Solution to Mac App Store not loading (El Capitan 10.11.2)

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If you find that the Mac App Store opens but that it endlessly tries to load its content but just keeps spinning and spinning the loading wheel, then there is a solution. It was posted to the Apple forums and is in two parts. First remove the following files (if they exist):
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.appstore.plist
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.storeagent.plist
which you can do in one of two ways: either use the terminal, as advised in the original solution, or
  1. open Finder, 
  2. select the Go menu
  3. hold down the option key (alt)
  4. select Library from the menu
  5. double-click Preferences folder to open it and remove: com.apple.appstore.plist and com.apple.storeagent.plist
Next, restart your Mac while resetting the NVRAM using the following steps:
  1. Shut down your Mac.
  2. Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command (⌘), Option, P, and R.
  3. Turn on your Mac.
  4. Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys immediately after you hear the startup sound.
  5. Hold these keys until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for a second time.
  6. Release the keys.
I've used this solution twice and it has worked perfectly both times.

Comments

  1. Isaac Keyet9 January 2016 at 00:40

    Nice! I also wrote about this over on this new blog but I didn't know about the second part, resetting the NVRAM. Just doing the former fixed it for me. Should I update it? http://www.howtoturnitoffandonagain.com/2016/01/08/how-to-fix-mac-app-store-not-showing-anything/

    ReplyDelete
  2. jh*28 January 2016 at 20:30

    Thank you! You've helped someone, today.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Unknown1 March 2016 at 19:38

    Thanks, It resolved

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ryan Farley15 April 2016 at 03:48

    Thanks for the fix. This was driving me crazy!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Unknown17 April 2016 at 23:57

    I followed the steps multiple times and this did not resolve my issue. I verified that I do have a serial number as well.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Unknown20 April 2016 at 11:16

    Thanks, It resolved. Awesome

    ReplyDelete
  7. R.B. Davidson24 April 2016 at 19:49

    Worked perfectly. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Unknown3 May 2016 at 19:20

    fix still working. thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  9. sankalp rawal4 May 2016 at 04:13

    works!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Unknown25 June 2016 at 18:00

    Tried it, both steps, several times. App Store app still won't load.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Unknown30 June 2016 at 11:05

    Thanks this actually worked! :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ivan18 August 2016 at 03:24

    Yes, thank you. Straight forward, simple, worked!

    ReplyDelete
  13. michaelGregoire21 October 2016 at 14:33

    Worked like a charm! Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Unknown24 October 2016 at 08:30

    i don't have the ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.appstore.plist
    ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.storeagent.plist files.. i can't find them.. how can i solve the problem??? Thanks..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. sketchyTech24 October 2016 at 10:14

      From the Go menu in Finder select the penultimate option Go to Folder... | then paste "/Library/Preferences/" (without the quotation marks). It should take you directly to the folder now look for the two files. If you don't have both, simply move what you have to desktop then follow other instructions.

      Delete
  15. Unknown19 November 2016 at 05:05

    I have followed both the steps but still the problem prevails. Getting the same message as "cannot connect to Appstore"

    ReplyDelete
  16. Unknown19 November 2016 at 05:06

    Plz help me in finding a solution

    ReplyDelete

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