Keith Gugliotto:
The Mac App Store places a receipt file in each purchased application. The receipt includes a certificate the application uses to validate that receipt to be sure you’ve made a bona fide purchase. That certificate is only valid for a limited amount of time – in our experience, up to about 25 months, though sometimes significantly less, which could indicate the App Store renews these certificates every so often. So, when you see this “damaged” message out of the blue, it’s almost surely because the certificate in the receipt has expired. You could set the date on your Mac back a bit to work around it, but you really want to straighten things out so you don’t have to go through that fun every time you sit down to use an application.
Usually, as long as your current Apple Account has a valid purchase for the application in question, you won’t ever see the “damaged” message because the application will tell the Mac the receipt’s invalid, the Mac will automatically refresh your receipt, and you’re on your way. You should only see the message in those three cases we outlined above.
Matthias Gansrigler:
Are any other Mac developers observing a surge of support requests for “<App> is damaged and can’t be opened. Please re-download it from the Mac App Store” recently?
It started yesterday, out of the blue. macOS 15, 14, 13 and 12 as well…
I am not seeing this personally, and I’m not sure what’s going on here, but there are multiple reports of problems launching Mac App Store apps.
This bug thread suggests that some receipt validation code needs to change because Sequoia adds MAC address randomization. This post and other sources suggest that it’s important to use StoreKit 2 instead of validating receipts directly, although perhaps that only pertains to IAP. Apple’s sample code does not seem to have changed.
Previously:
Update (2024-10-08): Sam Rowlands (tweet):
The OWStoreKitBridge is the latest Mac App Store receipt verification code from Ohanaware. It uses a whole new design to fit in with Apple’s StoreKit, now that the classic Mac receipt verification functions have been moved to legacy.
Update (2024-10-15): See also: this thread.
Lukas Kubanek:
Since exit(173) is the macOS counterpart to SKReceiptRefreshRequest on iOS, I guess it falls into the same deprecation category. However, they say that the original API will continue to work. But then, exit(173) has had long phases of not working at all (example), so I’m not surprised if it’s been cut.
Alexander Blach:
I would like to move to AppTransaction, but last time I checked it didn’t support volume purchases (VPP). For apps bought in Apple School Manager, it showed an Apple ID login prompt instead.
exit(173) now shows the “API no longer available” alert when I run a build from Xcode 16 on macOS 15, but it still actually refreshes the receipt anyway.
I wonder in which circumstances exactly this alert is shown. Maybe only when using the sandbox environment?
App Store Receipt Validation Mac Mac App Store macOS 12 Monterey macOS 13 Ventura macOS 14 Sonoma macOS 15 Sequoia
ForestVPN:
Many of us rely on VPN apps to secure our online activities, but did you know there’s a way to set up a VPN on your iPhone without downloading an app? This method not only saves space but also provides a seamless experience for users who prefer a more direct approach.
Via John Gruber:
It just requires some futzing in Settings and a VPN provider that supports it. Presumably, this technique remains available to iPhone users in Russia.
[…]
VPN apps remove complexity from this process, but it’s worth noting that VPN access doesn’t require an app.
However, at least in the case of ForestVPN, it’s confusing how to sign up for the service without using an app. If you click Get Started it just directs you to download the app. It looks like if you click Get MacOS CLI it will let you sign up on the Web.
Riley Testut:
Anecdotally, Russia has long been the most popular country for AltStore Classic usage by far
Previously:
AltStore iOS iOS 18 Networking Russia Virtual Private Network (VPN)
Juli Clover (release notes, no security, enterprise, no developer, full installer, IPSW):
According to Apple’s release notes, macOS Sequoia 15.0.1 fixes a bug that could cause the Messages app to crash when a message with a shared Apple Watch face was sent, and it improves third-party software compatibility.
See also: Mr. Macintosh and Howard Oakley.
Previously:
Update (2024-10-08): Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai:
In September, Apple released the new version of its computer operating system macOS 15, also known as Sequoia, which broke the functionality of several cybersecurity products, including those made by CrowdStrike and Microsoft.
Three weeks later, on Friday, Apple released the first update to macOS 15, and it claims to have fixed those issues. In the macOS 15.0.1 release notes, Apple says that the update “improves compatibility with third-party security software.”
Update (2024-10-15): Ugur Koc:
We’ve noticed some users still facing internet connectivity issues (with 15.0.1). Please check if you have multiple Network Filters enabled, as having more than one can cause network problems on Mac. This issue is not limited to Defender for Endpoint on macOS and can also affect other security software vendors and VPN applications.
CrowdStrike Mac macOS 15 Sequoia macOS Release Microsoft Defender Virtual Private Network (VPN)
Juli Clover (release notes, security, enterprise, no developer):
iOS 18.0.1 update addresses issues with several bug fixes for the touch screen, camera, and Messages app.
Previously:
iOS iOS 18 iOS Release
Juli Clover (release notes, security, no developer):
Apple today released iPadOS 18.0.1 for the iPad, and it brings iPadOS 18 to the for M4 iPad Pro models for the first time since the iPadOS 18 update was pulled for those devices. After iPadOS 18 was released, it was found that a small number of M4 iPads were bricked when the software was installed. If you haven’t been able to install iPadOS 18 on your iPad Pro, it is now available.
Previously:
iPadOS iPadOS 18 iPadOS Release
Juli Clover (release notes, no security, no developer):
watchOS 11.0.1 introduces bug fixes for the Apple Watch. It fixes an issue that could cause the Music app to crash, plus it addresses a bug that could cause the battery to drain faster than expected. There’s also a fix for a bug that could cause the touchscreen to be unresponsive on the latest Apple Watch models, and a bug that could cause unexpected restarts.
Previously:
watchOS watchOS 11 watchOS Release
Juli Clover (release notes, no developer, no security, no enterprise):
The visionOS 2 update fixes a bug that could cause YouTube in Safari to freeze, plus it addresses an issue with Safari Web Extension data.
Previously:
visionOS visionOS 2 visionOS Release
