Download problems with the Mac App Store

The Apple Mac App Store must work in a strange way because it is causing problems for some people, me included. Some people have found that they can't download any apps. They can get on to the store and click the button to get the app, but then nothing downloads, or it starts and then stops. Some people downloaded apps, but then couldn't update them when they were notified of updates. Here are some solutions for people having problems with the Mac App Store.

There is an article on the Cnet website that might be useful called Mac App Store downloads hanging related to Boot Camp. Apparently if you have Boot Camp set up on your Mac then the App Store might not work properly.

There is also an article in Apple's support database called Mac App Store: Unresponsive after clicking Updates icon. There is some advice that's worth trying.

Searching the web turned up someone who found that changing the MTU network packet size in his router to 1500 solved the problem.

I struggled for a while and then hit upon a different solution. I have an SMC router with an ADSL modem and an Apple AirPort Extreme router for the Wi-Fi:

Mac --- Wi-Fi---> AirPort Extreme --- LAN cable ---> router/ADSL modem

I couldn't download anything from the Mac App Store, even though I could browse the web with Safari, Chrome and so on. I I took the LAN cable and plugged it directly into the Mac instead of using Wi-Fi, cutting out the Wi-Fi and AirPort Extreme. The App Store worked great and downloads were really fast.

Mac --- LAN cable ---> router/ADSL modem

It seems that something in the Mac's Wi-Fi or AirPort Extreme was blocking downloads from the App Store. Whether this solves your own problem is anyone's guess, but it is worth trying.