OSX 10.11 El Capitan install fails with "This item is temporarily unavailable."

A while ago, a friend of the family gifted me a used mac. The drive is empty and I own no other Apple products. I have been trying and trying to get MacOS installed onto it.


It offers up El Capitan as what I am able to install, however, once I enter my Apple ID, I get "This item is temporarily unavailable." "Please try again later."


Searching around has led me to believe that this message appears because I do not own a copy of MacOS, however, there is no way to purchase a copy of El Capitan that I can find, only guides on upgrading an existing install. The Apple Store has 10.6 and 10.7, but nothing else.


What should I do? Is there some secret location where I can buy MacOS? Should I try locating another mac with which to create an installer disk(Probably impossible for me)? Would purchasing one of the older MacOS versions help?







iMac, OS X 10.11

Posted on May 29, 2022 3:45 PM

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Posted on Jul 15, 2022 2:29 AM

The Age of this computer will Govern what newer version of macOS it will Qualify to install. Use About this Mac from the Apple Icon on Desktop - the required Information will be there.


With the above information in-hand - follow this How to get old versions of macOS and verify what version this computer Qualifies to install.  For Best results use Safari to commence the download as Others may not work.


Safari will open a redirect and open the Apple Store where the download can commence.


Computer Qualify for the Monterey upgrade


macOS Big Sur 11 hardware requirements


macOS Catalina 10.15 hardware requirements


macOS Mojave 10.14 hardware requirements


macOS High Sierra 10.13 hardware requirements


macOS Sierra 10.12 hardware requirements


OS X El Capitan - Technical Specifications

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Jul 15, 2022 2:29 AM in response to ric199

The Age of this computer will Govern what newer version of macOS it will Qualify to install. Use About this Mac from the Apple Icon on Desktop - the required Information will be there.


With the above information in-hand - follow this How to get old versions of macOS and verify what version this computer Qualifies to install.  For Best results use Safari to commence the download as Others may not work.


Safari will open a redirect and open the Apple Store where the download can commence.


Computer Qualify for the Monterey upgrade


macOS Big Sur 11 hardware requirements


macOS Catalina 10.15 hardware requirements


macOS Mojave 10.14 hardware requirements


macOS High Sierra 10.13 hardware requirements


macOS Sierra 10.12 hardware requirements


OS X El Capitan - Technical Specifications

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May 30, 2022 3:15 AM in response to aleteoryx

If the drive is truly empty of any operating system


1 - Restart the computer in Recovery Mode ( Command + r ). This is going to required and active and working Internal Connection. Suggest connecting via Ethernet Cable to Router


2 - it this works - choose Reinstall macOS or OS X whichever is states


3 - refer to image below but it will not offer Monterey as it appear in image below


4 - It will download the version of OS X or macOS associated with the Recovery Partition on the computer


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Jul 14, 2022 12:05 PM in response to aleteoryx

Two things here. You should boot into Recovery Mode using Command + Option + R which should eliminate the need for supplying an AppleID. Years ago I saw an Apple article which mentioned this detail for people preparing a Mac for resale.


Second, you are booting to an outdated version of the installer which has an expired certificate. You need to set the date to some time in 2017 (or perhaps even earlier if necessary). While booted to the installer, launch the Terminal app from the Utilities menu and use the following command to set the date & time to Jan. 2, 2017 @ 11:33am (adjust the year according if necessary):

date  -u  0102113317


If there are no errors, quit the Terminal app and select the "Reinstall macOS" option.




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Jul 14, 2022 8:41 PM in response to PRP_53

Sorry, should have read closely. I’m currently having the same issue and had the chance to speak with Apple and real reason is it’s no longer supported. I was also told that it now can be downloaded from its help page on getting old OS systems.

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Jul 16, 2022 8:50 AM in response to PRP_53

Yes, I already know that as the problem still remains the same.


I had El Cap OS already had to deeper back to snow leopard but it won’t upgrade to El Cap. The installer is ahead of its time v. 2 not the correct installer needed. Is this an error on Apple’s part?

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OSX 10.11 El Capitan install fails with "This item is temporarily unavailable."

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