Merging Apple ID

Unfortunately not. AppleIDs cannot be merged, and purchases or email accounts made under one account cannot be transferred to another.

If you create an email account under your current iCloud account, you'll have to choose an @icloud.com address.

I have seen the request of merging apple ids and allowing for purchased to be merged into one account of ease of access especially now content and purchased can be streamed from iTunes...I really do not understand as a system engineer how difficult the task of changing an apple id number on that account's purchases to another and just simply removing said old account...Because I started a new family I required the creating of a new joint apple id...it becomes increasingly difficult and annoying to switch back and forth from id's to look at or download different account's purchases just to forget which account I was in and end up purchasing from different accounts. I am sorry, but this sole functionality not being implemented is stopping my choice of being a customer with apple in the future. I don't understand how customer support on such a feature is so lacking.

+1 Been using apple since 1998 and buying on iTunes since 2003/4-ish and have gone through a couple of apple id's for various reasons. Apple should listen to their customers and come up with a provision that allows for transferring purchases with proof of identity. Come on Apple... step up!!

I personally feel Apple should allow merging Apple ids so your ids are not lost as well as it's only a single account to handle. Life becomes easier for users. I'm looking for the same option.

I agree. I know this is a common issue because it is constantly being posted about in these forums, and i have family members (many of them) struggling with the same issue. The best part are these are all apple loyal fans - people who had @mac and @me MobileMe etc accounts. It is absolutely unacceptable that Apple hasnt allowed us to transfer purchases with proof of identity. I would love to abandon google completely but all my purchases are tied to my gmail account and using my icloud email address would make me have to purchase thousands worth of music, apps, movies, etc. again.

I am even more annoyed by it now with Apple Pay and Family Sharing trying to tie in to my iCloud email instead of my gmail ID where all my purchases are stored. I cant even have the option of using the proper ID for it. It automatically forces me to use my icloud email where i havent bought anything.

APPLE. This is absolutely RIDICULOUS and UNACCEPTABLE. Your loyal customers have been asking for this for YEARS and the fact that you continue to ignore us on this issue is nearly enough for me to abandon and go back to windows and android where I actually have some amount of control over my environment!

And then you wonder why people pirate their content! Its because of stupid bull crap like this. Give me total access to my stuff, i paid for it and its mine to do what I want with it for crying out loud!

So for Family sharing only iCloud ids are acceptable? This is news to me? I was planning to try it. Looks like I'll skip it. Apple has been too arrogant with lot of things. They should listen to their customers and work a way out.

MisterShmi wrote:

I agree. I know this is a common issue because it is constantly being posted about in these forums, and i have family members (many of them) struggling with the same issue. The best part are these are all apple loyal fans - people who had @mac and @me MobileMe etc accounts. It is absolutely unacceptable that Apple hasnt allowed us to transfer purchases with proof of identity. I would love to abandon google completely but all my purchases are tied to my gmail account and using my icloud email address would make me have to purchase thousands worth of music, apps, movies, etc. again.

I am even more annoyed by it now with Apple Pay and Family Sharing trying to tie in to my iCloud email instead of my gmail ID where all my purchases are stored. I cant even have the option of using the proper ID for it. It automatically forces me to use my icloud email where i havent bought anything.

APPLE. This is absolutely RIDICULOUS and UNACCEPTABLE. Your loyal customers have been asking for this for YEARS and the fact that you continue to ignore us on this issue is nearly enough for me to abandon and go back to windows and android where I actually have some amount of control over my environment!

And then you wonder why people pirate their content! Its because of stupid bull crap like this. Give me total access to my stuff, i paid for it and its mine to do what I want with it for crying out loud!

I am not sure if I understand your issue, but it is possible to add any me.com/icloud.com as an Alias Apple ID. This means your Gmail would still be the Primary Email address and primary Apple ID, and you iCloud email will function as an alias for the primary Apple ID. However, I am not what happens if you actually have an Apple ID on both the Gmail and iCloud email.

If you could maybe expand on your issue?

Yes. If you have gmail, add it to iCloud and also create iCloud as alias. Now you can login with both email ids. However gmail would remains then main id. I don't think there's a way to switch them.

What MisterShmi said. Apple has made it impossible to switch from an old email (in my case gmail, which I'm desperately trying to get away from) to an iCloud account. I now have two apple IDs, completely splitting my apple experience. Also, if you use a non Apple ID, then your options for iCloud synching are limited, forcing you to use an icloud Apple ID. This is a slap in the face to their most loyal customers, and an impediment to incorporating people into the Apple ecosystem. Complete ********.

Thanks for the effort, but that's not helpful. You need an iCloud ID for certain things, such as iCloud synching. For apple to create a barrier to allowing an iCloud account to be the primary account is ********.

ditto to MisterShmi

It appears this is the only way to let apple know concerns - DO YOU GUYS (apple employees) READ THESE?

My voice is probable just white noise on a board like this, however, I'm going to post and hopefully everybody else searching posts on this maybe if this got sizable apple may deem us worthy.

I too have an apple ID that's as old as my first generation 2 iPod when I first got into iTunes. I've had macs for years, I am engulfed in them. When Mobile me came out I set up that account and been using that e-mail since 2009.

Now Family share is out, you get 6 users.... well to get the content of the original iTunes purchases I must use that apple ID, but to get myself in there I have to add my mobile me/icloud email in there, then I put my wife then I put my 4 children in.... wait, there's not room for #6? Why? because I have to have a "dead weight" account for it to work. Just let me merge the two apple ID's, it'll get so much less complicated setting things up too.

BY THE WAY 5 USERS IS NOT ENOUGH FOR ITUNES COMPUTER AUTHORIZATIONS! Think about it, you have a family sharing for 6, but only 5 devices can be authorized, what if they each bought a laptop and want to watch movies I've paid for. I'm not there yet, but reaching there, I have my work pc, my main home PC, My wife has a laptop, I have a laptop, I just bought a second home PC as my kid's were fight for computer time for online homework, now I'm at five, now I have two work locations and am considering buying one more iMac..... MAYBE I WON'T NOW, that's a $2,500 sale lost, and I'm considering moving to microsoft windows ten now, that's a much larger loss...

Why would you not allow this? give 10 authorized computers, merge apple ID's, let families share, look at the Duggar family, I bet they'd make great customers!

thanks for hearing me out

cwfrederick wrote:

Also, if you use a non Apple ID, then your options for iCloud synching are limited, forcing you to use an icloud Apple ID.

Can you explain what you mean by this?

Tim TF wrote:

BY THE WAY 5 USERS IS NOT ENOUGH FOR ITUNES COMPUTER AUTHORIZATIONS! Think about it, you have a family sharing for 6, but only 5 devices can be authorized, what if they each bought a laptop and want to watch movies I've paid for. I'm not there yet, but reaching there, I have my work pc, my main home PC, My wife has a laptop, I have a laptop, I just bought a second home PC as my kid's were fight for computer time for online homework, now I'm at five, now I have two work locations and am considering buying one more iMac..... MAYBE I WON'T NOW, that's a $2,500 sale lost, and I'm considering moving to microsoft windows ten now, that's a much larger loss...

Why would you not allow this? give 10 authorized computers, merge apple ID's, let families share, look at the Duggar family, I bet they'd make great customers!

thanks for hearing me out

You add Apple IDs to a family sharing plan, not devices or computers. So each member of a family has their 10 device limit. If you yourself have 3 devices, each device does not get added to family sharing, just your Apple ID.

This is my understanding of how it works. Have you experienced the device limit?

This is really cute to not only think that you speak to Apple, but to also blackmail them with 2,500 dollars purchase, I admire your ..... naiveté..

Don't get me wrong, way too late and completely necessary to have ability to merge ID's technically, but imagine how much Apple stands to lose in legal fees when something that was purchased on one of your apple accounts becomes available to another and content owner who allowed apple to sell that in iTunes loses one sale. Or hundred sales? Multipley by every content owner...

fromsouth

First I'm naive and you're saying I'm blackmailing them? Let me cut and paste that definition here

1. the action, treated as a criminal offense, of demanding money from a person in return for not revealing compromising or injurious information about that person."they were acquitted of charges of blackmail"

   synonyms:

   extortion; More verb

   
   

2. 1.

   demand money from (a person) in return for not revealing compromising or injurious information about that person."trying to blackmail him for $400,000"

   
   

I'm telling them they're losing a $2,500 sale due to their policy and procedures.

Second We're talking merging ID's not creating ID's One person, same ID's, putting them into one, not the other way around of splitting an ID for two people to have, split and share, making a single sale turn into two. If it's a case where two people marry and merge their items, what's the difference of having bought a CD and putting it on the shelf together. Also, in that scenario under family share, it'd all be together anyways.

I don't understand your reasoning fromsouth, as well as you stating I'm blackmailing them. If I demanded $1 billion dollars or $10 dollars saying, I won't take this spy photo of steve jobs slapping an old lady, that's blackmail... sheesh