Apple iTunes, App stores back online after experiencing worldwide outage

UPDATE (5:10 p.m.): All services are back online according to Apple’s System Status page.

UPDATE (2:00 p.m.): According to a statement from Apple issued to CNBC, the outage was caused by an internal DNS error.

“We apologize to our customers experiencing problems with iTunes and other services this morning. The cause was an internal DNS error at Apple. We’re working to make all of the services available to customers as soon as possible, and we thank everyone for their patience,” Apple said in the statement.

Apple’s services have now been down for eight hours.

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TORONTO –Apple’s iTunes and App stores are suffering outages for users worldwide. Users who try to access the store are reporting seeing a message that reads, “Could not complete your iTunes Store request” and “Service currently unavailable.”

Apple Services, Stores, and iCloud system status page shows that the App Store, iTunes Store, Mac App Store and iBooks store is currently unavailable for Canadian users.

Users worldwide are seeing the same message.

According to Apple’s website, iCloud Mail and sign in are also being affected.

There is no word yet on what is causing the outage.

Global News has contacted Apple for more details.

Conflicting reports of the outage began on social media early Wednesday morning.

Twitter users in Edinburgh, Scotland and New York City have also alleged that Apple retail stores are experiencing issues. One user tweeted, “The Apple Store in Ridge Hill, NY is expecting issues with both the Wi-fi and their systems and are using Paper and Pen too.”

When Global News called a GTA store, a customer service representative said Toronto-area stores were experiencing difficulties with their services, but added that outages in the store were “spotty.”