Accessing content from multiple IDs

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Level 1

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Accessing content from multiple IDs

So ... after 45 min on the phone with Apple support because of old IDs and non-responsive security questions ... their final answer was that I needed to create yet another new ID. Which I've done. They also told me that under my new ID, I could put the old ID emails under "additional emails" and therefore be able access all the content I had under the old IDs.

However ... now that I've created the 3rd ID, when I try to add the old ID emails, I get an error saying they're already tied to an account. Has anyone else encountered this? Is there any resolution? Or do I need to contact Apple Support yet again? This is extraordinarily frustrating.

Frankly, if it weren't for the fact that several bands I follow do pre-sales through iTunes, I'd likely not have anything to do with iTunes at all anymore. Once my iPod died, I pretty much quit using it because trying to get it to recognize new computers was insanely painful. But now I'm back to using it. Any help would be much much appreciated.

Windows 7

Posted on Jun 1, 2015 7:33 PM

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Answer 1

King_Penguin

Level 10

334,144 points

Jun 1, 2015 11:55 PM in response to WWind71

What you've been told is wrong, all content is tied to the account that downloaded it, and only that account can authorise that content on a new computer, potentially redownload it, and download updates to its apps - accounts can't be merged or combined, and content can't be transferred between accounts.

What exactly are you trying to do with the old account ? If you can't remember its password or security questions and can't reset its password via email (http://iforgot.apple.com) then support in your country should be able to reset them (after confirming your id and that it's your account) : Contact Apple for help with Apple ID account security - Apple Support.

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Answer 2

WWind71 Author

Level 1

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Jun 2, 2015 4:19 AM in response to WWind71

Apple support couldn't reset either. My original account was tied to an iPod that I had 8 years ago. Which I'm not even sure I still have. When I got my current computer, I'd long since forgotten which password I'd used (or rather, none of the ones it should have been worked), and had the same issue with the security questions. Since at the time I couldn't really see if I'd lost any content (I admittedly didn't look very hard as I just wanted to get the album I was after and worry about it later), I created a new account and purchased the album I was after. So now, I'm trying to purchase another album, and a similar issue has happened. While my password is working, the security questions aren't accepting any answer I give (one of the questions isn't something I would've even chosen). So it wouldn't let me purchase anything because it didn't recognize my computer (I had to re-format a few months ago) and wanted the answers to the security questions.

I spent 40 minutes on the phone with Apple support. They couldn't reset anything since I no longer have the device attached to the first account, and there's no device serial number attached to the second one. I spent a chunk of that time on hold while she consulted with various people. The end result was being told I needed to create a 3rd account, put the email addresses of the other 2 accounts on this one, and I'd have access to all my content that's still floating about. They can see that I have the accounts, but the level of support I was given couldn't do much more than I could do myself.

What I want is to be able to access the content I have still floating about and be able to listen to it in one shot. Having to attempt to log in and out of 3 accounts (one of which I can't) doesn't create a seamless listening experience. Thankfully 95% of my music is already on my computer and not in any sort of cloud. But obviously I'm missing some of that 5% content and can't retrieve it.

My opinion of Apple Support probably isn't worth putting in print at this point if everything she told me was patently incorrect.

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Answer 3

King_Penguin

Level 10

334,144 points

Jun 2, 2015 6:36 AM in response to WWind71

The end result was being told I needed to create a 3rd account, put the email addresses of the other 2 accounts on this one, and I'd have access to all my content that's still floating about.

Adding an email address to an account will not make any difference, you need to be able to login into the original account to access its content

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