diff --git a/Xcodes/AppleAPI/Sources/AppleAPI/Client.swift b/Xcodes/AppleAPI/Sources/AppleAPI/Client.swift
index 462286d..a45d300 100644
--- a/Xcodes/AppleAPI/Sources/AppleAPI/Client.swift
+++ b/Xcodes/AppleAPI/Sources/AppleAPI/Client.swift
@@ -148,11 +148,12 @@ public class Client {
     /// Use the olympus session endpoint to see if the existing session is still valid
     public func validateSession() -> AnyPublisher<Void, Error> {
         return Current.network.dataTask(with: URLRequest.olympusSession)
-            .tryMap { (data, response) in
-                guard
-                    let jsonObject = (try? JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: data)) as? [String: Any],
-                    jsonObject["provider"] != nil
-                else { throw AuthenticationError.invalidSession }
+            .map(\.data)
+            .decode(type: AppleSession.self, decoder: JSONDecoder())
+            .tryMap { session in
+                if session.provider == nil {
+                    throw AuthenticationError.notDeveloperAppleId
+                }
             }
             .eraseToAnyPublisher()
     }
@@ -174,6 +175,7 @@ public enum AuthenticationState: Equatable {
     case unauthenticated
     case waitingForSecondFactor(TwoFactorOption, AuthOptionsResponse, AppleSessionData)
     case authenticated
+    case notAppleDeveloper
 }
 
 public enum AuthenticationError: Swift.Error, LocalizedError, Equatable {
@@ -186,7 +188,8 @@ public enum AuthenticationError: Swift.Error, LocalizedError, Equatable {
     case accountUsesUnknownAuthenticationKind(String?)
     case accountLocked(String)
     case badStatusCode(statusCode: Int, data: Data, response: HTTPURLResponse)
-
+    case notDeveloperAppleId
+    
     public var errorDescription: String? {
         switch self {
         case .invalidSession:
@@ -212,6 +215,8 @@ public enum AuthenticationError: Swift.Error, LocalizedError, Equatable {
             return message
         case let .badStatusCode(statusCode, _, _):
             return "Received an unexpected status code: \(statusCode). If you continue to have problems, please submit a bug report in the Help menu."
+        case .notDeveloperAppleId:
+            return "You are not registered as an Apple Developer.  Please visit Apple Developer Registration. https://developer.apple.com/register/"
         }
     }
 }
@@ -362,3 +367,20 @@ public enum SecurityCode {
         }
     }
 }
+
+/// Object returned from olympus/v1/session
+/// Used to check Provider, and show name
+/// If Provider is nil, we can assume the Apple User is NOT an Apple Developer and can't download Xcode.
+public struct AppleSession: Decodable, Equatable {
+    public let user: AppleUser
+    public let provider: AppleProvider?
+}
+
+public struct AppleProvider: Decodable, Equatable {
+    public let providerId: Int
+    public let name: String
+}
+
+public struct AppleUser: Decodable, Equatable {
+    public let fullName: String
+}
diff --git a/Xcodes/Backend/AppState+Install.swift b/Xcodes/Backend/AppState+Install.swift
index d295d68..28449ee 100644
--- a/Xcodes/Backend/AppState+Install.swift
+++ b/Xcodes/Backend/AppState+Install.swift
@@ -40,9 +40,15 @@ extension AppState {
     }
     
     private func install(_ installationType: InstallationType, downloader: Downloader, attemptNumber: Int) -> AnyPublisher<InstalledXcode, Error> {
+        // We need to check if the Apple ID that is logged in is an Apple Developer
+        // Since users can use xcodereleases, we don't check for Apple ID on a xcode list refresh
+        // If the Apple Id is not a developer, the download action will try and download a xip that is invalid, causing a `xcode13.0.xip is damaged and can't be expanded.`
         Logger.appState.info("Using \(downloader) downloader")
         
-        return getXcodeArchive(installationType, downloader: downloader)
+        return validateSession()
+            .flatMap { _ in
+                self.getXcodeArchive(installationType, downloader: downloader)
+            }
             .flatMap { xcode, url -> AnyPublisher<InstalledXcode, Swift.Error> in
                 self.installArchivedXcode(xcode, at: url)
             }
diff --git a/Xcodes/Backend/AppState+Update.swift b/Xcodes/Backend/AppState+Update.swift
index 62a327d..ed998af 100644
--- a/Xcodes/Backend/AppState+Update.swift
+++ b/Xcodes/Backend/AppState+Update.swift
@@ -71,7 +71,12 @@ extension AppState {
     private func updateAvailableXcodes(from dataSource: DataSource) -> AnyPublisher<[AvailableXcode], Error> {
         switch dataSource {
         case .apple:
-            return signInIfNeeded() 
+            return signInIfNeeded()
+                .flatMap { [unowned self] in
+                    // this will check to see if the Apple ID is a valid Apple Developer or not.
+                    // If it's not, we can't use the Apple source to get xcode info.
+                    self.validateSession()
+                }
                 .flatMap { [unowned self] in self.releasedXcodes().combineLatest(self.prereleaseXcodes()) }
                 .receive(on: DispatchQueue.main)
                 .map { releasedXcodes, prereleaseXcodes in
diff --git a/Xcodes/Backend/AppState.swift b/Xcodes/Backend/AppState.swift
index 6c3c48b..c14ebf4 100644
--- a/Xcodes/Backend/AppState.swift
+++ b/Xcodes/Backend/AppState.swift
@@ -116,8 +116,9 @@ class AppState: ObservableObject {
             .receive(on: DispatchQueue.main)
             .handleEvents(receiveCompletion: { completion in 
                 if case .failure = completion {
-                    self.authenticationState = .unauthenticated
-                    self.presentedSheet = .signIn
+                    // this is causing some awkwardness with showing an alert with the error and also popping up the sign in view
+                    // self.authenticationState = .unauthenticated
+                    // self.presentedSheet = .signIn
                 }
             })
             .eraseToAnyPublisher()
@@ -227,7 +228,7 @@ class AppState: ObservableObject {
             self.authError = error
         case .finished:
             switch self.authenticationState {
-            case .authenticated, .unauthenticated:
+                case .authenticated, .unauthenticated, .notAppleDeveloper:
                 self.presentedSheet = nil
                 self.secondFactorData = nil
             case let .waitingForSecondFactor(option, authOptions, sessionData):
@@ -315,7 +316,7 @@ class AppState: ObservableObject {
                 self.$authenticationState
                     .filter { state in
                         switch state {
-                        case .authenticated, .unauthenticated: return true
+                            case .authenticated, .unauthenticated, .notAppleDeveloper: return true
                         case .waitingForSecondFactor: return false
                         }
                     }
@@ -324,6 +325,9 @@ class AppState: ObservableObject {
                         if state == .unauthenticated {
                             throw AuthenticationError.invalidSession
                         }
+                        if state == .notAppleDeveloper {
+                            throw AuthenticationError.notDeveloperAppleId
+                        }
                         return Void()
                     }
             }