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Can I merge two iTunes accounts, and the money that is in them?

I have two girls who each have an iPod Touch, each with their own iTunes account. I messed up and should have had both devices connected to the same account, but I didn't know I could at the time. I would rather both devices associate with the first account, linked to my email address, so they can share apps and the money in the account. Right now both accounts have money in them, and apps would have to be bought twice for both girls to have them, and that is just stupid. How do I fix this?

iPod touch, Windows 7

Posted on Jul 5, 2012 11:36 AM

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5 replies

Jul 5, 2012 11:51 AM in response to loomis2

Can I merge two iTunes accounts, and the money that is in them?

No.

I have two girls who each have an iPod Touch, each with their own iTunes account

This is the best way to do it.


I would rather both devices associate with the first account, linked to my email address, so they can share apps

They can easily share apps and still have different iTunes accounts.


and apps would have to be bought twice for both girls to have them

No they don't. They can sync anything in their iTunes library (which is different than an iTunes account).

Jul 5, 2012 11:58 AM in response to Chris CA

Well then I guess it is the last part that is still stumping me. Apps bought on the one account don't transfer to the other no matter what I do. When I go to the Apps section in Library, there are two different iPod Apps sections, each with different app icons in them. It looks like I can drag the icons from one to the other, but nothing seems to happen when I do, even though there is a +1 symbol in front of the icon when I do. Let's use Where's My Perry as the latest example. It was bought by Girl 2 on her iPod Touch. It shows up in iTunes. I have Girl 1's iPod Touch plugged into the computer, recognized by iTunes. How do I get the app onto that iPod Touch without paying for it again?

Jul 5, 2012 12:06 PM in response to loomis2

when I go to the Apps section in Library, there are two different iPod Apps sections, each with different app icons in them.


Actually, unless I misunderstand what you mean, if you look carefully I think you'll see that the sections are titled differently, e.g. "iPhone, iPod touch and iPad Apps", "iPhone and iPod touch Apps" and the like. It's just a categorization so you can quickly see what devices a given app is compatible with.


It looks like I can drag the icons from one to the other, but nothing seems to happen when I do, even though there is a +1 symbol in front of the icon when I do.


Dragging between sections isn't possible and does nothing, since the categorization is made by iTunes.


How do I get the app onto that iPod Touch without paying for it again?


Just select it to sync to that iPod touch on the Apps tab you'll see when you select the iPod in the iTunes sidebar.


http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1386


Regards.

Jul 5, 2012 12:19 PM in response to loomis2

loomis2 wrote:


Well then I guess it is the last part that is still stumping me. Apps bought on the one account don't transfer to the other no matter what I do

Just to clear up confusion

iTunes account is what you use to make purchases. It has you rname, address, credit card number etc.

iTunes library is where iTunes purchases go on your computer. It is what you see when you open iTunes. All the music apps, movies, etc.


Are you kids using the same computer login?

Plug in the iPod touch, select it in iTunes, click the Apps tab and tick the apps you want on that iPod touch.

So the same for the other.

Jul 8, 2012 5:40 PM in response to loomis2

I would like to thank everyone that wanted to help mw with my problem and I am sorry I took so long to get back and finish off this thread.


I ended up solving my issue. It turns out that when I clicked on one of the iPods on the left-hand side of iTunes and went to the Apps tab that I couldn't move or share any of the apps because the Sync box at the top was not checked. Every time in the past (and this time, too) when I would check that box I would get a warning that by checking that box it would resync everything on the iPod, or something to that effect. Since it wasn't my iPod I wsa hesitant to check that Sync box not knowing exactly what would happen and then have two upset little girls on my hands. But checking that box allowed my to have full access to the apps on my system and I could share them between the two iPods at will. That solved everything.


Again, thank you all so much for your help. It really helped me understand how Apple and iTunes organize their ecosystem and how the iPods fit into it all.

Can I merge two iTunes accounts, and the money that is in them?

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