I'm reasonably sure this has happened with every major O/S release going back a few years. The older MacOS version purchases have always reappeared in fairly short order.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
macOS Sierra and Later Not Listed in Mac App Store Purchased Tab, Updates Not Tied to Apple ID
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
This delay is common at the major release of a new Mac operating system, unfortunately. Also keep in mind that even though Apple releases some security updates for the previous two operating systems, some of the security updates are only ever applied to the newest major version. We saw this repeatedly occur with 10.12.x, while 10.10.5 and 10.11.6 wouldn't get all of the same fixes.
[doublepost=1506511068][/doublepost]
El Capitan, yes, Sierra, no.
I see what you mean about Sierra.
If you have a Sierra Time Machine backup you can dig into your Backups.backupdb file in Terminal and see if the Sierra .dmg is still buried in there in the hidden restore image directory.
Following the release of macOS High Sierra, Mac users have discovered that Apple is no longer listing previous operating system updates in a user's Purchased tab in the Mac App Store.
Neither macOS Sierra nor macOS High Sierra show up in the Purchased list, suggesting the updates are no longer tied to an Apple ID account. Previous Mac software updates were linked to an Apple ID account and updating required an Apple ID and password, something that could be a hassle when a Mac changed ownership.
An Apple support document on reinstalling apps confirms that the change to remove macOS Sierra and High Sierra from the Purchased tab was intentional.
"macOS Sierra or later doesn't appear in the Purchased tab," reads the document.
In the case of macOS Sierra, the change means that there's no way for Mac users to download macOS Sierra should they want to downgrade from High Sierra for some reason.
OS X El Capitan, OS X Yosemite, OS X Mavericks, and earlier updates are all tied to a user account and listed in the Mac App Store. Apple has also made a link to the OS X El Capitan update available through a support document, but no similar support document is available for macOS Sierra.
Article Link: macOS Sierra and Later Not Listed in Mac App Store Purchased Tab, Updates Not Tied to Apple ID
But easy to roll back if your machine came with OS Sierra installed... just go through command-option-shift-R... you do need to repartition and reformat your hard drive with the utility and then reinstall OS...it will install Sierra... Did it yesterday after discovering that license dongles or ANT+ dongles don't work anymore in High Sierra... wow, the benefits of USB-C are daunting.
Start up from macOS Recovery
macOS Recovery installs different versions of macOS depending on the key combination you press while starting up. Hold down one of the following combinations immediately after pressing the power button to turn on your Mac. Release when you see the Apple logo or a spinning globe.
Command (⌘)-R
Install the latest macOS that was installed on your Mac, without upgrading to a later version.1
Option-Command-R
Upgrade to the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac.2
Shift-Option-Command-R
Requires macOS Sierra 10.12.4 or later Install the macOS that came with your Mac, or the version closest to it that is still available. This combination requires macOS Sierra 10.12.4 or later.
Well, I have the release candidate backed up, not a very current release either.
This sucks a lot and it worries me deeply.
Not sure what to make of this, but it's certainly not good for us users. Less choice, more nannying... Apple used to know the balance a lot better, now they just flat out go ham, just to be sure...
This is one of those examples for that.
Glassed Silver:mac
This sucks a lot and it worries me deeply.
Not sure what to make of this, but it's certainly not good for us users. Less choice, more nannying... Apple used to know the balance a lot better, now they just flat out go ham, just to be sure...
This is one of those examples for that.
Glassed Silver:mac
Luckily I pulled the dmg out of all those so I have from snow leopard to High Sierra is installer backups that I use flash drives to make installmedia out of
Usually when Apple complicates things or removes a standardized, unified way to do one thing, that alone is a strong message and signal for more things to come.
Why do you both act like you don't know it?
The link might work forever, the dragging and dropping might continue to work, but either show a change of priority or strategy.
THAT is the basis of why this rings bells for many. Not that there wasn't some way to get a Sierra installer back, most I believe would have expected there to be some way, if just to ask a MR reader to share a link privately.
Glassed Silver:mac
The file system has nothing to do with making the installer of a OS available.
I saw this coming ahead of time and have a backup of the installer for every version of OS X/MacOS saved on my external backup drive.
I’m not sure yet if I agree with the other forum member about this being the path to forced updates like iOS because my iPhone 6+ is still on iOS 10 and the only notice of iOS11 I have received so far is when plugging it into iTunes.
I would say it’s more of the attempt to force users who upgrade to not be able to downgrade. This in itself is despicable.
This happened to me with the Stones last Tour. Luckily I had a USB of Sierra in my pocket.
I get the option to re-install Sierra (which is not the original OS) when I power up while holding the Command and R keys. I know this very well now because my Mac mini keeps locking up and will not boot up again every time I attempt to install High Sierra.
Hold down Command-Option-Shift-R. Do you still only see the option to reinstall macOS Sierra, or the version that originally shipped with your Mac?
If you read the article Apple published, they explain the difference between these shortcuts very clearly.
I hate to say this, but Apple doesn't care about pros anymore.
There have been many signs over the past few years and eventually I think every profession will experience the bitter after taste of trusting Apple with their workflows or applications.
I don't say this out of schadenfreude, I believe my moaning about Aperture is something many readers around here know me for by now, so enjoy your workflow while it lasts and at the very least prepare an exit strategy.
ESPECIALLY on iOS, because well... it's a toy OS without maintenance tools... You figured that one out. To stretch a possible transition for that I'd suggest buying an older device like an iPhone 5 or iPad 4g, both of which are the most current 32bit-only devices. (or the respective iPod Touch or iPad Mini of course.)
As long as you're still on iOS 10 on your current device it should even be super easy to backup and seamlessly redeploy to the old device.
It'd be lovely if it was easier to migrate app data rather than needing a full blown device backup, but that's "Apple simplicity" for ya as soon as you find yourself trapped in being a niche user. (the more you experience this, the more you begin to be very careful about which developer to trust and how important platform-agnostic tools are, or open file standards... and good backups!)
Best of luck in your endeavor!
Glassed Silver:mac
Download the High Sierra installer as normal from the App Store, then run the createinstallmedia command to make an install disk. I’ve been using a USB drive (or a partition thereof) but you could also use a DVD if you prefer.
Command-Option-Shift-R never worked on my MBP Mid 2012, I was trying to reinstall Lion but it wouldn't boot.
Wait... tried it now and it seems to be working. I remember seeing HS flashing my bios while installing, maybe they fixed it.
It now shows Mt. Lion. I'll try to install it.
Last edited:
Sierra never cached or stored in any of my Apple IDs, so this is nothing new. you could always Download it from the App Store but never from previous purchase history.
First of all, if you're working with a band making tens of millions of dollars per gig, you're going to have backup computers. You're going to have backup computers running right next to the main ones in case the main one decides to spontaneously combust during that smoking guitar solo.
Here's a shot of Alex Lifeson's tech on stage, notice how he's running two MacBook Pros?
http://savedbytechnology.com/catalog/images/Jim-Burgess-sidestage-Clockwork-Angels-Tour-2012.jpg
Yes. We are completely spineless.
Ignore the fact Apple understands their OS and removes any OS with known security flaws. Also ignore the fact you are licensing the OS from Apple and they have every right to do what they want with it.
Seems like we’re not spineless. You just don’t understand the OS terms and conditions and want everything without cost.
I did some testing and seems to be OS version related. If I downloaded High Sierra on El Capitan or Sierra it didn't show up on purchases. However when I used Mavericks it appeared in Purchases, as for why I have no idea.
I am not exactly impressed that Apple changes how things work without informing users, if I didn't have Mavericks I would have not seen High Sierra in the Purchased...
I am not exactly impressed that Apple changes how things work without informing users, if I didn't have Mavericks I would have not seen High Sierra in the Purchased...
I just need to figure out how to save the ringtones on my current iPhone now to put on my new iPhone when I get one.