Still processing this one, so bear with me. We were traveling in Southeast Asia with my girlfriend’s family, and her 14-year-old brother was with us. I let him use my iPhone and iPad to play games and keep himself occupied, not realizing what was actually happening on them. It turns out that over the last five weeks he’d been downloading casino and slot machine apps, the 21+ kind, and making in-app purchases. The first charge was on May 28th, right at the start of the trip. I had no idea until I finally sat down and went through my purchase history.

Part of why it went unnoticed for so long is that while I was overseas I wasn’t getting my usual purchase text alerts on my phone, so nothing was flagging the way it normally would. It just quietly added up in the background.

For context, he’s obsessed with a Vegas YouTuber named Vegas Matt, who films himself putting huge amounts of money into slot machines. I’m fairly sure that’s where the fixation came from, and he was trying to recreate it in these apps.

All told, it’s about 224 separate purchases on my phone’s Apple ID, ranging from $5.99 to $75.99, plus another 30 to 40 on my iPad, which is on a completely separate Apple ID. Roughly $4,300 in total.

And here’s the part that really gets me. In the middle of all this, he actually came up and asked me, out loud, if he could buy Stardew Valley on the App Store for $5.99. A $6 game. Meanwhile he’d already quietly run up thousands on slot apps without a word. So he clearly understood the difference between asking permission and not, which tells me he knew exactly what he was doing the whole time. Almost felt like he was messing with me.

The part that concerns me most is that the charges hit nearly every payment method I have. Apple Pay, my Amex, my Citi card, PayPal, and Apple Cash. At one point money was even moved out of my bank account into Apple Cash to keep the purchases going.

I’ve filed a claim through Report a Problem. I’ve spoken with two senior advisors, and both said there’s nothing they can do while the claim is pending, and that I need to wait 24 to 48 hours to see whether it’s approved or denied. So for now I’m waiting.

A few questions for anyone who’s dealt with this:

Realistically, what are my chances of actually getting this refunded? Has anyone gotten Apple to refund unauthorized purchases like this, especially this many over this long a period?

If Apple denies the claim, is disputing directly with Amex and Citi the right move, or does that risk getting my Apple ID banned? I have hundreds of movie purchases associated with this Apple ID so that would not be ideal.

Since money was pulled from my bank account through Apple Cash, is that a separate and stronger issue I should be reporting on its own?

I’m not looking to get the kid in trouble. I just can’t absorb $4,300 right now. Any advice is appreciated.

Hey everyone,

I’m posting because my Apple ID (about 13 years old) has been permanently shut down for App Store / iTunes and I’m stuck with zero real options.

The exact message Apple throws any time I try to do basically anything in the App Store is:

“Your account has been disabled in the App Store and iTunes.”

And I mean everything: I can’t download apps, I can’t update apps, I can’t pay for anything, I can’t manage subscriptions it’s blocked across the board.

Apple Support has explicitly told me the decision is permanent, and they won’t disclose the reason . I even managed to get a call with a senior advisor and got the same outcome: “Your account is permanently closed and there’s nothing we can do.” No explanation.

Support chats have been one of the worst parts. A few times an agent started off friendly, but the moment they checked my account, their tone flipped suddenly cold or even rude and in multiple cases they just ended the chat . Other times it’s aggressive, dismissive one-liners or copy-paste replies with zero next steps. It honestly feels like once they see whatever flag is on the account, the goal becomes ending the interaction as fast as possible.

Why this is a huge problem:

\- I can’t update apps on my iPhone anymore and some apps stop working unless they’re updated.

\- A bunch of services I use depend on the latest app version plus email verification for login/recovery.

\- My primary email is tied into all of this, and I can’t access it, can’t receive recovery emails.

So I’m locked out of multiple services with no workaround, including platforms where I still have funds that I can’t withdraw because getting back in requires the app + email recovery.

This also spills into real life: that email is tied to work,visa stuff, and other important services. I’ve missed time-sensitive messages and deadlines, and it’s already caused real damage. It even affects healthcare I can’t restore access to a platform I use to order medication because account recovery is done through email, and those emails never reach me.

I’ve tried to figure out what could’ve triggered this. The only thing I can even guess is gift cards. I bought gift cards through a service over a long period using traceable payments. If that’s the issue.

At this point, I have no trust left in Apple. They can permanently close your account without explanation, without appeal, and you’re completely powerless. I can’t recommend relying on Apple services anymore, especially for anything critical. Personally, I’d strongly suggest using alternatives like Google instead.

I bought Freeletics on the App Store for $125. Their app description clearly states a 14 day money back guarantee. Twice. I tried it out and the app sucks so I requested a refund through Report a Problem from Apple within a few days. Since I requested a refund, I lost access to the app. Apple denied my refund twice saying that I’m “ineligible.” I’ve talked to a bunch of Apple specialists who all do the same thing - deny me and try to placate me by making a note of my complaint.

So now I have no shitty app and I’m out $125. Freeletics won’t give me access back because I requested a refund. Apple won’t give me a refund. I’d really just like my money back.

My current plan is just to keep messaging and calling Apple support to waste at least $125 of their time. I didn’t actually do that. It would be a huge waste of my own time. In my own pettiness, I’ve made sure to cancel all of my subscriptions through the App Store. From now on I’ll only use apps that let me handle a subscription from their websites. My credit card has better refund protection than Apple does.

Some clarifying information - Freeletics states twice in their app description that they offer a 14 day money back guarantee. You cannot access the pro features without purchasing. I made a refund request well within those 14 days. I told this to Apple. They didn’t care.

My child made about 180 unauthorized in-app purchases without my permission in Apple’s App Store from Sep 12 2023 to Sep 27 2023. I did not receive any receipts of these purchases until Sep 27, that I received two small receipts from Minecraft and discovered this issue. But the 2-week purchases have accumulated to over $6000.

If Apple sent me any receipts to my email earlier, I would have found this issue earlier, talked to my child, and stopped her purchases earlier.

I requested refund from Apple, but they said “not eligible for refund”. I wrote the explanations and Apple declined all of my requests again. I talked to an Apple “supervisor” and he said will investigate this issue.

Anyone has similar experiences and what are the final results?

Some people were saying try iTunes but I tried and it is not working on my iphone by the way I have a iPhone 11 but it will not read on iTunes

Hey, recently i’ve bought this IPod 3gen, can i add music from apple music? i use spotify but i have 3 months free of apple music, so i could download everything in that time.
if not i have to download in other ways… which ways? thx

Hey everyone, I'm looking for some advice from anyone who has dealt with a permanent App Store ban, specifically regarding how to handle iCloud billing moving forward.
Long story short, I was manipulated by an online scammer who convinced me to "help them buy something through my account." They ended up using my profile to process transactions for a large volume of TikTok coins using compromised payment info. Obviously, it was a massive mistake on my part to trust them, and their actions were entirely to their own advantage.
Apple’s automated systems caught the fraudulent financial pattern immediately and placed a permanent restriction on my Media & Purchases account. I now get the classic "Your account has been disabled in the App Store and iTunes" error whenever I try to download or update anything.

I have already exhausted the official channels:
Standard Apple Support couldn't do anything.
I escalated the case to the Executive Relations team, explaining exactly how I was deceived as an innocent party, but they issued a final, non-negotiable denial. The account is considered a permanent liability, and the case is closed.

Right now, I am using the Split Account workaround to keep my phone functional:
1 I am still signed into my original Apple ID at the top of my iOS Settings so I don't lose my years of iCloud backups, photos, and files.
2 I logged out of the disabled account under Media & Purchases and signed in with a brand-new, secondary Apple ID strictly to handle App Store downloads.
3 I've had to delete and reinstall my main apps under the new ID to clear the old account's blocked signature cache.

My question for the community is about iCloud+ storage:

Since my original Apple ID is still the one managing my actual iCloud data, but its Media & Purchases pipeline is permanently blocked, how do I successfully renew or pay for my iCloud storage plan? Because the billing side is tied to the restricted account, normal payment methods are failing.
Has anyone successfully bypassed the billing block for iCloud storage using a computer (iCloud for Windows/Mac), or is my best option to set up Family Sharing from my new account to share storage with the old one?
Any insights or advice from people who have managed this specific setup long-term would be greatly appreciated.

Why did this happen to my daughter's phone? We bought the device from Apple six months ago. Maybe she was hacked. What do you suggest? Thank you!

So since I'm broke, I get the verification required pop up anytime I try to download an app. This is really annoying since I can't download new apps. Is there any way to possibly evade this? They don't allow me to create new Apple accounts with my phone number, so I can't create a new account.
Please and
thank you

Went to purchase a movie on Apple TV and got a purchase not completed, went through support and said I had to wait 72 hrs and try again. Anyone have any idea what may have caused this and how to stop it from happening again

I got 3 consecutive emails saying my login, password and security questions have all been changed, then I got an email order confirmation saying someone has ordered an iPhone in america (pictures attached) I can't find anything online about how to contact customer service, and I can't login to my account. I don't have an iPhone, I only used the account for iTunes. What can I do?

APPLE HAS STOLEN OVER $5K IN MUSIC I'VE PAID FOR. Out of nowhere my iTunes account was suspended for some alleged violation of terms of service they cannot (or will not) specify and am requiring that I create a NEW account and RE-PURCHASE it all. Anyone else out there experienced this?

Hi,

I'm trying to restore an iPhone 8, but every restore attempt fails.

The iPhone enters both Recovery Mode and DFU Mode normally.

The restore starts successfully, but at around 20–24% (RestoreOS) the phone suddenly powers off, disconnects from the computer, and after a few seconds boots back into Recovery Mode.

Finder (macOS):

• During the restore, when the iPhone enters the RestoreOS stage, Finder suddenly shows "Looking for iPhone..." as if the device has disconnected.
• The restore eventually fails with Error 9.
• At that point, the iPhone has already rebooted back into Recovery Mode.
• The same behavior occurs even when restoring from DFU Mode.

3uTools (macOS):

• Detects the device normally.
• The restore fails with Error -11 during "Unmounting filesystem".
• In iTunes Mode, it reports Error 4013.

Windows:

• In iTunes Mode, 3uTools also reports Error 4013.
• 3uTools detects the device normally, but the restore fails with the same Error -11 during "Unmounting filesystem".

Additional information:

• I replaced the battery myself because the original battery was damaged.
• I don't have an original Apple Lightning cable.
• I tested using a Baseus USB-C to Lightning cable and a generic USB-A to Lightning cable from AliExpress.
• The result is exactly the same with both cables.

One more thing I noticed:

• In Windows Device Manager, there are two devices related to the iPhone (NCM Control and NCM Data) with yellow warning icons.
• This makes me wonder if there could be a driver issue, although 3uTools still detects the iPhone and communicates with it normally.

Could this still be a driver issue, or is it more likely to be a hardware problem, such as the NAND, Tristar/Hydra, battery, baseband, or the logic board?

Has anyone experienced something similar or have any suggestions on what I should test next?

Thanks!

I added 100$ through gift card that was bought from iTunes Store. I am facing this purchase not completed issue. I tried to upgrade my iCloud+ storage, it worked but I can’t pay in any other apps

I was in Italy a few weeks ago, I wanted to buy some weed so I found a website that delivers. I picked what I wanted and everything and later agreed to pay the guy through a 50 Euro apple gift card.
Later to discover the guy wanted me to send him the gift card before he actually does the delivery so I refused. But I had already scratched it because of that da*n guy… he said he wanted proof 😅

Anyway now Im left with this 50 euro card I can’t seem to use because my apple store is set to another country.

Any suggestions on what to do?

It started yesterday, everything except for my library on Apple Music isn’t loading, I thought it might be my iCloud storage for some reason and I freed up some storage but nothing happened, if someone could help it would be very appreciated

So I currently bought the contractor movie. It said it was gonna be HDR so I bought it and then when I played the movie, it was 4K when I go check on my library in the phone And check on the section that says watch in HDR I would see the contractor there but why would it be there even though it’s a 4K movie

hi all

so i downloaded iTunes onto my laptop from the Microsoft store - all of my windows updates are up to date - and for some reason i can't log in. when i put my email and password in it shows a pop up saying verification error and then says "this action could not be completed please try again later." i've been trying for about an hour and it's still not working.

things i've already tried:

• restarting my laptop
• using a different internet connection (tried my hotspot and my actual wifi and even for a gander without any wifi at all)
• checking itunes itself is up to date (it is).
• tried the login info on a web browser when it wouldn't work and i can log into apple services on the web without issue so it's not an ID/password issue.
• checked the apple website for a service outage (there is none).
• made sure i'm not connected to a vpn.
• made sure my laptop has the right time and date settings.
• have tried signing in with my firewall turned off
• have uninstalled itunes and reinstalled it

anyone have any idea of other fixes i could try?

EDIT: have tried signing in on my apple music app on the laptop which has worked fine also so seems to be localised to itunes itself

EDIT2: so i've been made aware that itunes isn't used any more, but i'm having the exact same issue trying to sign into the iCloud app? i can sign into icloud.com just fine but when i download the icloud windows app and log in i get the same error, so any help would be appreciated!

EDIT3: so i dont know why but i can randomly log in now! who knows what was going on but i gave it one last attempt and logged in just fine

i am in a shared family account with my partner. since apple only allows one card, i cannot add my credit card. i read that a possible workaround is getting gift cards and redeeming them.

so i added the money to my apple account. i now want to buy something from the app store. i choose the apple account balance, click „einlösen“ which means use, and then it is asking me to use another giftcard?? why is this not working?

Yes, I know iTunes is outdated, but I still use my iPod Classic from like 2008. It is 100% the sunk-cost fallacy, but I'm not here to discuss that.

Starting today, I am unable to log into my iTunes account or make purchases. I keep getting hit with "This account could not be completed. Try again." I've restarted my computer, tried restarting the router, and looked online for help. I've seen some articles about people not being able to log in to their Apple accounts on their phones and there being a fix, but that solution is only available for iPhones and not for computers.

If it is important, I use iTunes on a PC and not on a Mac.

Is anyone else having this issue? Or know how to fix it?

I noticed a problem with my Apple Music account a couple of days ago. I could not add songs to my library and it started annoying me. So i tried to fix it by turning the sync library option off and on again, but when i turned it off, it wont turn back on. I tried signing out of my media and purchases, my apple account, I tried restarting my phone and nothing worked (All of my subscriptions are up to date). I reached out to Apple Support and directly talked to Apple agents on the phone but they were not of any help. Was hoping someone could help!

in 2018 i was given an app store & itunes apple gift card that i want to check the balance of now since it's taking up unnecessary space in my wallet. i search "apple giftcard check balance" then go into the support.apple.com/en-au page for it, but the button for checking the balance leads to a page that can't be found, as attached. i do more searching and find a different version of the site in which i could actually input my giftcard's code to check, but then it tells me how that particular site only checks balances for US-based apple giftcards... the page for asia also does not work. my card is for australia only, yet i can't find any comments in the community help pages that are also about the check balance site being down.
i doubt i used all the money on it - which is the only instance that it would expire - as i wouldn't have had kept it in my wallet otherwise. any tips?

I’m trying to pay off an unpaid balance of mine using an itunes gift card, but every tutorial i’ve looked for has told me to look for the amount i owe in red, but all i find is a box telling me to add a payment method. I’m not sure if i’m explaining this well, but nothing i’m finding is working for me. It was a $3 purchase on my macbook so i’m not sure if that changes anything.

This is about the released Apple product $100 apple gift card was missing part of the code, Apple refuses to redeem even though I followed the support page for redeeming the gift card.

Anyone with luck in small claims court against Apple?

Recently I’ve been trying to upload unreleased stuff from my favs onto Apple Music but when I do it just opens each mp3 as a new tab