Is my iTunes password the same as my Apple password?

Your iTunes login is an Apple ID, as is the login you use for these forums. They have to be the same as each other, or the login for your iCloud account if you have one - it's perfectly possible to have different Apple IDs for each one. However these have nothing to do with the login you use for the user account on your Mac.

If the login for iTunes is the same as the login for these forums then the password is the same, and ditto with iCloud.

If you can't remember your Apple ID(s) (and obviously you know at least one or you wouldn't be posting here) you can go to http://appleid.apple.com and click 'Find your Apple ID'.

You can't merge two IDs or accounts. If you have a second ID for iTunes but don't know what it is, go to http://appleid/apple.com as I indicated above - don't enter an address, just click 'Find Your Apple ID' and follow the instructions.

Hi - Apparently I have 2 apple IDs. One was set up for iCloud etc and also works for this forum. However, iTunes will not accept it. The user name is an email address, and when I tried to add that address at the link you posted above, it was rejected because it is "attached to another ID." Problem is I have no idea what the password is to that one anymore -- I think they used to be the same. Is there a way to merge the 2 accounts? By the way, you've helped me many times in the past. Thanks!

Thanks. I had already tried this. All my devices know only my @mac.com ID and they autofill for that. This includes iTunes on my computer, iPad, and the SETTINGS on the iPhone. It is only the iTunes Store App on the iPhone that insists on the other obscure ID.

I continued messing around with it last night and at some point the Store App on phone suddenly gave me a link to reset the password. (By the way, it did not know my birthday, so I had to the the email notification.) Anyway, I reset the password to one I would know, and now have been able to update the phone apps.

I also consulted the Store customer service. I have responded to that message thus:

Thank you for your detailed reply.

The odd thing about this problem is that the Apple ID account in the iPhone's SETTINGS for the store does not match the Apple ID that the Store App is using directly.

I would like for the Store to change to the @mac ID that I use everywhere else. There does not seem to be an interface for me to cause this myself.

The workaround that I stumbled upon is to reset the password for the account the Store is using. This was a VERY OBSCURE link. So I now have been able to update the apps.

However, I do not consider the basic problem actually solved.