What to do when the Mac App Store won’t assign applications to your account
The Mac App Store sometimes throws out odd errors when you try to download and install software, errors that lack information on Apple’s support pages. These seem to come up most often with Apple’s own software, especially the five free apps (GarageBand, iMovie, Keynote, Numbers, and Pages) that require an Apple ID, but no prior purchase.
Just a few weeks ago, I explained how to solve “Update Unavailable with This Apple ID,” but that’s not the only one.
Another one that comes up with little help is, “Could not assign applications to your account.” Here are four ways that may resolve the problem and let you download the apps you’re attempting to.