Mac – Updating software from App Store not available for purchased items.

mac-appstoresoftwaresoftware-update

I have recently purchased Growl for handling my notifications. I had enabled my account from Greece since I was living there years ago before I got my mac. Now I have moved to Denmark and I followed the relevant procedure for changing country. Finally I purchased software after I switched my account to Denmark.

The issues come when there are updates for the software I bought. I am getting a message saying: 

To update this application, sign in to the account you used to upgrade it.

I followed the instructions from here and now App Store doesn't even recognize I have spend money on software and asks me again to purchase it.

How can I configure my App Store account properly so I don't have these issues?

Best Answer

The solution is to keep 2 separate AppleID accounts:

  1. One for the country you used to live in, with a valid address for that country. Credit Card may be expired as it's not needed for updates.
  2. Another for the country you live in now with your current details.

I've had a long email conversation with Apple re the subject, but they don't allow for purchase transfers between countries. They treat each country's store as a separate entity with no option to transfer purchases between.

Unfortunately this means, that in order to get an update for the apps which are attached to different AppleIDs you have to log out and log back in with different details. This is a bit of an inconvenience, but still cheaper than buying all the apps again.

Related Question