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ipad app update asks for wrong apple ID

When I check settings, my correct apple ID shows. But when I do an "update apps", the wrong apple ID shows up, with only the password box available for input. What to do?

iPad 2, iOS 4.3.2

Posted on May 8, 2011 5:34 PM

Reply
170 replies

Oct 16, 2017 3:22 PM in response to grimstad

OK, so did you sign out of the iTunes & App Store and then sign back in? Also, double-click the Home button and close the Settings app and the App Store app by swiping up on the thumbnails. Then try the update again.


I have not heard of this happening to lots of people, nor have I seen a lot of posts. But it is a really weird issue. I have an @me.com address, and have not run into any issues, but clearly, the issue you are seeing is showing that something is amiss.


Try the two things above, and if they don't help with the situation, then contact iTunes Support: iTunes Support WorldWide


Was your original "Apple ID" just your name, and the @mac.com was added later?


Did you just update that iPad to iOS 11, and did the issue start after that? If it did, is it possible that these apps are 32 bit apps that have not been updated to run in a 64 bit environment?


Cheers,


GB

Feb 12, 2017 6:37 AM in response to King_Penguin

Thank you for replying.


However, the problem is not with syncing, I'd very much like my apps auto-synced, correctly. The problem is why iDevice A signed in with Apple ID A syncs Apps gotten / purchased on iDevice B signed in with Apple ID B? And apparently, there is no way to disable this on the iDevices? This is, as I said, completely moronic.

Feb 12, 2017 6:41 AM in response to ibic

You can have apps from more than one account in a computer's iTunes library, it doesn't matter what id (if any) you are logged into on a device, if you have that tick box ticked any new apps in that iTunes library will be synced to that device (assuming that they are compatible with it) - you can't disable that directly on a device, syncing is done from a computer's iTunes library, so it's on the computer's iTunes that you have to change your sync option.

Feb 12, 2017 7:04 AM in response to King_Penguin

Thanks for explaining it further.


However, this still seems a different problem - For iDevice A, I never connected it to my Mac using USB, and the WiFi sync is not enabled. But somehow, after I installed a new App on iDevice B, it still appears on iDevice A. The only reason I can think of for this to happen is, I previously signed in to iDevice A using Apple ID B, though I've signed off and signed in using Apple ID A already.

Oct 3, 2017 1:29 PM in response to jorgefromkaty

I had a very similar problem. I'm on a family account but not the main account name. I was being asked for the main account name's password. The way I solved it was to go to the Purchased tab and sign in with my ID. There I could see all the apps that I downloaded. I could either choose to update one at a time from that screen or, what I chose to do, was to go back to the Updates tab and choose Update All.

Oct 16, 2017 10:32 AM in response to AurynSharay

This does not appear to be the case for me. One one iPad, the id is my Apple ID without "@mac.com" and this does not work nor is there any obvious way to fix it. By now I have about six iPads and four iPhones (though the old ones are not used anymore), but it is NOT the case that any apps were purchased under a different account.


It seems insane to me that Apple does not provide a simple way to change the iTunes ID when trying to update apps. Somehow Apple has a truncated ID in their server and it gives the user no way to correct it. If I could just change this on this particular iPad, I could get the same applications that I have on my other devices.

Oct 16, 2017 2:07 PM in response to gail from maine

It is just my user ID (grimstad) without any @anything. I found that it would flash a quick screen when I cancelled something (poking at it for so long I forgot exactly what) and I was able to click on a small dialog box that allowed me to put in a new id. (This box was up for such a short time that I had to try 2-3 times before I could catch it.) None of this mattered because iTunes keeps going back to the ID without "@mac.com". It tells me that the ID (without the @mac.com) is not a valid ID (no kidding). But it will not give me an opportunity to change it. Instead, it wants me to say that I can say that I have forgotten my ID (I haven't) and can reset it (I won't)—causing hours of frustration on my computers, phones, iPads, and Apple TV.


I am about ready to chuck this device into the garbage. I have never seen a product that would not let the user enter the user name. I know that "grimstad" is not a valid ID, so how did it get there? Perhaps it is related to a problem last year where some Apple database had conflicting IDs and could only be fixed by a DBA high up in the support food chain. Support conceded that this was not something a user could have or should have been able to have done.

Oct 16, 2017 2:57 PM in response to gail from maine

Hi. It pops up when I try to update apps on my iPad (works fine on my iPad mini and iPad Pro). The home screen shows 18 updates available. I click on that and it takes me to a screen of updates for the apps. I click on "Update" and it asks for the password for "grimstad." I type in the password for grimstad@mac.com and it then says that "grimstad" is not a valid ID.


If I open Settings, I see that the Apple ID: grimstad@mac.com. I have no idea where it can be getting the ID without the @mac.com.


Here's an odd twist, I rebooted the iPad and now it when I try to update an app, it just spins forever. No longer does it complain about the ID, it just cannot update anything.


It appears that over 3000 users have complained about the same thing. Is that right?


I appreciate your trying to help. Thanks

Oct 30, 2017 8:41 AM in response to gail from maine

"I have not heard of this happening to lots of people, nor have I seen a lot of posts."

I'm guessing that maybe you have a reading problem. I just clicked the button above which noted that over 3300 people had said they had the same problem.


I have done all the signing in/signing out, closing all apps, restarting phone etc. etc. etc. and nothing works, the app store insists on asking for my ex-wife's account password (which I obviously must have somehow used to do the original download). Why it should do that when I'm clearly signed in with my own account is one of those wonderful Apple Mysteries, of the same nature as the MS mysteries that I used to rib my Window user friends about.

ipad app update asks for wrong apple ID

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