problems with US itunes account

Forums › Apple iOS and devices › problems with US itunes account

marmel

1924 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 226

ID Verified

Trusted

#82092 21-Apr-2011 13:59

Has anyone else that has a US itunes account been having problems recently?

I use an Apple TV2 with a US itunes account and have been happily watching movies for 2-3 months.

The last couple of days I have tried to watch two new release movies, "Harry Potter" and "The Way back". Both movies have got to about 20 minutes and refused to go any further. i have tried everything including a full restore of the ATV2 with no success.

My kids watched another new release movie the same day I tried to watch Harry Potter and it worked fine?

I have emailed Apple but doubt they will be much help as I am using a US account from NZ.

old3eyes

9158 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1364

Subscriber

#461376 21-Apr-2011 16:29

I suspect that they may even close the account the way they think about us down here..

Regards,

Old3eyes

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
80646 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 41030

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#461380 21-Apr-2011 16:35

You shouldn't contact Apple - not only they won't help, they might close your account as it is against the ToS.

Anyway, most importantly - what ISP? What router you use? What DNS are you using?

Referral links: Quic Broadband (free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE) | Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies

Support Geekzone by subscribing (browse ads-free), or making a one-off or recurring donation through PressPatron.

marmel

1924 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 226

ID Verified

Trusted

#461446 21-Apr-2011 20:39

Vodafone, using the free wireless router they supply. I have been using this setup for about 3 months with no problems at all and would have watched 30 plus movies plus tv episodes etc.

Also as I pointed out my kids watched a new release movie from the us store the same day I tried to watch Harry potter, they had no problems at all.

khull

1245 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 133

#461458 21-Apr-2011 20:57

note you are violating the US iTunes store agreement if you access outside the US regardless if you had a US credit card or otherwise

specifically:

"The Service is available to you only in the United States, its territories, and possessions. You agree not to use or attempt to use the Service from outside these locations. Apple may use technologies to verify your compliance."

and

"Gifts purchased from the Services may be purchased only for, and redeemed only by, persons in the United States. "

marmel

1924 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 226

ID Verified

Trusted

#461459 21-Apr-2011 21:02

Wasn't really wanting the apple terms quoting thanks, more interested in the technical side of things.

If they can my account it's no big deal.

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
80646 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 41030

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#461460 21-Apr-2011 21:15

I asked about the DNS because apple uses Akamai. If you are not using your ISP's DNS then you might be getting wrong Akamai IP addresses and interrupted download or access.

Referral links: Quic Broadband (free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE) | Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies

Support Geekzone by subscribing (browse ads-free), or making a one-off or recurring donation through PressPatron.

Dell

Shop now for Dell laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

khull

1245 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 133

#461461 21-Apr-2011 21:15

actually the itunes servers were having problems authenticating few hours back, not sure if they are related tho.

marmel

1924 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 226

ID Verified

Trusted

#461462 21-Apr-2011 21:17

freitasm: I asked about the DNS because apple uses Akamai. If you are not using your ISP's DNS then you might be getting wrong Akamai IP addresses and interrupted download or access.

Ok I will check, haven't changed anything over the last 3 months though.

marmel

1924 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 226

ID Verified

Trusted

#461548 22-Apr-2011 11:44

"Dear Martin,

Greetings from iTunes Store Customer Support and my name is Sunil.

I'm sorry to hear that you are unable to download the movies "The Way Back" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1"

Martin, I have reviewed your iTunes account and reversed the charges for the rentals.

You will see a credit of $9.98, plus any applicable taxes, in five to seven business days. If store credit was used for this rental, you should see the credit after you sign out of the iTunes Store and sign back in.

The average file size of a movie on the iTunes Store is 1 GB to 1.5 GB. Because of the size, a broadband Internet connection is required.

If you require further assistance, please feel free to reply to this email and I will be more than happy to assist you.

Thank you for being an iTunes Store customer. Have a great day!

Sincerely,

Sunil
iTunes Store Customer Support"

No real suprises there then, fairly generic response I guess.

Might try another movie later and see how it goes.

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
80646 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 41030

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#461551 22-Apr-2011 11:49

The way it works is that when you rent a movie here it will start downloading to the local Akamai caches. If you are lucky someone else already rented the movie before, and they would be locally stored - but that doesn't last long.

If you are the first person renting a movie the download might take up to a couple of hours.

I've noticed this when renting a movie release a couple of weeks before - usually the download takes about four minutes. If it's a brand new release (such as a pre-order), then it might take up to an hour.

I'd think the HP movie would be local, but something might have gone wrong. You could try renting it again... But if your download fail again you might not get a refund like the first attempt.

Referral links: Quic Broadband (free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE) | Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies

Support Geekzone by subscribing (browse ads-free), or making a one-off or recurring donation through PressPatron.

marmel

1924 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 226

ID Verified

Trusted

#461552 22-Apr-2011 11:53

I don't think that is the problem Mauricio, the movie's downloaded fine and I was able to watch both of them without interruption for the first 20 minutes or so.

I would have thought if it was a bandwidth issue I would be experiencing problems from the start.

I actually left one of them for an hour or so and it made no difference.

There was definately something wrong, even after i did a full restore on my ATV2 after harry Potter failed I tried to watch it again, stopped in exactly the same place as before.