The Apple Store is down! What's Apple launching?

If you're having trouble trying to browse the Apple Store online, it might be due to connectivity issues, but there's also a chance the Apple Store may be closing while Apple updates it with new products coming later today .

On Monday 18 October the Apple Store went offline around midday (UK time) - which isn't really a surprise as Apple has announced an event will start at 6pm (UK time) today. We have all the info on Apple's October event, start time, where you are located and the products the company is expected to launch here: Apple October Event: Date, Time and Expected Products.

In the past it was frustrating when the store went offline as it tends to take the entire Apple website with it. The good news is that Apple recently disconnected the store and it looks like it may just take these sites offline. So you can't buy anything, but you can navigate the site.

The store usually goes offline shortly before an event. So if you landed on this page on the day an event is scheduled, we have a guide to watching an Apple event that you might want to check out.

Why is the Apple Store down?

There are a few reasons why the Apple Store might be offline. It could be because Apple is getting ready to unveil new products at an event, or it could be because Apple is about to start taking pre-orders for a new product.

If the website is down on a day when Apple doesn't have an event scheduled, it may indicate that Apple is about to have new products available for sale, or that pre-orders for upcoming products may begin.

The company may also be in the process of issuing press releases about new products that it won't be announcing at an event.

However, don't jump to the conclusion that new Apple products are coming, that's not always the case.

Sometimes the store can be down due to scheduled maintenance, or it could be related to server issues.

In this article, we explain how to tell the difference between scheduled maintenance and server issues and how to easily check Apple Store status.

Why the Apple Store isn't available today

The Apple Store is offline today, October 18, as the company prepares (we think) to launch a new MacBook Pro and AirPods, among other new products.

Other reasons the Apple Store might be down

However, there are other reasons why the Apple Store may be down. So if you're here on a day when there's no event or pre-orders scheduled, check out the other reasons why the Apple Store might be down below.

Apple could update the online store

Before explaining how to check the status of Apple's online store, let's first explain the possible reasons why the store may be unavailable.

The most exciting reason is that Apple could update the store with new products.

Apple tends to shut down the Apple Store while it updates the range of products available, whether it's removing old products and adjusting prices or introducing the latest iPhone or iPad. The telltale difference between server issues and Apple updating the store is the welcome page you land on.

If the Apple Store is unavailable due to product changes, you should see a message along the lines of "We'll be right back" (it used to say "We'll be back soon"). If that's the case, you don't have to do anything else: there are no server issues, you just have to sit and wait for Apple to update the store.

The Apple Store is down

However, if you get a 404 error when trying to access the Apple Store (or the website isn't working as expected), there may be a problem with Apple's servers. To determine if this is the problem, you can skip the next section and read how to check the system status below.

You are using an outdated version of Safari or macOS

If you're having trouble accessing the Apple Store while others aren't, it could be because of your outdated software. If this is the case, you'll see an "unsupported browser version" message when you try to visit the site with older versions.

The store also doesn't seem to be available when using one of the older macOS versions, including macOS Yosemite or Sierra, in other browsers. Chrome and Firefox will not work unless you update to a newer build.

This is believed to be an attempt by Apple to protect its customers from potential threats.

How to Check Apple System Status

The first step in determining if the Apple Store is down (aside from the website itself!) is to visit Apple's System Status website. This page shows the current status of all Apple services, from activating iOS devices to iCloud and of course the Apple Online Store.

It not only informs the users about potential problems with the online services, but also informs the users about planned maintenance that might cause problems. It also shows if there were any recent glitches that have now been fixed.

If you see a message next to the Apple Online Store status, click it. It should provide more details about the issue, including the duration of the outage and the issues users are/would be having.

Read Next: How to Get an Education Discount from Apple

Check crowdsourced status websites

Apple's System Status website isn't the only place you can find up-to-date information on Apple Store status. Down Detector is a hugely popular third-party status website that relies on crowdsourced information from users to provide up-to-date statuses on a range of online services from PayPal to Steam to the Apple Store.

The website allows users to report problems and view previous problems that have affected the performance of the service. It also includes a handy heatmap of live outages so you can see if the issue is occurring in your city/region/country.

Another good resource is the aptly named Is It Down Right Now?. The site offers similar data to Down Detector, but also has a grid showing access speeds over the past few days.

However, it works differently than Down Detector in that you have to search for the service by URL and at the time of writing it checks the status of the entire Apple website, not the Apple Store specifically.

Read Next: How to Use the Apple Education Store

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