How to Get iWork for Free on Older Macs

http://www.gottabemobile.com/2013/10/23/apple-and-the-seduction-game-of-free-software/

How to Get iWork for Free on Older Macs

10/23/2013 By Craig Lloyd

Apple announced yesterday that its iWork suite of apps, which consist of Keynote, Pages and Numbers, would come free with any new Mac that you buy. Previously, these apps were $20 a piece. However, current Mac users with older Macs aren’t able to take advantage of that deal, seeing as how the company is only making iWork free for new Macs bought after yesterday.

However, there’s a clever loophole that a Redditor discoveredthat allows older Macs to get the iWork suite of apps for free. It does require a little bit of elbow grease — certainly more effort than just downloading and installing the apps, but it may be worth it for some users who have been wanting the apps for some time.

UPDATE: For clarification, iWork is free for users who purchased a new Mac computer on or after October 1, 2013 or a new iOS device on or after September 1, 2013.

Getting iWork for Free on Older Macs

To get iWork on older Macs that previously don’t have iWork installed, follow the simple steps below. However, before you begin, make sure that app installation permissions are properly set: Go to System Preferences > Security > General and allow apps downloaded from Everywhere.

1. Visit this Softpedia link to download a free trial of iWork ’09.
2. Click Download, and then click External Mirror 1.
3. Double-click on the downloaded file. This will open up a window with a couple of files inside.
4. Double-click Install iWork ’09 Trial and follow the installation instructions.
5. After installation, close out the install windows and wait a few minutes for your Mac to recognize the newly-installed apps.
6. Next, open up the App Store app and click on the Updates tab at the top. You should see updates for Pages, Numbers and Keynote.
7. If you don’t see updates for these apps yet, close out of the App Store and wait a few minutes before opening it back up.

Once you see updates for these three apps appear, simply just click Update next to each one to download the latest versions. After that’s done, you’ll have the new version of iWork installed on your older Mac without spending a dime.

Better yet, you don’t need OS X Mavericks in order to take advantage of this loophole. Enjoy!