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How to Re-Download Lion From the Mac App Store

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MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Macworld points out that with the launch of OS X Mountain Lion today, Apple has seemingly removed OS X Lion from the Mac App Store. However, users can re-download it -- and then create a Recovery USB Key -- if they have already purchased it.

Purchases.png


Folks who already bought Lion can in fact re-download it, if they hold down Option when clicking on the Purchased tab. That secret shortcut makes Lion reappear in the list.

With the Option key trick, customers who own Lion and, for whatever reason, want to install it fresh on a compatible Mac, can do so.
Click to expand...
Customers who never purchased Lion are out of luck as far as the App Store goes, though the OS X Lion USB Thumb Drive is still available via the Apple Online Store for $69.

Article Link: How to Re-Download Lion From the Mac App Store
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2012/07/25/how-to-re-download-lion-from-the-mac-app-store/
coder12

coder12

macrumors 6502a
Jun 28, 2010
512
3
Mad Mac Maniac said:
so with ML, OS updates will be done through the MAS right? So when ML gets removed with the release of 10.9 does that mean no more updates?
Click to expand...

They'll probably just hide the purchase link like they did with Lion :p You can still get updates, just like you always have, without actually needing to go into the apps' individual page; it will just show up in the software update location.
 
deannnnn

deannnnn

macrumors 68020
Jun 4, 2007
2,090
625
New York City & South Florida
Mad Mac Maniac said:
so with ML, OS updates will be done through the MAS right? So when ML gets removed with the release of 10.9 does that mean no more updates?
Click to expand...

I don't have Mountain Lion yet as I'm still awaiting my upgrade key, but I'm sure that whenever 10.9 is released, 10.8 users will still be able to get updates through the App Store. They can't just leave older users out in the cold.
 
K

KALLT

macrumors 603
Sep 23, 2008
5,361
3,378
Very strange decision if you ask me. Since the App Store is the only place where you can get Lion, people with systems that haven’t been upgraded before and are not eligible for Mountain Lion are basically stuck, unless they get it from other sources. Is this Apple’s way of saying ‘we don’t care about you anyway’? Even this option-click method to download it again appears to be more than a hidden way than an obvious solution, clearly to prevent inexperienced users from finding it. It feels as if Apple is trying to cut the cords as much as possible.
 
A

Acks101

macrumors newbie
Jul 25, 2012
2
0
Need Help Finding Lion

Hi i have tried the above method and it is not working for me. osx Lion is not coming up when i press the option key and click purchases.

just before installing mountain lion i accidentally clicked the cross next to the osx lion download button in the purchased apps section. now i can't find osx lion anywhere.

As i did pay for it i would like to make a copy of it just in case i ever need it.
can someone please help.

thank you,
Acks.
 
K

KALLT

macrumors 603
Sep 23, 2008
5,361
3,378
Acks101 said:
Hi i have tried the above method and it is not working for me. osx Lion is not coming up when i press the option key and click purchases.

just before installing mountain lion i accidentally clicked the cross next to the osx lion download button in the purchased apps section. now i can't find osx lion anywhere.

As i did pay for it i would like to make a copy of it just in case i ever need it.
can someone please help.

thank you,
Acks.
Click to expand...

Go to the main page of the App Store and log in to your account (the link on the right hand side). There you find an option under iTunes in the Cloud to view hidden purchases. You can unhide it there.
 
P

Primejimbo

macrumors 68040
Aug 10, 2008
3,295
131
Around
sorry for the dumb question...
How do I get Mountain Lion with Snow Leopard? Will I get charged for Lion when I buy Mountain Lion then?
 
Z

Zerotolerance

macrumors member
Dec 5, 2011
61
6
New Hampshire
I still have the OS X Lion available as a download in my Purchases list. But this whole thing is screwed up. I usually skip to every other OS, so I was planning to upgrade from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion. Luckily, two weeks ago, I found out that my older Mac couldn't run Mountain Lion, so I hurried up and bought Lion because I suspected Apple would pull it from the App Store, leaving me with no way to purchase it. It's not like the old days of hard discs where you go on to eBay or amazon and still find old but still brand new OS's for sale. I'll bet there will be others like me in the coming weeks who think they're going to buy Mountain Lion, but when the find out it can't run on their Macs, they're going to be stuck. I think that if Apple is only going to make its software available in the App Store, they should have a special "clearance bin" section of older versions at discount prices for people who don't have the hardware to purchase the latest version.
 
Glassed Silver

Glassed Silver

macrumors 68020
Mar 10, 2007
2,096
2,567
Kassel, Germany
Primejimbo said:
sorry for the dumb question...
How do I get Mountain Lion with Snow Leopard? Will I get charged for Lion when I buy Mountain Lion then?
Click to expand...

No.
Snow Leopard is the least version you can upgrade from, so you're golden.
Just go to the Mac App Store, purchase Lion at the standard price and off you go. :cool:

Glassed Silver:mac
 
AriX

AriX

macrumors 6502
Jan 8, 2007
349
0
Mad Mac Maniac said:
so with ML, OS updates will be done through the MAS right? So when ML gets removed with the release of 10.9 does that mean no more updates?
Click to expand...
That's not how that works. The OS updates that will come through the Mac App Store are not the same as regular app updates. I believe they are the same updates that would normally come through Software Update, just integrated into the App Store app instead. The "Mountain Lion" item you buy from the MAS is the OS installer; the installer will likely get updated for new versions of the OS, but that will be separate from the OS updates themselves.
(This is just my intuition based on what I've seen; I don't know 100% how it works.)
 
A

Acks101

macrumors newbie
Jul 25, 2012
2
0
KALLT said:
Go to the main page of the App Store and log in to your account (the link on the right hand side). There you find an option under iTunes in the Cloud to view hidden purchases. You can unhide it there.
Click to expand...

Thanks alot mate.
 
jsalda

jsalda

macrumors 6502
Jun 6, 2008
368
584
Zerotolerance said:
I still have the OS X Lion available as a download in my Purchases list. But this whole thing is screwed up. I usually skip to every other OS, so I was planning to upgrade from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion. Luckily, two weeks ago, I found out that my older Mac couldn't run Mountain Lion, so I hurried up and bought Lion because I suspected Apple would pull it from the App Store, leaving me with no way to purchase it. It's not like the old days of hard discs where you go on to eBay or amazon and still find old but still brand new OS's for sale. I'll bet there will be others like me in the coming weeks who think they're going to buy Mountain Lion, but when the find out it can't run on their Macs, they're going to be stuck. I think that if Apple is only going to make its software available in the App Store, they should have a special "clearance bin" section of older versions at discount prices for people who don't have the hardware to purchase the latest version.
Click to expand...
I agree. I was playing with the wife's Macbook (Early 2008) last night and decided to check the requirements for ML. When I found out it wasn't supported, something in me told me to get Lion while I can, had a suspicion Apple would pull it. Glad I did.

Also, it's showing up in my "Purchases" tab. Downloading it now on my MBP (still running SL) and throwing it on my server at work for safe keeping.
 
P

Primejimbo

macrumors 68040
Aug 10, 2008
3,295
131
Around
Glassed Silver said:
No.
Snow Leopard is the least version you can upgrade from, so you're golden.
Just go to the Mac App Store, purchase Lion at the standard price and off you go. :cool:

Glassed Silver:mac
Click to expand...

Lion got pulled from the App Store:
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/12/07/25/apple_os_x_lion_pulled_as_mountain_lion_rolls_out.html

ixodes said:
http://www.apple.com/osx/how-to-upgrade/
Click to expand...
Doesn't tell me how much I would pay. I doubt it I would pay only $19.99 to go from SL to Mountain Lion.
 
K

KALLT

macrumors 603
Sep 23, 2008
5,361
3,378
Dewroo said:
Does anyone agree with me that this makes sense, as it reduces consumer confusion?
Click to expand...

I find that argument unconvincing. There would have been other methods to make customers aware of the difference, like an overview page or a pop up if customers attempt to download it, although they could get Mountain Lion instead. They could also just hide it entirely when the App Store detects that the customer’s Mac is capable of running Mountain Lion. These are all other options Apple could have taken to ensure that customers get the latest software, but don’t leave existing customers with Snow Leopard.
 
K

KPOM

macrumors P6
Oct 23, 2010
18,024
7,867
KALLT said:
Very strange decision if you ask me. Since the App Store is the only place where you can get Lion, people with systems that haven’t been upgraded before and are not eligible for Mountain Lion are basically stuck, unless they get it from other sources. Is this Apple’s way of saying ‘we don’t care about you anyway’? Even this option-click method to download it again appears to be more than a hidden way than an obvious solution, clearly to prevent inexperienced users from finding it. It feels as if Apple is trying to cut the cords as much as possible.
Click to expand...


According to Macworld you can get it by calling 1-800-MY-APPLE, although not all the reps there know about the option yet.
http://www.macworld.com/article/1167879/apple_pulls_lion_from_the_mac_app_store.html
 
matrix07

matrix07

macrumors G3
Jun 24, 2010
8,226
4,891
I don't see Lion in my purchase tab. I got it when I buy MBA, guess I'm out of luck. :mad:
 
S

StrudelTurnover

macrumors regular
Feb 25, 2008
125
0
Zerotolerance said:
I think that if Apple is only going to make its software available in the App Store, they should have a special "clearance bin" section of older versions at discount prices for people who don't have the hardware to purchase the latest version.
Click to expand...

No matter what they might call it, selling fresh copies of old software implies that they're obligated to support it. And I bet you'd see lawsuits insisting on it. No consumer expects to have a dead version with security updates if they bought it yesterday from the company what made it.

And seriously, ML is $20, L was $30, SL was $30. What exactly is a discount price? We're not talking $150 upgrades anymore. It's all hardware subsidies now.

Finally, because you seem to have forgotten, Apple is the closed sales loop. They have everything to gain from encouraging you upgrade hardware, and no reason to care if you choose not to.

Isn't there some kind of aftermarket for developer seeded OSX builds? Or did they solve that problem? :)
 
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A

adrian.oconnor

macrumors 6502
Jan 16, 2008
326
3
Nottingham, England
matrix07 said:
I don't see Lion in my purchase tab. I got it when I buy MBA, guess I'm out of luck. :mad:
Click to expand...

If Lion came on your MBA you already have a copy to keep -- in your laptop box you also got a tiny little white USB stick (with a grey Apple logo on it). That's the Lion install 'disc'. If you need to wipe the laptop, stick that in and hold down alt (or 'the option key') while the computer starts up.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
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