10.11. 4 - Verification Failed There was an error connecting to the Apple ID Server

I tried to post system information and error messages. But got the "invalid character" message.

Then there is a post limit .....

Hey Apple how are we supposed to trouble shoot if we can't post error messages.

Try to switch of OCSP and CRL verification in Keyring or set it to "Best attempt"

This worked for me.

So, its the oddest thing that this was working when I set up my macbook pro recently but then after doing the last Mac OS update I couldnt access the apple ID server. I created another user and it worked fine but not my original user for the mac book. Thank you for suggesting checking for the certificate verification, that worked and resolved my issue. Here is how to do that for anyone that isnt quite sure:

You can set this in Keychain Access this way:

1. Open /Applications/Utilities/Keychain Access

2. Go into the Keychain Access menu and select Preferences…

3. In the Preferences window, click on the Certificates tab.

4. Set the first two options, for OCSP: and CRL: , to Best Attempt. It should be OK to leave Priority: set to the default setting.

You can also set these settings from the command line. You’ll need to run these commands on a per-user basis, as Keychain is looking to the ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.security.revocation.plist file for these settings.

To set the CRL settings:

defaults write com.apple.security.revocation CRLStyle -string BestAttempt

To set the OCSP settings:

defaults write com.apple.security.revocation OCSPStyle -string BestAttempt

It worked for me! Thank You!

this was VERY HELPFUL. worked perfectly. now, i only need to remember when i get a similar error in the future