Mac users having login issues this afternoon [UPDATED]
by Alex Ziebart 
Mar 23rd 2009 at 4:20PM
We've received a lot of reports of Mac users having problems with the login servers this afternoon, and the Tech Support forums certainly lend some weight to those reports. The thread isn't a 26+ page behemoth yet, but it's only getting started. We don't know how widespread the issue is quite yet, but it seems significant enough.Blizzard representatives are on the case, and while they haven't fixed the exact problem, they have found a workaround: This is only happening with the World of Warcraft specific login servers, and thus it's only happening to World of Warcraft specific logins. If you merge your World of Warcraft account into a Battle.net account, you will be able to log in.
It's no fix, but if you're desperate enough to play and haven't yet merged your account over, now is a pretty good time to do it. Personally, I'm not sure why you wouldn't do it anyway, but that's just my preference talking. If this login issue gets worse before it gets better, we'll be sure to let you know.
Update: This issue appears to be cleared up, but please let us (and Blizzard of course) know if that's not the case!
Filed under: Realm News, Analysis / Opinion, Realm Status
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
alpha5099 Mar 23rd 2009 4:26PM
I dunno if I'm having the same problem, but when I've been trying to log in the last twenty minutes or so, I'm stuck on Handshaking. I'll try setting up Battle.net, see if that helps. Thanks.
Max Mar 25th 2009 2:15PM
I have an extremely easy solution: throw your mac in the garbage where it belongs.
Then go to newegg.com and build yourself a pc that can do twice what your old piece of shit did, at half the cost.
Rob Mar 28th 2009 12:54AM
"Then go to newegg.com and build yourself a pc that can do twice what your old piece of shit did"
That's funny. I have Windows on my iMac. So really I can do anything you can do... plus anything a Mac can do. Benchmarks are comparable to similar priced PCs as well.
But go ahead and hate. I'm sure that will server you well in life.
Justin Mar 28th 2009 4:41PM
Whats the point in running windows on a mac? people only buy macs because of the o.s. If you wanted to run windows why wouldnt you buy a dell or hp cuz there usually cheaper?
Rob Mar 29th 2009 3:06PM
"Whats the point in running windows on a mac? people only buy macs because of the o.s. If you wanted to run windows why wouldnt you buy a dell or hp cuz there usually cheaper?"
I haven't run windows in a while. For a very short time, I was running WoW in windows because it ran slightly better. However since OSX 10.5 that's no longer the case.
My whole point was to shoot down the ignorant perspective that you can't get a mac because there's software on a "normal" PC you won't be able to run. If there's something you want to run that happens to be windows only. You have the option of running windows. But by no means should people by a Mac if they don't want to use the awesome OS that it comes with.
Also, since wow started running better for me on OSX, I've formatted my windows drive and threw the Windows 7 beta on there. It's actually pretty cool. They took a lot from OSX. :D
(yeah, yeah, don't even start with the Apple Stole from Windows... because, 1: it's not true, and 2: they both stole most of it from IBM.)
Lyncis Mar 23rd 2009 4:27PM
Simple fix: Don't use a Mac! This is a good Best Practice anyway, really.
Adam Holisky Mar 23rd 2009 4:31PM
And begin the flamewars...
Or rather, please don't.
jfofla Mar 23rd 2009 4:48PM
I use a Mac because I make enough money to afford the very best.
So you can keep your gray Soviet PCs or your Low Rider that you built yourself.
I use a Mac because it is the most elegant computer on the planet.
Feel free to use your cheap PCs peasants
Vassal Mar 23rd 2009 4:52PM
@jfofla
Enjoy.
System Specs:
Motherboard: Asus P5N32-E SLI, nVidia 680i SLI chipset, LGA775, up to 1333MHz FSB, 8GB RAM max, Dual Gigabit LAN, HD Audio
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6850, 3.0GHz, 4MB L2 Cache
Memory: 4GB G.Skill DDR2 800 F2-6400PHU-2GBHK, High Performance Low Latency (CL 4-4-3-5) Dual Channel RAM
Video Card: XFX 9800GX2 xXx Edition, 1GB DDR3 RAM, GPU/Memory Clock 680/1080MHz (600/1000MHz for standard cards), Dual DVI & HDMI Outputs
Hard Drive: 2 x Seagate SATA2 320GB, NCQ, 16MB Cache, Raid0 (striped array)
Optical Drive: Lite-On SATA2 20x DVD Writer
Power Supply: Cooler Master eXtreme 650W
Sound Card: Asus SupremeFX Audio Card
Case: NZXT Tempest Enthusiast Full Tower, 2 x 120mm Front Fans, 2 x 120mm Side Fans, 2 x 140mm Rear Fans, Front Audio & USB
I don't think Macs are this powerful. :D
Marc Sadowski Mar 23rd 2009 4:55PM
I use a Mac and a PC. PC is for fun stuff and my Mac is for my photography. But when the wife is playing WoW with me, she uses the PC, making me use the Mac.
My Mac is a year old... it's great up until you go to Dalaran... then it stinks.
The photography: http://www.nanago.com
shadowfury Mar 23rd 2009 5:26PM
@Vassal
Might wanna do a little research before posting your system specs... I can hear all the Mac Pro owners lol'ing @ your l33t system specs.
/facepalm
PopeJamal Mar 23rd 2009 6:00PM
I don't use a Mac because:
-I can't afford one
-It wasn't worth it when I could afford one
-I don't want to have to wear a turtleneck when I use my computer
-MacOS actually doesn't always "just work". So if neither Winders nor OSX "just work", then I'll take the one that lets me play games.
-I don't want to have to wear a turtleneck when I use my computer
-I don't want people to think I'm a pretentious a-hole like jfofla (Hi there! :)
Did I mention that I don't want to have to wear a turtleneck???
Aigarius Mar 24th 2009 11:34AM
MacBooks are actually a good value, especially when you factor in all the software that you get with it, versus all the software you need to buy for your Windows PC just to stop it from breaking down all the time.
Carolyn Mar 23rd 2009 4:33PM
Thanks for the tip about merging with your Battle.net account. Worked like a charm.
Telcontar Mar 23rd 2009 5:35PM
So, Blizzard, while trying hard to encourage our migration to Battle.net, just happens to develop a Mac problem which can very conveniently be solved by migrating to Battle.net.
Nothing suspicious about that!
SantaDuJuan Mar 23rd 2009 4:32PM
Everyone please stay on topic
I've got the problem on my MBP :/
snowleopard233 Mar 23rd 2009 4:32PM
Maybe I don’t want to use their stupid battle.net account thing because it directly ties my account to my email. Now if anyone knew my email, they’d know my WoW login, and it’s only be a matter of time before they find a way to hack my password after that. The difference is now all my eggs are in one basket so they can get into my other accounts as well.
If I can’t login when I get home, I figure I’ll succumb to this new system their going to eventually push on us (looks like they already are for mac users) just to be able to logon, but I’d be lying if I said I’m going to feel like my life has been made easier by these changes or that my account feels more protected.
jfofla Mar 23rd 2009 4:58PM
Sad isn't it?
You spent all that and you still have a Mac wannabe
Vassal, funny you picked a name that conjures images of a peasant
notworksafe Mar 23rd 2009 5:05PM
I just made a new email for WoW/BNet only (mynamewow@gmail.com)and forwarded it to my current email to make sure I get any important emails.
Perhaps give that a try?
G Mar 23rd 2009 8:02PM
@notworksafe - You don't even need a new account. If you're on Gmail already, you can make semi-new addresses by adding "+anything" to your username. For example, if your email address is me@gmail.com, you can use me+wow@gmail.com. It will still come in, but it's unique and can be filtered differently. Requires no setup (that I can remember). And it's harder to guess for this situation.
The one downside is if the web site registration bot doesn't like the + sign. I tried to use that for MySpace, and their typical brain-dead code accepted it, but then it wouldn't work internally. That was fun.