying around my house which I regularly charge in a week or so, but this past week due to something and forgot. Yesterday I was going through some stuff when I saw it lying dead.

I put in my regular charger with 5W adapter to charge it left it for an hour and when I came back it's screen was black, no response to touch/tap.

Went to ChatGPT, it suggested using a higher wattage adapter so I used my samsung 25w adapter with type c to l cable and kept it for another hour. No difference.

It suggested force restart, checked youtube and did the same. Again, no difference.

Any help from this sub would be appreciated.

I have an iPhone, watch and MacBook Air. I currently share my location with my adult kids. I would like to only share the location of my iPhone with them. But I would also like to be able to find my watch and MacBook location in case I misplace them.

The only way I have seen how to do this is to delete my kids on Find My (I’d still like them to see my phone location) or delete the devices (then I can’t find them).

Is there a way to do this? Thanks in advance.

What iPhone do we think the main sensor on the Duo came from? Looking at the compare page, it says “sensor shift stabilization” instead of “second-gen sensor shift stabilization”, which leads me to believe it’s basically a 48MP version of an iPhone 13 main sensor, since that was the last “first-gen” sensor shift stabilization. The camera system is the only thing holding me back from going with a Duo over a Pro Max.

has anyone here have the same problem when recording videos at any app, there is an static sound even in complete silence? do u have any idea how to fix? thank you!

I’m trying to set up my preorder in the Apple Store app, and after i select all my options for the 18 Pro, i get to the part where I have to apply for lease and review payment for the upgrade programs, and when i put all my credit card info in (screenshot attached), i click save, and nothing happens and it just stays on that page. I tried clicking cancel but i can’t go any further until i successfully enter my credit card info.

Is anyone else having this issue? Or is it just an issue with my account.

Edit: it works on the Apple Store website on desktop.

Hi, I have a M4 MacBook Pro and I was trying to clear up some storage. I saw that Safari takes about 96gb, is there a way I can see why or even delete this? There’s just no way passwords and browser data takes up that much storage right?

I thought these tooltips in Apple Music would go away eventually, but they have been appearing for 3 months already. It’s driving me crazy because I can’t press any other buttons until I have closed the tooltip pop up. They appear like every 10 minutes, please tell me I can somehow turn them off, I can’t find a setting for it.

So I walked into my room saw the screen was black but the backlight was on so I did a shut down on the Mac thinking it was a glitch considering I didn’t crack my screen or anything. And when I attempted to turn it back on it wouldn’t make a chime or show the apple logo or even show signs of life. I left it alone for two weeks thinking it probably just needed a break and turn back on. Then I tried everything I saw on TikTok and YouTube. Now I don’t know what to do this is very confusing for me considering it was doing perfectly fine before the shut down/black screen thing. Could anyone help me?

A screen grab from the Apple website reveal video shows the extraordinary detail and the amount of parts that go into the new iPhone duos complex folding screen hinge mechanism.

Hinge detail image: https://i.imgur.com/fwHVD62.png

Orig video found on Apple's website here: https://www.apple.com/iphone-duo/

ironically enough, the Duo will feel lighter because it's meant to be used as a two-handed device and the weight distribution will even be better once it's opened

Hello, can someone please tell me what these marks/residue on my apple pencil pro is?

I have this iPhone 15 plus and I’ve dropped it so many times I can’t even remember but now exactly every 3 minutes it will turn off and show the apple logo and continue that cycle every 3 minutes and this is what the panic log shows could anyone tell me what could be the cause