Hi everyone. I’m trying to understand what happened to my Apple Account and whether anyone has successfully resolved a similar situation.

I have used this Apple Account for roughly 15 years. My remaining $1,470 balance is now inaccessible, and support says my Media & Purchases access cannot be restored.

My wife and I traded in our phones together at an Apple Store before the iPhone 18 launch. We each received a $720 Apple Gift Card.

We have just checked the cards and realized that we mixed them up:

• My wife redeemed the $720 gift card issued for MY phone on HER Apple Account. She also redeemed five purchased gift cards. Her account works normally.
• I waited longer because I was planning to get the iPhone Duo. Recently, I redeemed the $720 gift card issued for HER phone on MY Apple Account. I also added $750 through eight purchased digital gift card codes.

We bought the additional gift cards from the same seller. My codes redeemed successfully, and the funds appeared in my balance.

On October 13, I discovered that Media & Purchases had been disabled. I couldn’t even download a free app. My online reactivation request returned “Not eligible for reactivation.” My Apple Account balance was also deactivated: the full $1,470 remains visible, but I cannot use it.

Support initially escalated the case and told me to try again after 24 hours. On October 14, a supervisor said the Media & Purchases restriction would remain permanent and would not disclose the specific reason. They offered to help create a new Media & Purchases account, but that leaves the existing funds unresolved.

Could accidentally redeeming each other’s trade-in gift cards have triggered an automated fraud flag? Does Apple associate these cards with the original device or its previous Apple Account? Both phones belonged to us, and we traded them in together.

Apple has not confirmed that this was the reason. It’s simply something we have now discovered.

I have already filed a BBB complaint and emailed Apple executive contacts. I have trade-in documentation, gift card purchase confirmations, and bank payment receipts.

I’m especially concerned about recovering the $720 credit for the phone we already handed over.

Has anyone recovered access to their balance after a permanent refusal, particularly when it included official Apple Trade In credit? Which team or escalation process actually helped?

My storage is constantly full. I’m deleting apps, backing up photos to iCloud, and trying every trick (Safari cache, changing date, restarting), but nothing works. I’m tired of doing this every day.
Has anyone found a permanent fix?

My adult son passed away last month, and I'm now trying to close out his affairs. I have access to his actively-used iPhone, which was on our phone account, so I can help close out his social, email, and financial accounts (those come with their own issues), but he also had a newer backup phone to which he'd also signed in with his Apple account. I'm trying to erase all content and settings on it so I can give it to his sister, but I don't have his Apple Account password to turn off "Find My and Activation Lock," and it of course requires Face Lock to access his password list or use the "Forgot my Password" feature. Clearly, these are built for vigorous security, which I applaud, but I've got to imagine that there's a way to accomplish resetting the phone to factory settings in this scenario. I don't need to backup anything on this phone, so is there a way to reset it completely to factory settings? Is this something Apple Support can help with?

Thank you in advance.

So I had this weekly subscription, I cancelled it after a week since i wont be using it anymore. Now I cannot download any apps because it says I need to pay for it. I've used 2 Gcash accounts with available money in it, and it still won't let me pay for it, because it says itunes wont process it.

Any help?

I have a disability that affects my memory, and I've forgotten my passwords for my MacBook M3 and iPad. When I try to reset my password, my MacBook asks for a recovery key that I don't have and don't remember ever setting up. I'm new to Apple devices, so I'm not sure what to do.

I know backing up your data is one of the first things you're told to do, and I know it's stupid of me not to have backed everything up. I've only backed up some of my files, and I'm worried about losing the rest.

If I contact Apple Support and provide proof of purchase, would they be able to help me recover access or reset my password without wiping my devices? Does anyone have any other suggestions that could work? Thank You.

Hey everyone,

I opened my AirDrop window and something looks off.

What I see:

• My own identity at the top shows fine (name + Memoji)
• Under “My Devices” my iPhone is listed
• But instead of the usual iPhone artwork, it’s just a plain white circle

What I’ve tried:

• Toggling AirDrop off and on
• Toggling Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
• Restarting both devices

My setup:

• mac os 26.6.2 ios 27.0.1

AirDrop seems to still work, so it might be cosmetic. Still, it’s bugging me. Anyone know how to fix this or is it just an Apple glitch?

Thanks! 🙏

Every now and then for the past day and a half now I have been getting the unusual traffic captcha google popup when I google something on my iPhone. I don’t even do the captcha and I just clear safari and then I am able to google, and even if I just close the tab, it seems to works too. It seems like some sort of glitch. I know its legitimately from google cause it just happens when I open safari and search something. I do not have VPN or private relay on. So far I have hard restarted my phone but that didn’t work, and I just restarted the wifi router so hopefully that will fix things. I am pretty sure its only been from my wifi not cellular but idk if anyone else in my household has been getting it though someone did just get a new phone I am thinking the usage on that new device is maybe flagging something? Should I be concerned about my device or if someone’s using the network? I think it is private. Any advice appreciated.

I have tried rebooting, updating, and restoring, at this point I dont care about the data I just want my phone to work again , any help would be appreciated!

I have an iPad 6th gen. Staying at a hostel. The hostel did some work on the wifi and now I can't connect to their guest wifi.

Other devices can connect. (The one I'm typing this on, android phone. And other guests.)

Password is the same. (Didn't change anything on my phone, reconnected no problems.)

iPad can connect to other networks, briefly connected to this network then stopped.

Now this iPad is endlessly cycling trying to connect to that specific network. 

***

I've turned it off and on, wifi/airplane mode/iPad many times.

I've forgotten the network and retyped the password. I even tried a different network to make sure I still got the "wrong password" screen. I do. This just endlessly tries to join unsuccessfully.

I've reset the iPad's network settings twice from General tab.

I've deleted a VPN I was using before one of the network resets. 

***

I'm at a loss what to do next, I really don't want to have to factory reset the entire iPad. But I need this network for quite some time and it's the only one available to me that isn't another guest option with a low data cap. 

What are my next steps? 

Running an M1 with the latest MacOS on it. Yesterday Safari's bookmark pulldown menu was suddenly empty. Bookmarks I found were still there, visible with edit bookmarks. A reboot did nothing.

Today they're back.

Any ideas what caused this?

Is there a way to automatically back up my bookmarks?

My MacBook Air has been having an issue with its display: the cursor sometimes stops moving and the screen goes black for a half second before turning back on. Occasionally, this lasts longer, around a minute or more. I know it is a display issue because the websites and apps still react to my cursor hovering over buttons and other actions. Also, when i screen mirror to another display, everything is as normal even when the screen goes black. Any ideas on what’s happening? it‘s extremely annoying to work with. It’s only been an issue for about a week, before which everything was totally fine

I tried to post a screen recording but couldn’t. The video was of me using the middle bar to adjust how much the view is split by. Normally it’ll work fine and allow me to choose between 2/3rds split or 1/2 split. But for some reason it randomly doesn’t let me do a half split. It just “snaps” to a 2/3rds whenever I try.

iPad 7th gen, iPadOS 18.7.10, Goodnotes app (note-making study app) but affects all apps

I’ve tried searching this subreddit, resetting my iPad for 10 mins at a time and using the help app in my iPad. Seems like I’m the only one with this problem even after google aswell. Taking any suggestions. Thank you all

I’ve had this app for many years and collected thousands of songs. After the latest update the songs dont play. The white bar moves but theres no sound.
I tried deleting songs and uploading them again but that didnt help either.
Iphone 11
IOS 17.6.1

Hola a todos. Quiero saber si alguien más está experimentando estos problemas con su iPhone 17 Pro Max, porque no sé si se trata de un error de software, un problema de procesamiento de imagen o un posible fallo de hardware.

1. Error al cargar fotografías

Al abrir algunas fotos en la aplicación Fotos, aparece el siguiente mensaje:

«No se pudo cargar la foto. Ocurrió un error al cargar una versión de mejor calidad de esta foto».

La imagen queda visible en segundo plano, pero el teléfono no consigue cargar su versión de mayor calidad.

2. Problemas con la cámara frontal y Retina Flash

He notado que, al tomar fotografías con la cámara frontal utilizando Retina Flash, el rostro aparece desenfocado o excesivamente suavizado. El cabello también pierde mucha definición y se ve borroso, como si el procesamiento de imagen eliminara demasiado detalle.

Pruebas realizadas:

• Tengo aproximadamente 110 GB de almacenamiento disponible.
• La sincronización de Fotos en iCloud estaba pausada, pero el problema persistió.
• Desactivé Live Photos, pero tampoco solucionó el inconveniente.

Me preocupa que pueda existir algún problema con el procesamiento de imágenes del dispositivo o con el sistema de la cámara frontal.

¿A alguien más le sucede esto en su iPhone 17 Pro Max? ¿Creen que ambos problemas podrían estar relacionados o que el error al cargar las fotos es independiente de la pérdida de nitidez con Retina Flash?

Me gustaría conocer sus experiencias, especialmente si alguien ha encontrado una solución o ha tenido que acudir al soporte técnico de Apple.

Adjunto una captura del error para que puedan ver exactamente lo que aparece en pantalla.

This is on iPhone. For context, family member recently passed and I am trying to figure out a time frame. Anything past 12pm is me on the phone looking or someone calling. Can’t figure out what the gray is from 12-4isham. Also open to any other tips for what I can see other than step count and screen time that could help determine a time frame. Thanks in advance

I'm trying to open GarageBand on Mac:

"GarageBand cannot be opened because of a problem. Check with the developer to make sure GarageBand works with this version of macOS. You may need to reinstall the application. Be sure to install any available updates for the application and macOS. Click Report to see more detailed information and send a report to Apple."

I am on an Apple M4, 16 GB, macOS Golden Gate 27—2025 laptop. I am on a school laptop, and I need this for my assessment. I have it fully updated, and I don't want to reinstall the application in case I lose anything. I might not even be able to reinstall it, as it says:

"This app is managed and updated by your organization."

Is there anything I can do in Terminal? Just tell me if I need my password/serial number, etc.

I bought five generic "rugged" or "heavy duty" iPhone 17/18 pro max cases. And all were flimsy and poorly made.

I will comment with photos of cases that I already bought or found that were poorly made or didn't fully have what I looked for

Here is what an ideal case looks like for me:

1. Full camera plateau cover. I prefer it sliding down or swiveling all around to the back of the phone so it would not stick out when taking photos. I bought generic cases with such feature but they were really poorly made.

2. Padded corners.

3. Screen side raised bezels idealy 2.5mm.

4. Camera plateau raised bezel.

5. Finger ring.

I don't like the flashy military look or those with lots of bumps and crevices, unless functional.

Hi everyone, I’m looking for advice on an issue with my iPhone. While trying to activate an eSIM, the phone got stuck in a loading loop for about 90 minutes. After restarting, both my eSIM and physical SIM showed “No SIM,” with no cellular connectivity.

I’ve tried toggling Airplane Mode, restarting the phone, resetting network settings, and updating iOS, but nothing has worked. My physical SIM works fine in another phone, so the issue appears to be with the iPhone itself.

Apple Support couldn’t identify the cause and advised me to visit an Apple Store, but appointments are fully booked for the next three days.
Has anyone experienced this or know what might be causing it? I rely on my phone, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Image of issue

https://imgur.com/gallery/apple-5T3dwmg

I think I accidentally got a free trial for this company called Use.ai and then out of a sudden when I add some money to Apple Cash they took out 29.99 out of a subscription that I didn’t pay for and they sent this email when I asked for a refund that happened today because the purchase is still pending and I went to buy something that was saving up for it only showed 5.62 and not my full 35.61

because I cant post a image heres the
copy an pasted email:

Dear Adam,

Thank you so much, If it doesn’t work out. I email apple right? Thank you again.

Thanks, A

On Wed, Oct 14, 2026 at 9:09 PM Support from Use.AI help@support.wrld.net wrote:
Hi A,
I've refunded the 29.99 USD charge from 14 October back to your Apple Pay, and I've cancelled your subscription so you won't be charged again.
Please allow up to 7 business days for the refund to appear in your account. The exact timing is set by your bank or card issuer and is unfortunately outside our control. If it hasn't shown up after 7 business days, your bank or card issuer is best placed to locate the funds once a refund has been processed, as we're unable to track it after it leaves our payment system, though in the vast majority of cases it arrives within that window.
If there's anything else I can help with, just let me know.
Best regards,
Adam

*changed my name to A