An Unknown Error Occurred – iTunes Error 5002

“It just works”, or so Apple claims, or maybe they weren’t referring to the iTunes store? Whatever the case, the darn thing doesn’t let me purchase any music from either of my computers. WTF?

The Annoying iTunes 5002 Error

I get error 5002, as usual a rather informative piece of information, so I started searching. To my disappointment none of the proposed solutions work and I appear not to be the only person with this problem.

I am trying to buy something and I can’t, even though I have the financial means to do so, which in case of purchasing music doesn’t mean all that much. Think about it, a customer can’t complete a purchase because…?

Troubleshooting didn’t solve anything, so I started a search for Apple support and to my surprise, you can’t call them about this issue, but they generously offer “Express Lane Support” meaning email, probably with lengthy email tag to answer simple questions, days of delays because of it and at the end a frustrated customer, me.

Since when do retailers not want to talk to buying customers or offer them support? Is it just me or is there something seriously wrong with this picture?

FF 24 hours

I received one email, personalized yes, interesting yes, helpful? No. It basically states that there was a temporary issue with the iTunes store preventing me from purchasing which is resolved then referring me to a link on how to troubleshoot connection problems. Well, which one is it? A problem with the store or a connection problem on my side?

I tried the purchase again, no such luck… In my mounting frustration I tweeted @apple, rather directly and to the point, mysteriously within 2 hours everything was resolved. Their wish list didn’t work, apparently a vendor had updated their product causing my wish list purchase to fail. Deleting my wish list or purchasing items one at a time did the job. Ok, while that sounds believable, I do remember a similar problem years ago, and Apple can’t fix that?

How to Fix iTunes Error 5002?

1. Delete your wish list and then add the deleted items back to it and complete your purchase. This will update every item in your wish list to the latest version and eliminate the error.
2. Alternatively purchase items one-by-one bypassing the wish list.

The Moral of the Story

If you experience an error purchasing from the iTunes store, don’t despair, the error is common and caused by internal issues in Apple’s iTunes store, a problem they are obviously too lazy to fix. You can’t call them, hence there is no quick resolution. Email is your friend. Be patient, but drag Apple out into the open, they don’t want negative publicity! Alternatively make an appointment with their genius bar and insist on a resolution, a strategy that has worked well for me in the past.

Image Credit: Gisela Giardino