how to delete apple id account

HI,

In broad terms Accounts (Apple IDs) cannot be merged.

As in most cases there are exceptions but the end user has little control over them.

Apple originally ran the .Mac service and issued @mac.com IDs for this.

Then they changed to MobileMe and people were given @me.com addresses.

If you had an @Mac.com address at the time on a paid for account then you could opt to link the emails.

i.e. in the Mail app you would set up either @mac.com or @me.com and it would see emails sent to either.

NOTE

During MobileMe Apple kept the @mac.com registration page open for "iChat Names".

This gave you an Apple ID that is valid with the AIM servers but not an active email account.

It was based on the fact that .Mac service Trial Accounts worked in iChat after the trial had finished

At the iCloud Launch people were encouraged tro link any existing Apple ID with iCloud.

In the process this gave you an iCloud issued @me.com account (even if you have an MobileMe account of the same name).

Some people linked External emails that they had been using for some time.

Later Apple changed the iCloud email form to @icloud.com

This does mean for some people that they have @mac.com, @me.com and @iCloud.com email address all linked to their iCloud account.

Whilst email-wise they are one account they can be used separately for iMessages (within Messages on the Mac and on iPhones) and as AIM valid Screen Names in Messages and iChat 6 (If you keep the password to 16 characters or less).

In the scheme of things I doubt many people could tell you if they chose to link their @mac.com name to their @me.com name as it was some time ago.

An Apple ID is never deleted.

The most Apple will do is on production of a Death Certificate by a relative they will close an Account.

Of course they also close accounts due to naming issues (most of those seem to be created to be able to Post on the Community boards).

On the Apple ID site (Manage option) you can remove the (external) email linked to an Apple ID and then you can add that to another Apple ID as an Email that is linked to it.

In some cases it is possible to then make that email the Primary email for the account.

I actually logged in to the Apple Support Profile Page

Using the menu down the left I was able to Edit the email (At the time of doing it) and this was how I managed to get my @me.com name as the Primary email which the one the Emails come to about new posts.

However the amount you can edit on this page has been reduced (not sure if it is a one time pony or the page options have changed).

The two pages seem to be much more closely linked than before with some menu item on the Profile pages taking you to the Apple ID page.

My impression is that Apple is not making it more difficult deliberately but are trying to limit the amount of changes that can happen to an Account which in turn makes it more secure.

It also cuts down the amount of Apple IDs that nay one person might create as they tend to be limited by the number of non Apple Email address they have.

8:20 PM Thursday; July 18, 2013

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mountain Lion 10.8.4)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and an iPad
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Dear Sir,

My Apple account was set up with a Google email address which Google has terminated and will not reinstate. (I entered an incorrect birthdate to comment on postings, which once I pressed enter, the message was I was too youong to have an account and it was deleted even though it had been in use for several years. I tried to do what they wanted to reinstate but they still failed to respond.)

When I try to remove that address and terminate my Apple account account, I need to enter that address and password however, it claims my password is incorrect. I'm then prompted to reset the password however as that address is dead I can't access it and the next option is to enter my birthday to which it says does not match their records.

I've tried to contact Apple support but with no reply.

I cannot sync or access either ICloud nor my Apple account.

Any suggestions? How can I delete this account?

Thank you,

Rick in Cabo San Lucas, MX

HI,

No Apple ID Account is ever deleted.

Access can be stopped by Apple if they are provided with your Death Certificate.

As you are posting here you must have the Password. (Unless you are using a second ID)

If you are using a Second ID then you have your solution.

8:34 PM Saturday; August 17, 2013

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mountain Lion 10.8.4)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and an iPad
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Thank you but not really the solution. When I open ICloud it has my old address, which my password is not accepted so I cannot edit or change to another address.

SInce I cannot access that account, how to change it to the new Apple ID I just set up or to set up a new I cloud account. It will not allow me to set up a new I cloud account. I'm not a very savvy tech person but I have followed every set of instructions I can find to no avail.

I keep getting mesages from I cloud saying it can't sync this or that which is annoying and I can't find a way to stop that either.

thank you Ralph.

Rick

HI,

I have an email that is external to Apple that is my Apple ID.

When iCloud was first Available I choose when going to iCloud to link an existing Apple ID.

That then gave me my @me.com email address that they gave out at that time.

Later I got an email saying they were also giving me an @iCloud.com name.

The password for the Apple ID email is different to the password used at the email company.

On the other hand the three linked names all use the same Password and get me into iCloud.

That is to say I have two iCloud IDs and an external email all linked to the same Apple ID and using the same password.

You seem to be saying that:-

1) Your external email is from Google

2) this is linked to your iCloud ID

3) you can access this iCloud Account. However I may be misunderstanding what you mean here:-

When I open iCloud it has my old address

If you mean the System Preferences > iCloud pane you can Sign Out and then replace the info to sign back in again.

Google will not have changed your Password on your Apple ID.

Ideally you should have created the Apple ID using a different password to the one you used at Google but I understand people often use the same.

If this is so you should be able to use that System Preferences Pane and/or login to the web page for iCloud

If you are looking in System Preferences > Mail, Contacts an Calendars pane this is not the place to Sign Out of iCloud.

9:13 PM Saturday; August 17, 2013

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mountain Lion 10.8.4)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and an iPad
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Hi Ralph. Sorry for troubling you, but I can't get the none option after creating an account. I tried to log in to iTunes both on my iPod Touch and my PC to validate my account, but the none option still doesn't appear. If you have a solution, I really appreciate it. Thanks you!

Hi,

I had iTunes already launched as I was charging/syncing my iPhone.

In iTunes I made sure I went to the iTunes store.

In there I Clicked Account.

I was asked to Sign In.

I was then shown my Account with various Edit options at the end of some of the lines.

I clicked on Edit at the Payment Information line.

In the next "page" I can select between Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Click and Buy, Maestro and None.

I log in to the UK iTunes Store.

7:16 pm Tuesday; September 17, 2013

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mountain Lion 10.8.4)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and an iPad
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

What on earth does this have to do with deleting an account. Cant even count on people to title their forums correctly these days.

Keep overcharging poor people? You could simple stop buying their products idiot.

please delete my account. i will get a new one right afterwards. it is my exgirlfriends request. my account is on her iphone and somehow she can't log into her newly created account and gives me **** about it. so PLEASE PLEASE DELETE MY ACCOUNT.

Hi,

This is a User to User support forum.

We cannot delete your account.

Apple don't delete accounts.

From the 17th August 2013 above.

HI,

No Apple ID Account is ever deleted.

Access can be stopped by Apple if they are provided with your Death Certificate.

You can delete it from your iPhone, or your Mac and never use it again.

On an iPhone

Go to Setting > Messages and tap the unwanted Apple ID.

Use the remove option.

Do the same in Settings > iCloud.

7:33 pm Wednesday; November 20, 2013

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mavericks 10.9)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and an iPad

I have two accounts apparently (just found this out a few minutes ago when I tried to change my Apple ID). I want to try and merge the two accounts though. My primary account that I have used for years is no longer an actual valid email address. The email I am trying to switch it to is one that I apparently made an Apple ID out of years ago and never used.

Is it possible to have my @gmail.com account deleted so that I can use that for my current account?

Thanks!

HI,

Two things.

You cannot Delete an Account.

You cannot Merge Accounts.

My regular Apple ID is based on a dial-up service email account which, although I can download (fetch) mail from, I cannot send as I have to be logged in via dial-up. (I am not sure that the number even exists any more)

This meant I wanted to change the ID or at least the recovery Password.

Early in this thread I posted that info ( A second Apple ID Profile Site was used.) about changing the recovery email - which also changed the Email the Apple Support Communities went to.

However this no longer seems to work (you could edit parts of the personal info and now it is only the Products you have)

Having said that you can edit this info on the Apple ID site (follow the Manage Account option)

What you may need to do first is discover the details concerning the other Apple ID.

https://iforgot.apple.com/password/verify/appleid

You can use the Forgot ID link to trace it by the email used or the recovery email or your name.

Once you have the info on the ID and password login to the Apple ID site and remove the recovery email

You can then use this in the regular Apple ID.

Next go to http://www.apple.com/uk/support/itunes/contact/

(you can get here from iTunes when Logged in to the Store and using the navigation at the bottom for Help > Support and then on the first web page selecting Contact Support at the bottom of the menu)

Select the iTunes Store contact option then follow all references about Managing account.

Eventually you get offered an email contact.

Use this to explain you want to change your email that is used for info being sent out and from the Apple Support Community emails.

9:05 pm Tuesday; February 11, 2014

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mavericks 10.9)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and an iPad

You can use a gift card if you don't have a Credit Card I believe. I'm pretty sure that worked for me when I first begain my account too, because I didn't have one either. But then you have to make sure that you always have money on your account if you want to buy anything.

Hope this helps.

I have a secondary email address that i'm trying to delete everything associated with or move them to my primary account. My apple ID is the secondary one and i'd like to make it the first one, but a relative made an account using my primary email. Can I close this account so my primary email is no longer associated with it so I can make MY apple ID my primary email???