When simultaneously logged into 2 accounts, MAS cannot update apps

[Accademia]

mas config

mas version (output of mas version)
1.9

macOS version (output of sw_vers -productVersion)
MacOS 15.3

macOS build (output of sw_vers -buildVersion)
24D81

CPU (output of sysctl -n machdep.cpu.brand_string)
Apple M3

Installation method

brew install mas

Bug description

In App Store, Books, News, Music, and TV, if you are logged into two App Store accounts at the same time, it can cause Mac App Store (MAS) to be unable to update apps that were downloaded with the first account.

A system popup will appear, stating that the current app was not downloaded with this Apple ID.

Steps to reproduce

You can check how many App Store accounts are currently logged in by going to Settings -> [Your Name at the Top] -> Media & Purchases.

If multiple App Store accounts are logged in, this issue may be triggered.

The reason for using multiple accounts is that different country/region App Stores offer different apps. Many apps available in the China or Japan App Stores are not listed in the U.S. App Store.

[rgoldberg]

@Accademia is this behavior in any way changed from older versions of mas? If so, em do you recall when the behavior changed?

Is this the same way that the App Store GUI behaves? Or can that update apps for multiple accounts without you having to change the account in the GUI?

Assuming that the App Store GUI suffers from this same limitation, this would be a new feature, not a bug. mas would need to have access to your account names & passwords, and it would need to be able to sign in. Unfortunately, the signin command is broken. It will probably take a lot of research to fix it, and there might not even be any way to fix it.

[Accademia]

Hello, Sir. Thank you for your response. My macOS has already been updated to version 15.4. At the moment, mas upgrade cannot run properly on my Mac, so I’m unable to proceed with further testing.

In the graphical interface of the App Store, updating apps works without any restrictions. I suspect that the popup is triggered because mas failed to match the correct Apple ID for the update and instead defaulted to the second logged-in account to update an app that was originally downloaded using the first account.

After encountering this issue, I signed out of the second Apple ID in the App Store to avoid this situation. Since my computer runs TopGrade and mas automatically every night, this kind of error can block the entire update process, preventing other programs from being updated. After signing out of the second account, the update process works normally — even for apps that were originally downloaded using that second Apple ID. Therefore, I believe this is a corner case. It’s acceptable not to address this bug, or at least it can be given a very low priority.

That said, I’m happy to help with further testing if needed. Thanks.

[rgoldberg]

@Accademia Thanks for the info. I'll probably ask for a little more info after I've fixed the macOS 15.4 incompatibility, as that is urgent. Will contact you again when that is done. Thanks.

[Accademia]

Sir, it’s an honor—no problem at all!

[rgoldberg]

@Accademia On macOS 15.4, I looked at System Settings -> [My name at the top] -> Media & Purchases, and in the MAS.

I saw only one Apple Account in each (as I expected), but I don't see where to add additional Apple Accounts.

How do you log into more than one Apple Account for one macOS user at the same time?

Do you see more than one Apple Account if you have installed apps on your Mac from multiple Apple Accounts, with the installations occurring at different times with you logged into different Apple Accounts at app installation time?

[Accademia]

I just tried to reproduce the previous bug regarding being logged into two Apple IDs simultaneously in the Mac App Store, but I was unsuccessful. I couldn’t recall how to perform the operation that allows two accounts to be logged in at the same time. Previously, when two accounts were logged in, I could see both listed under Settings -> Apple Account -> Media & Purchases. At that time, I resolved the issue by signing out of one of the accounts.

I attempted to reproduce the issue again just now, and also searched for Apple’s official documentation via Grok DeepThink and ChatGPT DeepSearch. According to Apple’s official explanation, it is not permitted to be logged into two Apple IDs simultaneously in the Mac App Store.

Therefore, I am temporarily closing this issue until I am able to reproduce the bug again.

Thank you very much for following up on this matter. If I encounter this issue again in the future, I will take a screenshot to retain evidence.

[rgoldberg]

@Accademia Also, if you run into the problem again, besides taking a screenshot, please don't log out of any accounts. In general, if you want to diagnose an issue, leave it as is unless it's fixing it immediately is urgent. Thanks again.