Apple has repaired its large-scale problems with iCloud and its iTunes stores which left users worldwide unable to complete purchases or access files.
The outage frustrated the iPhone and iPad maker for more than five hours, disrupting some of the world’s most widely used and profitable services and frustrating millions of music lovers and mobile device owners around the world.
Apple, who said that access came back in the late afternoon yesterday, blamed the problem on an internal error that bogged down its computer servers.
Among the facilities which were affected were the iTunes Music Store, iOS App Store for devices like the iPhone and iPad, and the Mac App Store that covers the company’s laptop and desktop computers. The iBooks Store was also affected.
All the major app stores were also “red-flagged” on the company’s official system status webpage.
Apple apologised for the inconvenience.
About 800 million accounts with credit cards linked to them have been set up on Apple’s iTunes store since it opened in 2003 to sell digital music for the company’s iPods.
Most Apple device users were still able to access the store, but a range of error messages appeared when they tried to complete a purchase. Others users saw the download progress wheel appear when tapping to purchase an app, but this then vanished without explanation.
The server crash comes in the same week the company announced the price and launch date for its next new product, the Apple Watch – which will get its own dedicated version of the App Store – as well as a new MacBook.
The gold version of the Apple Watch has a starting price of £8,000, with pre-orders beginning on April 10 ahead of going on sale on April 24.
It came just days after Apple chief Tim Cook told a media event in California that customer satisfaction rates for the iPhone 6, which launched in September, were at 99%.
