Mac App Store Displays Blank White Screen; Mac: Cannot Connect to App Store, Fix; Update macOS. Special note for users who are running macOS Mohave: There was a security update in September 2020 which is known to be buggy. In addition to problems with the App Store, the September update has caused user’s machines to slow down and Safari to. And the App Store is the best place to discover new apps that let you pursue your passions in ways you never thought possible. Designed for discovery. Tabs in the App Store make it easy to discover new apps you’re going to love. The desktop needs a lot more than App Store tweaks (please kill AppKit and start fresh, Apple), but changes are needed. Let’s hope WWDC brings good things for the Mac as well as iOS, tvOS. The best Mac app is now available from the Mac App Store. Now you can download CleanMyMac X directly from the Mac App Store but some features are missing because they aren't allowed by Apple.
Where Categories Are Displayed
You can assign two categories to your app — a primary and a secondary category. The primary category you select is particularly important for your app’s discoverability on the App Store. This will be the category in which the app appears when users browse the App Store or filter search results, and it determines placement on the Apps tab or Games tab on the App Store for iPhone and iPad.
Apple has been requiring new software distributed with a Developer ID outside of the Mac App Store to be notarized in order to run since macOS Mojave 10.14.5, with the notarization.
For Mac apps, the primary category you select is also the category in which the app appears when users browse the Mac App Store or filter search results, and it determines placement in the Categories tab on the Mac App Store in macOS 10.14 or later.
Choosing a Primary Category
Let’s say you have a photo-sharing social networking app. For the App Store, you could choose either Photo & Video or Social Networking as your primary category. To decide which category will best serve your app, consider the following:
Your app’s purpose. Your primary category should be the one that best describes the main function or subject matter of your app.
Where users naturally look for an app like yours. Understanding your audience will help you identify the category in which they will likely look for your app. Will they consider your app to be more of a social network app or a photography app?
Which categories contain the same type of apps as yours. Research how similar apps are categorized — users may already know to visit these categories to find this type of app.
Make sure that the category you choose accurately reflects your app’s core experience. Choosing categories that are not appropriate for your app is against the App Store Review Guidelines.
Special Cases
Apps for Kids If you have an app designed for kids ages 11 and under, select the Made for Kids checkbox in App Store Connect and choose an appropriate age band (5 and under, 6–8, or 9–11). Your app must comply with the App Review Guidelines for Kids apps and will go through review to be approved for the Kids category on the App Store In addition to the Kids category, your app can be discovered in another primary and secondary category (for example: Games, Entertainment, or Education). For more details, see Building Apps for Kids.
Games If your app is a game, you can choose up to two Games subcategories. Users can find your app by browsing the subcategories on the App Store and in the Games subcategory charts. If you don’t know which subcategory best suits your game, research the types of games in each before making your selection.
Stickers On the App Store for iMessage, you can assign your sticker pack app to a category called Stickers, or to another primary category that best describes your app. If you use the Stickers category, you can also select a Stickers subcategory. Standalone sticker pack apps are not displayed in categories on the App Store for iPhone and iPad — they are discoverable only in search results. Categories for iOS app with iMessage extensions are taken from the iOS app and are used on the App Store for iPhone, iPad, and iMessage. For more details, see iMessage Apps and Stickers.
Compare Categories
Explore and compare categories to see which best describes your app.
Books
Apps that provide extensive interactivity for content that is traditionally offered in printed form. If you are planning a more traditional reading experience, you may want to look at publishing an iBook instead.
For example: stories, comics, eReaders, coffee table books, graphic novels.
Business
Apps that assist with running a business or provide a means to collaborate, edit, or share content.
For example: document management (PDFs, scanning, file viewing/editing), VoIP telephony, dictation, remote desktop, job search resources, customer resource management, collaboration, enterprise resource planning, point of sale.
Developer Tools
Apps that provide tools for app development, management, and distribution.
For example: coding, testing, debugging, workflow management, text and code editing.
Education
Apps that provide an interactive learning experience on a specific skill or subject.
For example: arithmetic, alphabet, writing, early learning and special education, solar system, vocabulary, colors, language learning, standardized test prep, geography, school portals, pet training, astronomy, crafts.
Entertainment
Apps that are interactive and designed to entertain and inform the user, and which contain audio, visual, or other content.
For example: television, movies, second screens, fan clubs, theatre, ringtones, voice manipulation, ticketing services, art creation.
Finance
Apps that perform financial transactions or assist the user with business or personal financial matters.
For example: personal financial management, mobile banking, investment, bill reminders, budgets, debt management, tax, small business finance, insurance.
Food & Drink
Apps that provide recommendations, instruction, or critique related to the preparation, consumption, or review of food or beverages.
For example: recipe collections, cooking guides, restaurant reviews, celebrity chefs/recipes, dietary & food allergy, alcohol reviews, brewery guides, international cuisine.
Games
Apps that provide single or multiplayer interactive activities for entertainment purposes.
For example: action, adventure, board, card, family, music, puzzle, racing, role playing, simulation, sports, strategy. Typography software.
Graphics & Design
Apps that provide tools for art, design, and graphics creation.
For example: vector graphic design, image editing, drawing and illustration.
Health & Fitness
Apps related to healthy living, including stress management, fitness, and recreational activities.
Apps relating to a general-interest subject matter or service.
For example: real estate, crafts, hobbies, parenting, fashion, home improvement.
Kids (iOS and iPadOS only)
Cattan Mac App Store App
Apps designed specifically for children ages 11 and under. Age-appropriate apps must be placed in one of three age bands based on their primary audience: 5 and under, 6–8, or 9–11.
Cattan Mac App Store Settings
For example: age-appropriate games, interactive stories, educational materials, magazines.
Magazines & Newspapers
Apps that offer auto-renewing subscriptions to magazine or newspaper content. Choose Magazines & Newspapers if you deliver content using an issue-based strategy or are producing interactive versions of a printed periodical.
For example: newspapers, magazines, other recurring periodicals.
Medical
Apps that are focused on medical education, information management, or health reference for patients or healthcare professionals.
For example: skeletal, muscular, anatomy, medical record-keeping, diseases, symptom reference, companion devices (blood pressure, pulse, and so on), health tracking.
Music
Apps that are for discovering, listening to, recording, performing, or composing music, and that are interactive in nature.
For example: music creation, radio, education, sound editing, music discovery, composition, lyric writing, band and recording artists, music videos and concerts, concert ticketing.
Apps that provide information to help a user travel to a physical location.
For example: driving assistance, walking assistance, topographical maps, maritime, pilot logs/assistance, oceanic tides, road atlas, fuel finders, public transit maps.
News
Apps that provide information about current events or developments in areas of interest such as politics, entertainment, business, science, technology, and so on. Choose News if your app serves content via newsreader or digest format, or if your app is for a digital-first or broadcast-first media outlet with frequent content updates.
For example: television, video, radio, or online news outlets or programs, RSS readers.
Photo & Video
Apps that assist in capturing, editing, managing, storing, or sharing photos and videos.
For example: capture, editing, special effects, sharing, imaging, printing, greeting card creation, manuals.
Productivity
Apps that make a specific process or task more organized or efficient.
Apps that assist the user in accessing or retrieving information.
For example: atlas, dictionary, thesaurus, quotations, encyclopedia, general research, animals, law, religious, how-tos, politics.
Shopping
Apps that support the purchase of consumer goods or materially enhance the shopping experience.
For example: commerce, marketplace, coupon, product review, apps with Apple Pay.
Apps that connect people by means of text, voice, photo, or video. Apps that contribute to community development.
For example: interpersonal connections, text messaging, voice messaging, video communication, photo & video sharing, dating, blogs, special interest communities, companion apps for traditional social networking services.
Sports
Apps related to professional, amateur, collegiate, or recreational sporting activities.
For example: fantasy sports companions, college teams/conference, professional teams/leagues, athletes, score trackers, instruction, sports news.
Travel
Apps that assist the user with any aspect of travel, such as planning, purchasing, or tracking.
For example: flight tracking, multi-time clocks, city guides, hotel/rental car/air fare shopping, vacation planning, public transportation, travel rewards.
Utilities
Apps that enable the user to solve a problem or complete a specific task.
For example: calculators (standard, tip, financial), clocks, measurement, time, web browsing, flashlights, screen locks, bar code scanners, unit conversion tools, password management, remote controls.
Weather
Apps that provide forecasts, alerts, and information related to weather conditions.
For example: radar, forecast, storms, tides, severe weather, local weather.
Related
Apple’s MacBook lineup is the perfect example of the company’s ‘It Just Works’ philosophy. Unlike iOS, macOS is open for more customization to end-users. For example, you can download and install an application from the Mac App Store and the web. I would advise sticking with the Mac App Store to download apps on the Mac for security and convenience. Installing software from the Mac App Store usually only takes a few clicks. But what happens when something goes wrong?
Sometimes you might run into issues while downloading apps from the Mac App Store. You might encounter files that say they’ve downloaded despite evidence to the contrary, or face verification errors or other installation difficulties.
Whether apps fail to download, you get errors while purchasing apps, or even experience App Store page, we'll show you how to solve common Mac App Stor downloading problems.
Before we start with troubleshooting steps, it’s always advisable to backup your Mac in case something goes off the tracks.
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1. Check Internet Connection
Most Mac apps range from hundreds of MBs to a couple of GBs. If you are using a slow or poor internet connection, you might encounter download issues on the Mac App Store. First, launch Safari or your preferred Mac browser and check if you can access any website without issues. If you can access several webpages on the browser, then your internet connection is fine. Otherwise, turn off your Mac's Wi-Fi and re-enable it.
You can also check Speedtest or Fast.com to check the current internet speeds. You can also reboot the Wi-Fi router or implement some of the Wi-Fi signal troubleshooting tips to boost your router's network signal.
2. Empty Mac App Store Temporary Download Cache Folder
You can try emptying the Mac App Store temporary download cache folder and try downloading the app again. Follow the steps below to empty the Mac App Store download cache folder.
Step 1: Go to the Apps folder and find the Terminal app. Alternatively, you can use Command + Space keys and search for Terminal.
Step 2: Copy the command below.
Step 3: It will open the Mac App Store download cache folder.
Step 4: Select them and move the folders to Trash. Buy app from microsoft store.
Step 5: Once you’ve closed the folder, you can re-download any apps that were causing problems.
3. Force Quit Mac App Store
If your Macbook fails to download apps from the App Store, force quitting and relaunching the app can restore it to regular functionality. There are several ways to force quit the App Store on your Mac. Check them out below.
Use Keyboard Shortcut
The easiest way to Force Quit an active application (the App Store in this case) is using the Command + Option + Shift + Esc keyboard shortcut. Hold these four keys together while the App Store window is open and the app and other related processes will be stopped till you relaunch it.
Use the Force Quit Applications Menu
Step 1: With the App Store window open in the foreground, tap the Apple icon on the menu bar, and select 'Force Quit' or 'Force Quit App Store.'
That will launch the 'Force Quit Applications' menu.
Step 2: Make sure the App Store is highlighted and tap the Force Quit button.
Step 3: Select Force Quit on the confirmation prompt to proceed.
Force Quit Using Activity Monitor
Step 1: Tap 'Command + Spacebar' to get launch the Spotlight search.
Step 2: Type Activity Monitor into the search field and double-tap Activity Monitor in the result pane.
Step 3: Select the App Store from the list of processes and tap the 'x' icon at the Activity Monitor's top-left corner.
Step 4: Select Force Quit from the pop-up.
You can check now if the downloading starts working again or not.
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4. Disable VPN
If your Mac is connected to a VPN, it will fail to download region-locked apps from the App Store. You can either shut down your VPN or modify your VPN's Split Tunneling settings to exclude the App Store.
5. Check Apple’s System Status Page
Sometimes the issue may not be a problem on your end. Check out Apple's System Status Page. Here, you can see information about the status of Apple's services, such as iCloud, the App Store, and more. If a particular service has a red icon next to it, then it's down.
In such cases, you have no option but to wait for Apple to fix the issue on their end.
6. Error While Purchasing Apps
You might see a peculiar 'We could not complete your purchase: Unknown Error' message when buying apps. This problem occurs when you use multiple Apple IDs.
Make sure to prefer the same Apple ID you used to purchase apps on the Mac App Store.
7. Update macOS
Mac App Store failing to download apps issue might be due to a buggy build released by Apple. Usually, the company is quick to troubleshoot such critical issues. You should go to the System Preferences menu and update macOS to the latest version.
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Start Downloading Apps Again
Go through the steps above and fix the Mac App Store’s problematic download behavior. Whenever I run into such issues, the Force Quit trick does the job for me. What about you? Which trick worked for you? Share your findings in the comments section below.
Next up:Looking to stay organized on your new Mac? Read the post below to find the best Mac apps to keep things organized.
The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.Read Next7 Best Mac Apps to Stay OrganizedAlso See#productivity #app store
Did You Know
Thunderbolt 3 is a data and video transfer protocol and is developed by Intel.