Mac unable to connect to Apple Media Services with locked secondary account

Mac unable to connect to Apple Media Services – locked secondary account

I suspect macOS is holding on to an old authentication credential associated with your secondary Apple Account.

The important distinction is that iCloud and Media & Purchases use separate account settings. You can be signed into iCloud with your primary account while the App Store or other Apple services are still trying to authenticate using the old one.

1. I would start here:

1. Open the App Store.
2. Select Store >> Sign Out from the menu bar.
3. Quit the App Store and restart your Mac.
4. Reopen the App Store and sign in using your primary Apple Account.
5. Check System Settings >> your name >> Media & Purchases to confirm the correct account is showing.

This does not require signing out of iCloud.

Apple's instructions: Sign in to a different Apple Account in the App Store.

2. Also check:

• Music >> Account
• TV >> Account
• System Settings >> Internet Accounts

See whether the old account appears anywhere. Do not remove your primary iCloud account.

Apple's guide: Manage Apple Account settings on Mac.

3. The Final Cut Pro complication

There may be another issue behind all this.

If Final Cut Pro was originally purchased using the secondary account, its purchase entitlement remains tied to that account.

This means your existing installation may continue working, but updating it through the App Store may require access to the original account.

Apple explains this in its guide to updating Final Cut Pro and other Pro Apps.

I would avoid deleting or reinstalling Final Cut Pro until we have established what is causing the repeated authentication request.

4. If the Secondary Account is genuinely locked or disabled, Apple provides guidance on requesting access or recovering it.

See: If your Apple Account is locked, not active, or disabled.

To narrow this down:

1. Does the pop-up appear at startup, when opening Final Cut Pro or the App Store, or repeatedly even when doing nothing?
2. Does the App Store show your primary Apple Account as signed in?
3. Was Final Cut Pro purchased directly through the App Store using the secondary account?

I would like to establish whether this is simply a stale authentication credential or a purchase entitlement issue before attempting anything more invasive.

The aim is to get rid of the persistent pop-up without disturbing your existing Final Cut Pro installation, libraries or primary iCloud account.

One additional possibility worth keeping in mind: Apple now supports migrating eligible purchases from one Apple Account to another. 

If the old account can eventually be recovered, this may provide a longer-term solution.

Apple: Migrate purchases from one Apple Account to another.

To stop the persistent Apple Media Services pop-up, you need to completely purge the cached credentials of that locked secondary account from your Mac's internal database. Because you cannot sign out of it normally through System Settings, you will have to disconnect it manually.

Sign Out of Media Services via Terminal

Since the account is invisible in your normal settings, you can use a Terminal command to force macOS to forget it.

• Open the Terminal app (find in Spotlight or Applications > Utilities).
• Copy and paste the following command, then press return:

defaults delete com.apple.Commerce

• Next, copy and paste this command to clear the Mac App Store's background daemon cache, then press return:

killall appstoreagent

• Restart your Mac.

Delete Cached Apple Media Services Folders

If the pop-up still appears after restarting, your Mac is still holding onto corrupted account tokens in its hidden library files.

• Open Finder.
• Click Go in the top menu bar, then hold down the Option (⌥) key. A hidden Library folder will appear in the dropdown; click it.
• Navigate to the following folder path: Caches > com.apple.appstore.
• Delete everything inside the com.apple.appstore folder.
• Go back to the main Library folder, navigate to Application Support > AppStore, and delete any files inside that folder.
• Empty your Trash and restart your Mac.

Deal with Final Cut Pro (FCP)

The root reason your Mac keeps pinging that old account is because the Final Cut Pro app currently installed on your drive is still digitally stamped with your secondary account’s Apple ID. Every time the background system checks for app updates, it triggers the login prompt for that locked account. Because you cannot unlock the old account to update it, you must migrate the app to your primary account:

• Delete the current FCP app: Drag Final Cut Pro from your Applications folder to the Trash. (Don't worry: your projects, libraries, and footage are stored separately and will not be deleted).
• Re-purchase or family-share: You will need to either purchase FCP on your primary account or, if you have a trusted friend/family member who owns it, use Apple Family Sharing to download it.
• Alternative (If you bought it recently): If you have proof of purchase for FCP and can prove ownership of the main identity, you can contact Apple Support to see if they can manually transfer the license, though this is rare for locked-out accounts

More info from Apple: If your Apple Account is locked, not active, or disabled - Apple Support