macOS 4.0.25 Honeycrisp – all playback fails with "License refused by the key server"

[jonesyriffic]

Preflight Checklist

• I agree to follow the Code of Conduct that this project adheres to.
• I have searched the issue tracker for a bug report that matches the one I want to file, without success.
• I have confirmed that no support FAQ resolves my issue.
• I have checked that the correct behavior occurs on Apple Music Web (if applicable).
• I have verified that my issue is with a supported version and that it is with the desktop app (Support for other areas can be found in our Discord / on the appropriate repo).

How did you download Cider?

Taproom

App Information

b0d4264

Operating System

macOS

OS Version

26.6.2 (25G83)

How would you describe your issue?

Frontend

Commit Hash

No response

Describe the Bug

On macOS using Cider 4.0.25 Honeycrisp, all Apple Music playback fails. Attempting to play any track results in the track being skipped with "[track] cannot be played right now, skipping", while I also see License refused by the key server.

The Apple Music account itself is working correctly in both the native Apple Music app and music.apple.com. Normal sign-in within Cider also fails with “Problem Connecting” / error 42585. Signing in manually with a valid Apple Music media-user-token succeeds, but playback still fails in exactly the same way.

I expected Cider to authenticate successfully and play Apple Music catalogue tracks normally.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Launch Cider 4.0.25 Honeycrisp on macOS.
2. Sign in to Apple Music using the normal Cider sign-in flow.
3. Sign-in fails with “Problem Connecting” and error 42585.
4. Alternatively, use “Sign in with a user token” and provide a valid Apple Music media-user-token obtained from music.apple.com.
5. Cider signs in successfully using the manual token.
6. Attempt to play any Apple Music catalogue track.
7. The track is immediately skipped with "[track] cannot be played right now, skipping".
8. Logs report License refused by the key server.
9. The same Apple Music account plays normally in both the native Apple Music app and music.apple.com.
10. The issue also persists when using a different network/mobile hotspot.

Anything else?

Additional context:

• Apple Music playback works correctly in both the native macOS Music app and at music.apple.com using the same account.
• I tested Cider on both my normal network and a mobile hotspot; the behaviour was unchanged.
• The normal Cider Apple Music sign-in flow fails with “Problem Connecting” / error 42585.
• Using “Sign in with a user token” with a valid media-user-token from music.apple.com does successfully authenticate Cider.
• Despite successful authentication, all playback still fails with License refused by the key server.
• I also see an Apple Music service error returning HTTP 404 for requests to:
• https://amp-api.music.apple.com/v1/me/library/playlist-folders/.../children

[cider-collective]

Hello @jonesyriffic 👋

We really appreciate you taking the time to report this issue! Please double-check your report to ensure your description is clear and concise—this will help us assist you as quickly as possible.

We kindly ask for your patience, and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

In the meantime, feel free to check out our FAQs, which may have the answer to your question.

Thanks again, and we hope you enjoy the app! 😃

[cryptofyre]

Update to the latest client from Taproom this was resolved earlier in the week.