I have 2 Apple IDs. How can I move all my purchased (paid-for) apps under only 1 of my Apple IDs?

At least one company, from whom I bought 4 apps, assures me of the opposite: after refusing to issue me a redeem code for 1 only of these purchases (as another company instead did without difficulties), they said:

But we have no rights, to transfer <apps> from one login to another. All transferring questions under authority of Apple Appstore.

and:

Please contact with Apple Appstore and they will transfer your <apps> without any difficulties.

and:

You can download the <app> from your old login name or ask Apple Appstore to transfer the <app> from old login name to new. According to my infromation, Apple Appstore make transferring without any difficulties.

Also, who are you? an Apple employee? where do you get your answer from? is it just hearsay (more than enough of that, thank you), or do you actually know what you're talking about because you work on the Apple Store?

thanks,

M

Thank you for your answer.

Is it possible to have Apple's official answer (that is, from an official Apple source) on this issue that affects so many users? Frankly, it seems impossible they wouldn't allow such a trivial thing with all their focus on usability and ease.

I'm effectively FORCED by Apple to do something as stupid and as annoying as constantly switch IDs just to check for updates and confirm I'm on the right one, only because:

- the Apple Store or iTunes don't warn anywhere, anytime that apps are tied to the ID, not the USER, while still allowing a user to have multiple IDs: Apple lets users learn it the hard way, when it's too late

- the Apple Store or iTunes, both "seeing" that my PC (ie. ME) is registered with two legitimate IDs, both with current purchases and/or updates, don't let the user do something as trivial as putting all apps under the same (and 1 only) ID

If the above is correct, then the Apple Store's ID and authorization model ***** and is very unfair. At the very least they ought to tell you clearly in advance of the consequences of having more than one ID, or prevent it.

It just seems the authorization model wasn't thought out properly, because this is obviously a pretty technical limitation only. But with all their focus on usability, this unwillingness to help tells something.

So am I left with no other options than:

- buy again all my paid-for apps under the new ID (I call this extortion)

- keep idiotically switching all the time between IDs (I'm no longer doing this)

- nag all developers/publishers of the apps I bought with the old ID for a redeem code

meanwhile being without some of my paid-for apps for long times, and possibly forever?

I want Apple's official answer on this.

Until then I won't buy ANYTHING from Apple or their deceptive store again.

(the so called "genius" guys in Regent Street don't have a clue about this issue).

They could have made one Apple ID (the first?) the "master" ID, and all the subsequent IDs "secondary" of that "master" ID; and then tie all apps, bought under the master ID or under its secondary IDs, to that single "master" ID.

It's not rocket science, and something they could roll-out at any time, if their main focus was really the user's convenience and the usability of their products.

Because someone at Apple years ago made a design mistake or chose the wrong primary key in a database, thousands (millions?) of users shouldn't be inconvenienced (FORCED is the problem) to either pay twice for the same apps, or costantly switch IDs (which is a very low-level concept, Apple fans) on their iPhone or iPad.

Still waiting for Apple's official answer on this.

Marco

Dear "Winston", that's not what I'm asking, and you show you didn't understand the issue before answering.

You might want to read https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3078909?answerId=18954743022#18954743022 where I went in more detail.

I am NOT asking for the same paid-for app to be available under 2 "accounts" (whether these are "Apple ID"s or anything else), while only being paid once: that'd be unreasonable, and any reasonable person can see that. At no time I want 1 paid apps to be available to me under more than 1 Apple ID (or authorized PC).

What I am asking is to have (to move, or "merge") all my paid-for app under 1 single "account", by moving (at least once!) all my paid apps from an old account to a new account, both clearly and legitimately owned by me. This ought to be possible, it is not simply because of a techical problem (bad design, really), and it should to be made possible by Apple. What stops them from implementing the "master" and "secondary" Apple IDs?

There's no excuse or explanation for not allowing this, except a total disregard for the user's convenience.

The "Apple ID" is for users a fairly low-level concept, not dissimilar from a "label" or "tag": after all we pay for the apps with a credit card (which CAN be associatiaed to different IDs at different times), not with a "Apple ID".

We ought to be able to change the label attached to a purchased app, or at the very least we should be told in advance that this label wil be attached forever to our purchases (which is just stupid, admit it). My purchases are for me tied to myself through the credit card I used to pay for them, not through a random Apple ID (email address) with which I happened to be logged in when I made the purchase.

Also, FORCING users to constantly switch between ID's in iTunes and on their iPhone or iPad is the opposite of user-friendly: it's a low-level, geeky, totally unnecessary annoyance that's forced upon users by Apple's design mistake first, and unwillingness to help later.

After all, helping users doesn't bring them more money, and most Apple users are used to feel "stupid" when something goes wrong, because Apple products are "perfect", right? So they just buy the apps again, feeling it's their mistake if they used another Apple ID and Apple ties their purchases to that and not their authorized PCs or actual payment details.

As it turns out, option 3 (nagging developers/publishers for a redeem code) is my only real option.

Two of them (from one I bought a very expensive, large apps) have issued me redeem codes: THANKS!

Another one, which I previosuly mentioned, from which I bought 4 apps and only asked to redeem 1, (low-medium cost) is still refusing with ridiculous excuses: they're cheap as their application, shame on them.

But still, Apple should simply allow me to manage MY OWN apps in iTunes, instead of forcing me to beg around, or to pay again for my apps (and we all know they get a good share of the profit each time), or to switch IDs every time I just need to check for updates.

Well done Apple, now that's what I call user-friendliness, correctness and fairness. Never again, thanks.

No, it seems you don't (want to) understand. I see 2 things very wrong with your explanation.

1. The move would only need to happen between "accounts" demonstrably and legitimately belonging to the same user. In fact, I'm still using both the old one (for updates only, no new purchases) and the new one (updates and purchases -- actually no morep urchases until Apple solves this). And unless I'm mistaken, I can already have my apps on more than one iDevice at the time: eg. on 1 iPhone and1 iPad. I don't ask for apps to be moved between unrelated accounts: only between accounts belonging to the same "person". And I do not see how changing what is effectively just a "label" embedded in the binary files residing on my hard disk (or in the cloud), which can be verified as legitimately belonging to me thru two ID registered on the same authorised PC could possibly allow anyone to cheat the system. The apps' files have embedded an old label before, and a new label after the operation, both belonging to me, associated to my payment details. That's not rocket science.

In fact, both my Apple ID were at some point linked to the same credit card. And in fact, I only created a second one because at some point I managed to forget my Hotmail EMAIL password, not my Apple STORE password!

The two passwords needn't be the same, adding to the confusion. For months I used that account to buy apps, and never checked the email, since I was not interested in marketing from Apple, and I could see the payments from my credit card statements: that's how I forgot my Hotmail EMAIL password for that Hotmail email address.

Since Microsoft wouldn't allow me to access my Hotmail account anymore (and rightly so, becuase I managed to exhaust all possibilities, and even forgot the security question), and so I could not check my Apple Store emails, I then decided to create a new account, this time with a Live! email address, and this time I used the same password for both the Live! EMAIL and the Apple STORE authentication.

For more than TWO years I used the old Hotmail Apple ID to get updates, without during all that time being able to read the email or access that Hotmail account: this should tell you how stupid this system is! And for the same time, and until last month (I no longer buy anything), I used the new ID for both NEW purchases and their updates.

Now after getting both a new iPhone (only because the old one was unfortunately stolen on my holiday) and a new PC, i NO longer want to be forced to use both IDs, which forces me to constantly switch between them, and also carries the risk that I inadvertently purchase something with the old one, to which EMAIL address I no longer have access: so I can't even check invoices. But most of all, I don't want to be inconvenienced like this by Apple.

Since the Apple ID is such an important concept, forever ID tied to your purchases, it should NOT be an email address, which are disposable by their own nature. When creating it, one is naturally driven to think it'll only be needed to check Apple Store's emails and newsletters and the such. Why should people be forced to FOREVER use an email address, perhaps linked to a job or relationship they had years earlier, to update their purchases?

The thing is, Apple made the Apple IDs as email addresses simply to ensure that as many people as possible can at any time buy as many apps and songs as possible: just create a new Apple ID: after all, it is (seems) just an email address! and you're done. But they DON'T telly you they'll tie FOREVER your purchases to it. So you're reasonably entitled to think they'll tie them to your payments details, until you discover otherwise the hard way.

And since most Apple users feel humbled by Apple (the "genial" idea of calling "Genius" the support guys at the stores, wo usually don't have a clue on anyhting less than trivial, is part of this) and fear of feeling "stupid" for getting wrong soemthing with what are supposed to be the most user-friendly company and products, they will simply buy the apps again under the new ID, bringing more profits to Apple. This also can't be casual.

My apps are available, under both Apple IDs at the same time, to iTunes: be it on my PC on in the iCloud. The same mechanism that physically "embeds" that Apple ID in the app file when I first buy it, can surely be used to change it afterwards. It's just a matter of willing to do so. This content (apps, songs, etc) may be digital (that is, files) rather than traditional (eg. books), but I assure you that the disk blocks taken by the app or song files in the iTunes directory on my PC or in the iCloud are as physical as a book or a mp3 player: they CAN be changed in a perfectly safe and trackable way, without risk of cheating. Ever heard of MAC addresses? Or other unique info that can easily be gathered from the PC's operating system or BIOS? or credit card details, already available?

2. The policy of inconveniencing (punishing) the huge majority of users (citizens) to prevent a tiny minority from misbehaving can be good for sheep, but not for rational people. It's typical of unimaginative, monopolistic companies (oppressive governments), not of progressive, modern and innovative ones. The cost of protecting their proficts from those who would steal from them is theirs (the company's), not ours (the users'). They should be more creative and inventive, in finding solutions to stop 10 people who would misuse their system, rather than annoying the 10 million who won't. I would never do so (mostly because I thing it's morally wrong, but also because I can't be bothered), but I understand why people invent ways to circumvent this gratuituos, bullish constraints.

Also, CAN'T you REALLY see the difference between these TWO options:

- allowing a user to change an app's associated account ONCE IN A LIFETIME, even only ONCE per app

- FORCING a user to switch Apple IDs EVERY TIME (DAY, OR WEEK) FOREVER, to check and/or update

??? Am I talking to a person, or to a robot, or to a undercover Apple employee here?

Both things are possible. The second is more convenient financially for Apple, that's all.

But it's also so clearly unfair to their customers. No more, thanks.

To finish, many if not almost all of the issues in threads like https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3078909?answerId=18954743022#18954743022 (like husband and wife sharing a PC with two iPhones, or kids' gifts, etc) really boil down to this issue, despite being often complicated by sloppy explanation (when they say "password" , do they mean the Apple ID's or the Email account's?, and so on) and unreasonable requests (like having the same app, only paid once, available under two IDs, even if on the same PC: this is not what I ask, and it's unreasonable) -- and could be solved by the concept of a "master" ID and "secondary" ID: if you read well, the real issue is almost always for everybody having to switch between "old" (or "wife's", "kids'") and new (or "husband's", "dad's") Apple IDs: and this must be done on BOTH the iTunes application on the PC or Mac, and on the devices themselves.

Thanks, roaming gnome. I shall use that link although I won't be holding my breath.

Your message can be paraphrased: none of this (reasonable and fair points) changes the fact that Apple is a company only focussed on profits (surprise), even unfair at the users' expense, and won't do what is right and fair.

At least, they should drop some of their pretences, like ease of use, user friendliness, and so on.

Btw, 3 out of 5 of the developers/publishers I've asked have issued me a redeem code.

I'm still waiting for 1, while only one has put forward lame excuses for not allowing me to redeem just 1 of the 3 (or 4) apps I bought from them. I'll keep insisting, because it seems most can do it.

Hello banray,

It seems your situation is even worse than mine.

And again one that clearly higights a past design error (but was it?), that still could easily be solved by assigning the same apple ID to all your apps.

Of course, for Apple it's easier, quicker and more financially convenient to just ignore their users.

Perhaps if enough people complain, but clearly and politely explain the issue at the URL above, and on forums like this, Apple could reconsider.

Meanwhile, for me it's a total boycott of their products. I'll postpone forever buying an iPad or mac.

M