You're sitting there with a brand new laptop, ready to dive into that massive library of movies or music you’ve spent a decade building, and suddenly, iTunes (or the Apple Music app, depending on your OS) hits you with a wall. It tells you that your computer isn't authorized to play this content. Honestly, it’s one of the most frustrating "legacy" hurdles in the Apple ecosystem.
Most people think DRM—Digital Rights Management—is a thing of the past. It's not.
Apple still uses a system that limits you to five authorized machines at any given time. If you’ve been through a few MacBooks or PCs over the last few years, you’ve probably hit that ceiling without even realizing it. Authorizing computer for itunes is basically the process of telling Apple’s servers, "Hey, this specific hardware is allowed to access my encrypted purchases." It’s a handshake between your local machine and your Apple Account.
If you don't do this, your purchased movies won't play, and your old-school iTunes Match library might just sit there looking pretty but doing nothing.
The five-device limit is the real culprit
Apple is pretty strict about that five-computer limit. This doesn't include your iPhone or iPad, luckily. Those live in a different category of "associated devices." But for actual computers—whether it's a Windows rig or a Mac—the limit is firm.
You might find yourself in a situation where you’ve sold an old laptop without deauthorizing it first. That’s a classic mistake. Now, that "phantom" computer is taking up one of your five precious slots. If you hit five, you can’t authorize a sixth. You're stuck.
To fix this, you usually have to go into your account settings and "Deauthorize All." It's a "nuclear option" because you can only do it once every 12 months. Apple doesn't want people constantly swapping authorizations to share accounts with friends. It’s a security measure, sure, but for the average user just trying to watch The Dark Knight on a Tuesday, it feels like a chore.
How to authorize on a modern Mac
If you're on a newer Mac running macOS Sonoma or Ventura, you won't even find an app called "iTunes." It's gone. Split into Music, TV, and Podcasts.
To handle authorizing computer for itunes (or its modern equivalent) on these machines, you open the Music app. Look at the very top of your screen in the menu bar. Click "Account," then "Authorizations," and then "Authorize This Computer." You’ll be prompted for your Apple ID password. Enter it, and you're golden.
Windows users have it a bit differently. You’re likely still using the actual iTunes for Windows app or the newer Apple Music app from the Microsoft Store. In the traditional iTunes app, the process is almost identical: Account > Authorizations > Authorize This Computer. If the menu bar is hidden, hit Ctrl + B to bring it back.
When things go sideways: Permissions and bugs
Sometimes, you click "Authorize," enter your password, and... nothing happens. Or worse, it tells you the authorization was successful, but then asks you to authorize again five minutes later. This is usually a permissions error in a hidden folder called "SC Info."
On Windows, this folder stores the specific hardware ID of your machine. If that folder is corrupted, iTunes can't "write" the authorization to your hard drive. It's like trying to write on a piece of paper that keeps disappearing.
To fix this, you have to show hidden files in Windows Explorer, navigate to C:\ProgramData\Apple Computer\iTunes, and delete the SC Info folder. Don't worry, iTunes will recreate it the next time you open the app. It’s a weirdly specific fix that has saved a lot of people from throwing their laptops out the window.
Why does Apple still do this?
It seems archaic. In an era of Netflix and Spotify, why do we need to authorize hardware?
The answer lies in the licensing agreements Apple signed with major movie studios and record labels back in the mid-2000s. Those contracts are still the foundation of the iTunes Store. Even if you "own" a movie, you're technically licensing it under specific terms. One of those terms is the device limit.
Dealing with "Ghost" computers
If you've reached your limit and don't have access to the old computers, follow these steps:
- Open Music or iTunes.
- Go to Account > Account Settings (you might need to sign in).
- Scroll down to the "Computer Authorizations" section.
- Click "Deauthorize All."
Remember: You can't pick and choose which one to remove if you don't have the machine in front of you. It's all or nothing. Once they are all cleared, you just go back to the computers you actually use and re-authorize them one by one.
The difference between Authorizing and Associating
This is where people get confused. Authorizing a computer is for DRM-protected content you bought from the iTunes Store.
Associating a device is different. That’s for things like:
- Downloading past purchases to a new device.
- Using Apple Music offline.
- Turning on Sync Library.
You can have up to ten devices (including phones) associated with your Apple ID, but only five of those can be computers authorized for playback. If you're trying to download a movie on your iPhone and it says you can't, you're likely hitting the association limit, not the authorization limit.
It’s a subtle distinction, but a huge one when you’re troubleshooting.
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Actionable Steps for a Clean Library
- Audit your devices: Once a year, log into your Apple Account and check how many computers are currently authorized.
- Deauthorize before you sell: If you’re trading in a Mac or PC, make deauthorizing the very first thing you do before wiping the drive.
- Keep iTunes updated: On Windows, the older versions of iTunes struggle with modern Apple ID two-factor authentication. Always use the latest version from the Microsoft Store to avoid login loops.
- Check your SC Info folder: If you're stuck in an authorization loop on a PC, delete that folder. It’s the "turn it off and back on again" of the iTunes world.
If you follow these steps, you won't have to deal with those annoying pop-ups anymore. The five-device limit is a relic of the past, but until the big studios change their minds about DRM, it’s something we just have to manage. Keep your authorizations tidy, and your media will actually be yours to watch whenever you want.