itunes won't open after 12.3.1 update

[George OReilly]

I updated to iTunes 12.3.1 on 21 Oct but did not try to open and use iTunes until today. It will not open (eventually it does after quite some time of the spinning beach ball), but then cannot still use iTunes due to the spinning beach ball. There is a lot of discussion on the Apple Support Community website but no clear fix to the problem it seems a lot of folks are having. I'm running OS 10.9.5 but updated to iTunes 12.3.1.

 

Is there a fix? Do we have to wait for Apple to fix? Will they fix? etc.

 

Advice and recommendations are welcome

 

thanks

 

George

[kirkmc]

I'd suggest downloading a new copy of iTunes and re-installing to see if that resolves the issue.

[Otto Nikolaus]

I'd suggest downloading a new copy of iTunes and re-installing to see if that resolves the issue.

If that doesn't fix it another possibility is a corrupted prefs (plist) file. Simply delete Home > Library > Preferences > com.apple.iTunes.plist. You will need to reinstate any non-default prefs, of course.

[George OReilly]

I'd suggest downloading a new copy of iTunes and re-installing to see if that resolves the issue.

 

Thanks.

I did that and it worked. I used the 12.3.0.44 version. From the discussion on the Apple Support Community page, there is apparently a problem with iTunes 12.3.1 for many users since 21 Oct 15 when it came out. Used appzapper to remove iTunes and associated files. Installed older version. Then turned automatic software updates off in System Preferences and App Store. Thanks George

[David Strait]

Where can you get a copy of 12.3.0? I have been unable to use iTunes since I updated to 12.3.1 due to a persistent "beach ball." Is there an official "Apple" 12.3.0 version available? I saw a non-Apple download link (see below), but was reluctant to download from a non-Apple source.

 

Dave

 

http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/download-review/1957301/apple-itunes-for-mac-1110

[Otto Nikolaus]

Where can you get a copy of 12.3.0? I have been unable to use iTunes since I updated to 12.3.1 due to a persistent "beach ball." Is there an official "Apple" 12.3.0 version available? I saw a non-Apple download link (see below), but was reluctant to download from a non-Apple source.

 

Dave

 

http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/download-review/1957301/apple-itunes-for-mac-1110

I'm on 12.3.1.23 (the latest, I assume) and that runs fine under OS X 10.10. 5. Have you tried that version?

[David Strait]

I'm on 12.3.1.23 (the latest, I assume) and that runs fine under OS X 10.10. 5. Have you tried that version?

 

Yes… that is the exact setup I am using. However, others report the same problem with El Capitan as well. I found that the problem can be improved by turning off the iCloud Music Library (yet another apparent problem with the iCloud Library). I have iTunes Match (but no longer have Apple Music due to many problems), plus many (100’s) of smart playlists. This may be why I am experiencing problems and you are not. There are several long threads about this on the Apple discussion boards. It worked fine with 12.3.0 but is nearly unusable with 12.3.1 (with iCloud Library on).

[kirkmc]

Aha, I didn't think of the iCloud Music Library issue. I don't see slowdowns, even when iTunes can't connect, but I imagine that some people do.

[David Strait]

Kirk, do you have any suggestions how to downgrade to 12.3.0?

[kirkmc]

You'd have to find an installer; I'm not sure where you can get one that's not a risk.

[David Strait]

You'd have to find an installer; I'm not sure where you can get one that's not a risk.

 

 

Thanks...

That's what I thought. I'll sit tight and hope for a fix from Apple soon.

[Otto Nikolaus]

Thanks...

That's what I thought. I'll sit tight and hope for a fix from Apple soon.

Have you tried deleting and reinstalling the latest iTunes?

[David Strait]

Have you tried deleting and reinstalling the latest iTunes?

 

Yes... that apparently worked for a couple people, but no dice for me.

[David Strait]

You'd have to find an installer; I'm not sure where you can get one that's not a risk.

Update: I was able to get a version of 12.3.0 with help from others. I used some instructions from this (7 page) thread in the Apple forums (thee are other threads relating to this problem):

 

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7260921

 

In summary:

 

Open the Terminal

- Run "sudo rm -r /Applications/iTunes.app"

- Re-install iTunes 12.3.0

- Restart to Mac

- Repair permissions

- Disable auto updates in iTunes (Advanced settings) and in System Preferences.

 

This seemed to do the trick. I'll report back here if I have any problems.

 

Dave

[kirkmc]

I'm always hesitant about doing that. The iTunes installer may contain items that are installed in other places, and you may have some frameworks from 12.3.1 while running the 12.3.0 app.

[Otto Nikolaus]

I'm always hesitant about doing that. The iTunes installer may contain items that are installed in other places, and you may have some frameworks from 12.3.1 while running the 12.3.0 app.

I've always thought that one of the big pluses of the Mac has been that, with a few exceptions (and the plist files in all cases), apps are self-contained and can be copied/moved/deleted like anything else. Is that no longer the case?

 

In any case, David now has an iTunes he can use, so he is hardly worse off.

[kirkmc]

iTunes is a bit different, since the app may install some bits of code needed for media playback, and shared code to allow other apps to access the iTunes library. Along with Safari, iTunes is one of the apps that isn't as self-contained as others.

[David Strait]

I'm always hesitant about doing that. The iTunes installer may contain items that are installed in other places, and you may have some frameworks from 12.3.1 while running the 12.3.0 app.

I agree... that is why I waited so long before even considering this option. I was VERY hesitant! ;-)

 

However, I essentially didn't have a usable iTunes app for nearly a month and not sure that a future update would even address the issue since it obviously impacts a minority of users. I don't plan on applying any iTunes update until others with the problem confirms it is fixed.

 

I'm glad you added your advice for others who may be considering this option so they know the risks. So far, I have noticed no problems with the install, but who knows what could come up?

[kirkmc]

Whenever things like this happen, I always wonder if there is some third-party software getting in the way. I haven't check the forums to see what people are saying, but was there any suggestion of other software that could be conflicting with iTunes?

[Otto Nikolaus]

Whenever things like this happen, I always wonder if there is some third-party software getting in the way. I haven't check the forums to see what people are saying, but was there any suggestion of other software that could be conflicting with iTunes?

Yes, including kernel extensions. Does David have anything that might be relevant?

[David Strait]

Whenever things like this happen, I always wonder if there is some third-party software getting in the way. I haven't check the forums to see what people are saying, but was there any suggestion of other software that could be conflicting with iTunes?

To be honest, I stopped following those discussions after a couple weeks and only occasionally took a look since then. There were several threads and at least 2-3 became fairly lengthy. However, I never saw anyone mention a software conflict (although that can be difficult to diagnose). Most of the conversation focused on the symptoms, complaints about Apple not fixing it, and the only cure that involved "downgrading" to 13.3.0, which many people had success with (including George, who began this discussion). There was at least one person who spoke to an Apple support person who stated that it was a known issue and it would be addressed in a future iTunes update. That post was several weeks ago.

[David Strait]

Whenever things like this happen, I always wonder if there is some third-party software getting in the way. I haven't check the forums to see what people are saying, but was there any suggestion of other software that could be conflicting with iTunes?

 

 

Nope... no one related it to 3rd party software, but yesterday's update resolved the issue (12.3.2).

 

There were several discussions on the iTunes forum up to ~20 pages long where people were complaining about this. The only solution offered was to downgrade. I downgraded to the previous version last month (which worked), but today I upgraded and the issue is now completely resolved. I think I'm going to start saving my iTunes installation files in the future in case I need to downgrade again.

 

This was the second major iTunes related screwup I've had since July. The other was the Apple Music debacle where I had many of the same issues that you experienced. My problems related with having iTunes Match & Apple Music on the same account and it pretty much destroyed my iTunes library, taking weeks of work to reconstruct. I like Apple Music otherwise, so I created a separate iTunes ID that I use for Apple Music. It works pretty well on the new Apple TV where I stream my existing Tunes library using home sharing and Apple Music with the app (using both of my Apple I.D.s). Guess I could also use Plex, but I use that only for videos as I generally ike the Plex playback features better than home sharing.

 

Anyway, these two issues were the worst Apple software related issues I've experienced (and I started my Mac experience with the original 128k Mac in 1984). I think Apples iTunes software development (and related cloud services) has gone off the rails in the last year.

 

Dave