App store "update all" has old id on company device

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App store "update all" has old id on company device

We have a MacBook Pro owned by the company that was setup by a former employee who used their personal Hotmail address to login and register in the
App store. This employee is no longer with the company. I have removed the user name/Account from the MB since we didn't have his personal password. When I chose to update all apps I get a sign in request that shows his personal email address and I cannot edit it. I need to remove this address so it can be
managed from a company internal email address that will be used on this device to update it from this point forward.

How do I accomplish this?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Yosemite (10.10.4), null

Posted on Jul 24, 2015 9:39 AM

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Answer 1

Niel

Level 10

727,313 points

Jul 24, 2015 9:41 AM in response to cjlindell

You need to delete all of the applications which have his Apple ID stored inside them.

(130707)

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Answer 2

cjlindell Author

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Jul 24, 2015 9:52 AM in response to Niel

Let's see....... delete all the applications that this former user installed.

This might sound a bit sarcastic but it really isn't. The employee is gone and we have no idea what they installed so you suggest deleting what was installed??? Really how? It also seems realistic that these apps are needed for internal usage and job functions, perhaps even the initial updates or O/S install so deleting them wouldn't really be an option since they are needed but since we have no idea what they are we couldn't delete them anyway.

Isn't this suggestion a bit ridicules?

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Answer 3

Dah•veed

Level 9

64,729 points

Jul 24, 2015 10:09 AM in response to cjlindell

What was ridiculous was your IT dept allowing an employee to set up a company Mac with their personal Apple ID. You are lucky that the employee didn't set up the security feature that would have locked you out of the Mac completely. You would have had to buy a new Mac.

I'm going to disagree with Niel and state that I don't believe that you will get complete control of your Mac back until you completely erase the hard drive and return it to the original factory state.

Mac mini, OS X Yosemite 10.10.3, Apple Watch, 38 mm silver AL, Watch OS 1.0.1, iPad Air & iPhone 6 Plus, iOS 8.3

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Answer 4

cjlindell Author

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Jul 24, 2015 10:18 AM in response to Dah•veed

Dah•veed,

I agree, however it was a one man IT shop for a small company and this former employee had never acted as manager before and didn't understand what the ramifications of his actions might be in tying the app store to his personal ID. I am the recipient of the fallout and just want to fix the Da*n thing and get it back into service.

I cannot believe in Apples infinite wisdom when creating the update system that this hasn't come up before, blowing the entire O/S out and rebuilding from scratch is absurd. I'm sure there is a better way and someone from Apple needs to step in and assist me.

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Answer 5

Niel

Level 10

727,313 points

Jul 24, 2015 10:22 AM in response to cjlindell

There is none. The only assistance Apple might provide in this matter is with unlinking the iLife or iWork applications from a former owner's Apple ID.

Erasing the drive and reinstalling the OS will delete all of the applications with the other person's Apple ID. If you'd rather not do that, whenever you're prompted for the other person's Apple ID, delete the application you're being asked to update and then reinstall it.

(130711)

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Answer 6

cjlindell Author

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Jul 24, 2015 10:26 AM in response to Niel

I am able to contact this former employee, is it possible that there is a way they can delete the device from the list of devices they have registered and manage?

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Answer 7

Dah•veed

Level 9

64,729 points

Jul 24, 2015 10:32 AM in response to cjlindell

Apple is not here. Apple doesn't answer questions here. This is a user to user support forum. There is no one from Apple to step in.

Yes this comes up all of the time. That's why Niel and I know that the only way to get rid of the issue is to delete the previous employee's purchases. You can do it piecemeal, as Niel suggests or you can take a punch in the arm and erase the Mac and properly start over setting it up as a company Mac.

Call Apple Care and verify that we are telling you the truth. Or take the Mac to an Apple Store Genius Bar and let them charge you to erase it and return it to the factory state. You need to make an appt online before going into the store.

Or if there isn't a local Apple Store, contact an Apple Approved Service Provider.

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Answer 8

Niel

Level 10

727,313 points

Jul 24, 2015 10:33 AM in response to cjlindell

That won't do anything except for the purpose of updating preloaded iWork or iLife applications, and then it would involve having them contact Apple.

(130712)

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Answer 9

cjlindell Author

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Jul 24, 2015 10:40 AM in response to Dah•veed

I have called Apple Care and they have verified the Serial number and I'm waiting for support, we'll see what happens!

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Answer 10

Dah•veed

Level 9

64,729 points

Jul 24, 2015 10:51 AM in response to cjlindell

Good luck.

Please let us know how this gets resolved. User reports is how we update our personal knowledge base and that makes us more helpful in the future.

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Answer 11

cjlindell Author

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Jul 24, 2015 2:18 PM in response to Dah•veed

I'm not a full time Apple, Mac or iPhone user. I typically manage Microsoft Domain networks and systems, do you know how utterly ridiculous this is that we can't regain control of software we purchased running on a device we own?

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Answer 12

cjlindell Author

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Jul 24, 2015 4:15 PM in response to Dah•veed

After calling Apple Care and going through all the details and about 90 minutes on hold and on the phone I was offered a transfer to iTunes and they took the ticket, saw the software installed by the former user and provided me codes to download them and over write the install info so all software can be updated via a company email registration. this turned out well and though it took longer than I expected it was still better than having to reinstall the O/S and reinstall all apps or repurchase them.

Thanks to iTunes for helping me recover and finish.

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