MacOS – App Store can’t verify purchased applications

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This morning, when launching an application I purchased from the App store some time ago, I was greeted with a sign-in box telling me that Apple needed to verify the application. I signed in using my iTunes password (which I've since double checked, and I know I entered accurately), and was greeted with the following message in reply:

Your device or computer could not be verified. Contact support for assistance.

Some poking about online shows one thread from a couple years ago where someone says he called Apple and they told him to delete "the plist", but that's all the information given. Deleting ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.AppStore.plist did nothing to change the issue, however.

A couple of these applications are required for work. Any ideas on what the issue is or how to fix it?

Best Answer

Short of calling Apple Support (or web chat or twitter @AppleSupport) you could check a few things:

  • date and time are correct and set automatically
  • sign out and in to the App store with your Apple ID
  • delete the app in Launchpad and download it again (make a backup in case the app has been pulled from the store)
  • make a new user account - delete the app and re-install it from the new user
  • restart the OS
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