6 Ways To Fix “iTunes Won't Open On Mac” Error

iTunes is like an all-in-one library for Mac users. The iTunes application was relevant for Mac users up until the macOS Mojave (10.14). The collective media library was separated into standalone libraries such as Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Books, etc.

Users who still use the macOS Mojave or before still encounter an “iTunes cannot be opened because of a problem” error message. And, as the message states, you won’t be able to launch the application in this particular session.

Here are the reasons iTunes failing to open on your Mac:

Outdated application
Low storage space
Corrupted properties files

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How to Fix “iTunes Won’t Open on Mac” Error?

The first thing you can do is restart your computer. This will discard any OS-related glitches and could fix your problem itself. Then, follow all the methods shown below.

Note: Keep in mind that the fixes mentioned below only apply to users who still use the classic iTunes application on their Mac. macOS Catalina (10.15) or later doesn’t support iTunes.

Force Close iTunes

Every time your iTunes application starts misbehaving, you can force close and restart it again. This will prevent any session-related errors and glitches that might have factored into the iTunes error prompt. So, force close iTunes and jumpstart the application with the steps shown below:

Open Finder.
Press Command + Spacebar to bring up Spotlight.
Type and navigate to Activity Monitor.
On the CPU tab, search for iTunes and select it.
Click the ‘x’ sign to close it.

Delete iTunes Properties Files

macOS creates properties files of certain applications to store their configurations and profile settings. But, if, unfortunately, these properties files get corrupted, the particular application will fail to work properly.

To prevent this issue in the future, you can clear up these properties files from your system library. Furthermore, the OS will regenerate these files automatically the next time you launch your application.

Here’s how you remove the iTunes properties files:

Open Finder.
From the finder menu bar, click on Go > Go to Folder.
Enter ~/Library/Preferences.
Delete com.apple.iTunes.plist and com.apple.iTunes.plist.lockfile files.
Then, go to the dock, right-click on your trash can, and select Empty Bin.
Relaunch iTunes.

Safe Boot iTunes

To ensure that third-party extensions and applications are not interfering with your application’s workflow, you can start up your computer in safe mode and launch iTunes in this mode.

The safe mode feature makes use of only the mandatory and minimum required drivers of your computer. So, if iTunes works well in safe mode, it’s almost certain that conflicting third-party applications are the reason for this error message on your screen.

On Intel Macs

Shut down.
Press Power and turn on the Mac.
As soon as it starts up, hold Shift.
Release it only after you see the login menu.
Then, log in to your account.

On M1 Macs

Shut down.
Hold Power and turn on the Mac.
Release the key only after you see Options.
Select a bootable drive to boot from.
Then, hold Shift and choose to Continue in Safe Mode.

Once your system has fully booted up in safe mode, launch iTunes. And if the application runs without any problems, you have to remove the third-party kernel extension that was preventing it from operating efficiently in the normal mode. For this,

Press Command + Spacebar to bring up Spotlight.
Type and navigate to Terminal.
Enter this command to view the list of extensions working in the kernel mode:
kextstat.
Any extension that doesn’t begin with com.apple.* is a third-party extension.
Track the extension back to its original application and remove the application from your computer.

Manage Your System Storage

iTunes requires a certain amount of disk space to operate on. So, if you have minimal available free space on your device, chances are that it’s preventing the application from starting up normally.

However, to counter this, macOS provides you with certain storage management tools to optimize your system space. You can access this tool directly from the Finder, and here’s how you do so:

Open Finder.
From the finder menu bar, select Apple > About This Mac.
Open your Storage window.

Here, you’ll see how much space is available on your device and what files are taking up the most storage.
If you have low space available on your device, Manage your storage.
You now have the option to Store in iCloud, Optimize Storage, Empty Trash Automatically, and Reduce Clutter.
Select the method most suitable for you and manage your system storage.

Update iTunes

If your iTunes application is outdated, it probably has a few compatibility and stability issues. Developers research such issues on their programs and build an update file to patch them up. Furthermore, new security features ensure that your data is secure and well-managed.

So, if there are iTunes updates available for your system, we recommend you install them as soon as possible because this might be the easiest and fastest way to fix your problem.

Open App Store.
Select Update on the sidebar.
Let your system scan your computer for the list of available updates.
If there is an iTunes update available, click on Update to upgrade the application.
Wait until the installation is complete.
Relaunch iTunes.

Delete and Reinstall iTunes

If none of the aforementioned fixes work for you, you have to delete your application and redownload it. Re-downloading the application installs the latest version of that application, and all the corrupted app data gets discarded as well. So, here’s how you delete and reinstall iTunes on your computer: