How to change older iTunes/Apple TV purchases to current Apple ID?

Question

How to change older iTunes/Apple TV purchases to current Apple ID?

I've purchased music, movies, and TV shows and downloaded them to my computer. In 2019, I was forced to change my Apple ID/email address because I sold my house after my wife died and I moved to an area not served by my original internet service provider.

If I attempt to watch or listen to content purchased before 2019, I am prompted to re-authorize access to the content using my current Apple ID/email address. Is there anyway to update the iTunes/Apple TV database to replace my old Apple ID with my current Apple ID?

iMac 27″ 5K, macOS 11.6

Posted on Dec 1, 2021 2:27 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

IdrisSeabright

Level 10

169,217 points

Dec 1, 2021 2:56 PM in response to Merton Crockett

If you changed your Apple ID to the new email address, and the content is still available under the Purchases section, all you need to do is download it/stream it. What is the problem you're having?

If you created a new Apple ID, then the old one still exists. The fact that the email address that is used as the user name is no longer active is irrelevant. It would only become important if you'd forgotten the password.

So, the important question here is which did you do? Create a new Apple ID? Or change the email address that serves as the user name from the old email address to the new email address?

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Answer 2

muguy

Level 10

82,033 points

Dec 1, 2021 2:32 PM in response to Merton Crockett

No, not if you created a new Apple ID instead of changing the old one. Your content will always be associated with the original ID. You can set up a family share and share the content between the two Apple IDs. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201088

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Answer 3

Dec 1, 2021 2:50 PM in response to muguy

My old ISP deleted the email address that was my original Apple ID. I changed my old Apple ID to my new email address on Apple's web site. That had no affect on the iTunes/Apple TV database although all the content that I downloaded is in the Purchase history under my current Apple ID.

How would one be able to set up a family share with a non-existent email address that only exists in the iTunes/Apple TV database?

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Answer 4

Dec 4, 2021 4:34 PM in response to IdrisSeabright

What is the problem you're having?

If I use the TV.app to search for a movie or TV show that I purchased between 2004 and 2019, it finds the movie or TV show in the TV.app Library on my user volume. It is flagged as Downloaded. If I click on Play a pop-up window is displayed with my old Apple ID and a notice that this computer is not authorized to play the content. To play the content, I have to replace my old Apple ID with my current Apple ID. I am then prompted for my current password. The next pop-up window that is displayed informs me that my computer was previously authorized to play the content and has been re-authorized.

So, the important question here is which did you do? Create a new Apple ID? Or change the email address that serves as the user name from the old email address to the new email address?

I don't recall what I did in 2019 when my old ISP deleted my email account. I think I just changed my email address to gmail address that I had acquired several years before retiring to debug problems that several managers had reported and never used.

How does one get rid of the need to constantly re-authorize the computer to watch content that has been purchased?

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Answer 5

Dec 6, 2021 7:02 AM in response to Merton Crockett

Apparently, instead of updating your existing ID, you created a new one. As all the purchases made under the original Apple ID are forever tied to that ID, the only real option is to set up family sharing between the two.

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Answer 6

Dec 6, 2021 8:02 PM in response to IdrisSeabright

All my iTunes store purchases made since 2004 are in my purchase history under my current Apple ID.

If I attempt to set up family sharing using the email address associated with downloaded content on my disk drive, Apple doesn't allow me to log into family sharing.

How do I use family sharing if I can't log in?

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