tgbourne
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Q: iTunes Access:  AOL Username vs. Apple ID

I use my entire aol.com email address as an Apple ID.  Currently, iTunes is *not* prompting me to change my Apple ID when I log in despite a emailed notice that I will "no longer be able to access iTunes with an AOL Username."  Will I lose access to my purchased content after 3/31/15?

iPad (4th gen) Wi-Fi, iOS 6

Posted on Feb 20, 2015 8:02 AM

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tgbourne

Q: iTunes Access:  AOL Username vs. Apple ID

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  • by alex_h1,

    alex_h1 alex_h1 Feb 21, 2015 1:48 PM in response to tgbourne
    Community Specialists
    Feb 21, 2015 1:48 PM in response to tgbourne

    Hello tgbourne,

     

    Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.

     

    From your post I see you're concerned about losing your purchased content due to AOL no longer allowing customers to use the AOL Username to sign in to the iTunes Store.  All you need to do is convert your AOL Username to an Apple ID by following the online instructions after logging in to iTunes in order to convert your account into an Apple ID.

     

    Convert your AOL Username to an Apple ID - Apple Support

     

    Take care,

    Alex H.

  • by cranec,

    cranec cranec Feb 24, 2015 10:51 AM in response to alex_h1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 24, 2015 10:51 AM in response to alex_h1

    I am having the same problem as tgbourne.  As this person stated, iTunes is NOT prompting us to convert our AOL usernames to an Apple ID, i.e. there are NO online instructions to take us through the conversion steps.

     

    What to do now?

  • by MorninStar,

    MorninStar MorninStar Mar 20, 2015 8:01 PM in response to cranec
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 20, 2015 8:01 PM in response to cranec

    I am not getting any prompts when I sign in either.

  • by tgbourne,

    tgbourne tgbourne Mar 22, 2015 5:33 PM in response to tgbourne
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 22, 2015 5:33 PM in response to tgbourne

    Today, I spoke with Thomas, a senior account security advisor at Apple and he gave me the following good news:  IF you are using your entire @aol.com email address as an Apple ID to log into iTunes, you are not technically logging into iTunes with an AOL username, but instead are using a legitimate Apple ID which will continue to give you access to your iTunes content after 3/31/15.  So you are *not* in danger of losing access to your iTunes content after 3/31/15.  You are not being prompted by the iTunes system to set up an Apple ID when you log in because you already have a legitimate Apple ID (it's your entire @aol.com email address).

     

    It is unfortunate that the scary email messages that we have been receiving have not clearly made these distinctions for us.  I do not believe that I ever accessed iTunes using only my AOL username, but the recent email messages from Apple imply that I have been.  I also wish that the representatives for iTunes account support were armed with this information so that they could allay customers' fears efficiently without having to send customers through three more levels of accounts security advisor support.  I hope this helps a few folks.

  • by tgbourne,

    tgbourne tgbourne Mar 22, 2015 5:40 PM in response to alex_h1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 22, 2015 5:40 PM in response to alex_h1

    Hello Alex H.,

     

    You did not read my post very well.  Please try harder in the future.

     

    Yours,

     

    Thomas Bourne

  • by JoySF,

    JoySF JoySF Mar 27, 2015 3:07 PM in response to tgbourne
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 27, 2015 3:07 PM in response to tgbourne

    Thank you so very much for this, tgbourne.  I have looked at various sites when Googled, and articles, and more, and it's ridiculously confusing.  I agree about the issue not being clear and striking fear in us.  Like we don't have enough issues in this world to worry about.  Arrgghh.