Merge apple id's, me.com and itunes account?

I've got an old Apple ID that I've awlways used for EVERTHING (blahblah.mydomain.com). It's also my iCloud login ID as well (as they demanded my Apple ID when I signed up).

I've got a me.com address I really want to keep. I want it to sync through the cloud.

After browsing through 29 pages of posts it appears this is not possible?

hi...you know this issue of not being able to merge two itune accts is so lame...i have my older acct that i purchased alot of music on and the email address for that acct got hacked....and now i guess im just out all the money i spent and the music i had....itunes you need to get it togeather or you will start losing customer me for one...let me see we can land on mars but we cant merge two itune accts...hmmmm...see lame.

So I made a typo when entering my new @me address because I was typing on my iPhone. After 30 pages the conclusion is I can't change this EVER. What!?!? You have to be kidding me. I miss-spelled my last name. What a joke

So scott,

You were setting up a new AppleID and misspelled your name for the ID? If so, you can simply abandon that account and set up a new one with the correct spelling. If you have not purchased anything with the one that is spelled incorrectly, no harm, no foul....

Cheers,

GB

Thanks for the reply Gail. However, no my apple ID is spelled correctly and I have used it for years. When iOS 5 came out and it asked me to create an @me account on my iPhone I miss-spelled my name in the @me account. The only reason it's annoying is when I go to send an e-mail it defaults to sending it from the miss-spelled @me account. I have to changed who it is sent from each time.

I have since created a correct spelling @me account but cannot associate it with my Apple ID. I also am not able to change my @me account or make an alias as it says error every single time.

So, I have been on the phone with a "senior" Apple tech for 2 hours today. So far no way whatsoever to change your @me account associated to your Apple ID. He has talked to many other Apple senior workers and so far no idea how to fix the issue. I have his personal contact information now and he will continue to search for a solution as will I.

Thanks for sharing, at least someone at Apple is listening. Hopefully senior enough to percolate against gravity up to the top :-)

Oh, yeah, that's a major bummer! Don't understand why they can't disable that "bad" email address...I thought when you had an email address associated with your AppleID, (an @me/@mac AppleID) that the email address had to be exactly the same as your AppleID....am I missing the whole point here? (sorry if I am). It just seems kind of crazy that there is no way for you to undo a mistake!!! 😮

GB

Any @me assignment of apple ID is permanent. Shockingly stupid since in the case of Scott, he created an additional, correctly spelled version he also cannot use.

A couple things:

1) the iCloud account can be set to correctname@me.com

2) the store username can be set to wrongname@me.com (or original@mail.com)

3) you can have up to FIVE active purchase accounts on iDevices so this notion of losing paid items is false.

Scott: I can assure you that there is a totally usable solution without having to switch anything "every time" and it blows my mind that the so-called pros are so oblivious.

My iCloud email matches my screen name here, send me an email and ill walk you through the proper set up so that:

1) your outgoing email either original@mail or correct@me

2) iTunes purchase mails go to one address (even if just forwarded).

Eg. If you want to keep all purchases on same misspelled account, you can forward all that mail to correct@me.com

What most people don't realize is that the iCloud account that syncs the phone with iCloud though defaults to the SAME as the store account they are not connected.

So (guessing) the simple solution for Scott is :

➀ set iCloud to correct@me.com

➁ set store ID to wrong@me.com

➂ delete any reference to wrong@me.com from phone besides ➁

➃ set emails from wrong@me to fwd to correct@me so you get apple announcements.

You can assign a second email to any apple ID, except for a different @me address so if you use gmail for example you can have wrong@me.com be your store ID but your purchase notice sent to correct@gmail (that may not work because you can not undo primary set @me email address)

I'm confident I can solve your puzzle to something totally usable. Been doing apple IT since before the "senior" advisors were born.

-awr

Nice summary of the iCloud/Apple ID setup!

However, here is the nightmare I have to deal with..and one I've yet to resolve easily.

Apple ID #1: username

email address - username@gmail.com

Used on iTunes Store, App Store and this Apple Support.

Apple ID #2: username@mac.com

email address - username@mac.com, username@me.com, username@iCloud.com

So what gets confusing is when I set up iCloud, iMessage, FaceTime, iTunes on my iPhone or iPad...am I to use the #1 ID which has the lion's share of my media and data, or do I use #2 ID which has the logical email address for iCloud, iMessage, etc.?

Currently, I have it setup for ID #1 to be used for iTunes, App Store. ID #2 is used for iCloud, iMessage and FaceTime. However, it's just way too confusing at times to distinguish which is being requested or needed for certain events or tasks.

All this leads to my original request of Apple to allow a clemency for former MobileMe/.Mac users to be allowed to merge their IDs and be done w/ this madness!

This is EXACTLY my problem. I went to iCloud really early with:

Primary Apple ID: user@mydomain.com

I had a mobileme account: me@me.com

Now I just want to merge them to a single iCloud account. I DON'T WANT TO CHANGE my old Apple ID. Just add the me address so it is assocaited with that iCloud account.

I can't understand why it's so difficult. There's GOT to be a real reason they aren't allowing this. I'd at least like to know.

i belive the reason for the insanity is two fold: security and cost.

security because for the 10 ways *I* can think of that weaken the security of user's data if they open the can of worms of allowing deleting users accounts 'because somebody asks really nicely' there are 20 more I can't think of. Just a month ago some random person figured out how to dupe an apple support rep to reset somebody ELSEs iCloud ID password and erased his entire cloud; iPhone, iPad, iMac, Powerbook. (think find-my-phone and 'remote erase').

If there was a 1 in 1 million chance apple was going to start allowing people to merge iCloud IDs it certainly vaporized that day. Although in a single case with an example like scotttt88 missspelllled his name, that sounds like a real easy example of how to con apple to allow intermingling of accounts. realize that there is no clean way to 'merge' the data associated with two different accounts. 'merging' really means 'erase one' and have the other 'take over'. it's just waaaaay waaaay too risky from a liability standpoint.

cost because there are dozens of 10s of millions of iCloud users, quite certain there are millions with multiple cloud IDs. unfortunetly there was a concrete decision made that is iron-clad: any @me or @mac email address is by definition an apple ID. you can never change an @me apple id it's considered DNA. Consider how many hours would be spend managing the issue rather than just having a bold stance that "we just don't do that", it would literally be 10s of millions of dollars (money well spent in my opinon but the bean-counters and lawyers often win)

in robert's case (user@domain apple ID and @me iCloud account) there is no getting around having two different IDs.

I have TWO IDs and effectively combined THREE into TWO with the tricks mentioned a few times above; rather than add a thrird email into the mix, i use name+iTunes@gmail.com for my apple ID official email. appleid@apple.com asks me every time i log in to merge my userid and primary email, which i have no interest in doing because that only doubles my purchase account quantity from one to two.

Pair of 9s:

I use a nearly identical setup for my apple IDs

I have a non-email apple ID; the same as my username here. I've been using the same username since the early 90s and no interest in changing it. I'm grandfathered in. In addition, when @mac and then @me were introduced, an ADDITIONAL apple ID was created WITH the @ that was a separate account (very stuipid move on apple's part, how they didn't see that was a bad move is surprising); anyhow it happened and there is no way to un-do it; even though the before the @ part is the same in my case, there is no PRACTICAL way to PROVE they are both me in reality or to combine those accounts without an amazing nightmare of concequence, so i'm stuck with those two separate user IDs.

So; most people are concerned with having more than one = iPurchases lost; not a fact; you can use up to FIVE on an iDevice so move on, water under the bridge; pick your favorite for NEW purchases and stick with it.

It is actually a GOOD THING to have purchases on a different account than the main iCloud account anyhow, so i purchase all my iApp stuff and iTunes stuff with my no@ apple ID.

you CAN use the no@ apple id as a cloud ID but then NOTEs do not sync (and i think one other; yeah of course MAIL doesn't exist).

When setting up an iDevice, i put in for the primary iCloud ID my user@me.com (don't use @mac if you are grandfathered; *some* applications won't work; what a pain!).

then you have to go to the STORE preference and LOG OUT and log BACK IN with your purchase ID.

in my case user@me.com is OUT and user is in (no@ no email).

I had an additional problem where my primary email address first@last.com was already attached as a secondary email to my user@me.com account so i couldn't add it to my no@ user, so i added it anyhow by adding +itunes like so: first+itunes@last.com then apple notices for either account go to my primary first@last.com email.

I never tried to add a +notation (tag it's called) email with @me at the end.

with the setup described by robert above, the only practical solution is to use the me@me.com for iCloud and user@mydomain.com for purchases if you care to have all your purchases in the same account.

the other practical option is to abandon the user@mydomain.com apple ID. all purchases made will stay forever, just switch over to only using the me@me.com for both iCloud and FUTURE purchases. unless you have four addidional accounts it's a one-time change and you only ever have to use the @me apple id forever, just make sure you set your passwords for user@mydomain.com and me@me.com apple ID the same because app-store and iTunes will frequently ask you for either password when an app bought with the old ID comes up with an update.

So; it's either manage two accounts or get asked for two separate passwords when updating apps, though neither is ideal both are actually very workable solutions.

I had like 4-5 different apple ID; i ended up re-ripping my AAC files into MP3 to remove the DRM so i could reduce how many passwords iTunes asked for. I still keep my no@ apple ID and fortunately I caught the error early on and was able to re-download my app store "purchases" (most were free) with my no@ address.

I think that a great-many people would be satisifed with the option of abandoning the non @me apple ID and just switch over to using the fully-functional iCloud @me ID. I think there is a belief that their purchases don't count etc. anything on your phone or in iTunes will sync and work just fine until you have more than FIVE accounts. you have to authenticate iTunes ONCE with the 'abondoned' ID and with iPhone a little more annoying because you have to put in the pwd every time an update comes in so twice as many passwords need to be entered (why i suggest setting them to the SAME value).

you can add the second apple ID as an EMAIL account on iDevice and just not use for any "iCloud" functions if it's an active email you use.

each person's case is unique so they have to evaluate which is the best solution, but there is a workable easy solution to not require 'merging' of apple IDs to get what you need.

I could abondon my no@ apple ID and only use my @me apple ID in a heartbeat. i coincidentally only made like one or two purchases on the @me and realized the goof before i had tons. I like having a no@ apple id and it's attached to the likes of this forum and my developer account so it's more complicated for me.

For most people wanting to simplifier their iCloud experience, the solution they should take is to abandon using any non-@me apple ID for their device, start purchasing with their @me apple ID and eliminate any reference to their non @me apple ID from their iPhone.

they would of course add as an EMAIL address if their non @me say me@gmail.com is their primary email; they WANT that to be set up for email (as exchange so they get push notification of course), but do NOT use for store or iCloud ID; non@me iCloud IDs are non-helpful.

the 'annoying' examples are when there are two @me apple IDs, especially when one is attached to a primary purchase account as in the scott example above.

if i understand the scott situation; he created an @me iCloud ID attached to his primary purchase apple ID but it's mis-spelled (and permanent). He also created a NEW iCloud ID spelled correctly but from apple's @me = DNA perspective that is entirely a different entity.

so Scott's clean solution is to ABAONDON the misspelled Apple ID and switch to using the new correct spelling for iCloud and purchases. There is no real benefit from having the misspelled ID associated with the iDevice!

The caveat; when doing app store updates, Scott will get an alert 'please enter the password for wrong@me.com' and additionally 'please enter the password for correct@me.com' but if he sets the passwords the same it will not be a big deal; i have 4-5 accounts on all my iDevices and in my case all the pwds are different and still not a big problem.

So; rather than trying to combine accounts, which will never EVER happen, moving on to reality and learn how to PRUNE the unnecessary accounts from the iPHONE or at least firgure out how to best use the two when it makes sense to do so.

scott may have to set up an email forward in the wrong@me to direct to correct@me.com to get updates but the reality is there should never be any; new purchases woudl be done at correct@me so though the account may have to be techincally 'active' so that iTunes can authenticate for downloads, he would never EVER have to use that account again for eternity.

-awr

I wanted to sumarize since that was so long:

1. it's very much the best to have an iCloud ID that is @me address; some functions just don't work if that's not the case.
2. you can 'orphan' any apple ID any time, unless you have sentimental reasons (as i do) just ditch it and move on. Get a fully operational iCloud username even if you have to make a NEW one, and use THAT one for all iCloud stuff including purchases, then you will have a unified apple ID
   1. purchases including updates via appstore and iTunes will continue to update forever with the 'abaondoned' apple id; you just need to know the password
   2. set the password to the SAME as the unified apple ID so you don't ahve to remember which is which and when app store says it needs the password for 'abaondoned@me.com' you won't have to remember which is which
3. If you have two 'clean' apple IDs as I do, it makes sense to keep them both active, using ONE for iCloud stuff and one for iTunes/appstore purchases
   1. this makes sense if, like me nearly 100% of your purchases are on this account or
   2. you have a no@ apple ID you wish to keep for sentimental reasons
   3. you have two indepenent @me apple IDs, but one was never used for purchaes but is used for emails

I get automatic email updates when people post here; when i have time i always try to help, so if you post with an example of how you are being screwed by this mess i can post a suggestion of a clean solution specific to your example if you can't devine from the generic descriptions above.

What you want as a goal is:

1. your iCloud username should be an @me address; if it is not, change it; apple will allow a ONE TIME conversion to an UNUSED @me address for an existing account
2. if you have a no@ apple ID and you do not already have an iCloud @me address you also can convert to an @me address if nobody else already did (not very likely at all).
3. if you (like me) prefer your purchase ID different from your iCloud ID, then #1 still applies the icloud ID must be @me address for all features to work without problems (there are numerous bugs in the iOS world that assume and @me email address and bug out without it being the case; even though no@ account allowed for messaing for example; some places won't allow you to enter that value, thinking that @ is required when it is not)
4. Unless you have more than 4 active purchase accounts, 'let it go'; abaondon an old user id and continue with the @me one; i have a user@me.com that i use for all iCloud functions. I could easily start using that from this point on for all purchases as well and then i would have effectively 'merged' my accounts because i would only ever use the one from that point on.
5. if you have extenuating circumstances making it worthy of keeping two separate accounts active (as i do and many many more as well), then set up a SEPARATE primary iCloud @me user id for all things iCloud and use the secondary account for all things iTunes/AppStore. I did not try the 'tag' feature but you may be able to add a tag'd email such as user+itunes@me.com into that secondary account so that you can use just ONE email address for both accounts.

Good luck, hope those suggestions help people smooth out their iDevices.

oh another word of advice with sharing iCloud on mutlipe devices:

every device needs it's own unique apple ID; even if (like me and wife) share one so we can share our photostream and addressbook, each device needs its own unique apple ID for the likes of message to work properly; else if i sent wife an iMessage it just comes right back to me. In addition, make a user such as "Master" that you can assign in settings to who you are if you have a siri-enabled device; that 'this is my card' setting goes to ALL devices sharing the iCloud user id, so Siri was calling me by my wife's name or my wife by my name 'til i figured out this stoopid limitation and made a 'Master' card (with our shared address so auto-fill works in safari) but that Siri will just call us both "Master" which works fine. (some people may want to name that card simply 'Dave' (2001 reference).

-awr

Passbook will not work because it is tried to iCloud and AppStore. I have the iCloud @me account and the gmail for all purchases. Any thoughts?

Like I've mentioned, some iCloud functions only work with an @me address. What a load of cr@p. I get my iPhone 5 tomorrow and I can play with the settings to see what's up. I'm leaving my iPhone 4s on jb 5.1.1 probably until jb is out for 6.0. (or until google is allowed to release their map app since apple removed the most useful feature: mass transit!) Just amazing how short sighted  can be some times.