Moving countries and Apple ID: what are the pitfalls?

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Level 1

12 points

Moving countries and Apple ID: what are the pitfalls?

I have seen how to change the Apple ID info if I change countries (which I plan to do, moving from the Netherlands to France). However, it is difficult to find up to date information on what exactly happens to the goods I bought on my "old" (ie, current) account: apps, books, music.

1. Will I able to read/listen/use them without further ado?

2. There is a remark saying that the apps will not be listed in the 'purchased' section. Fine. But if I have an app on my machine, installed, used, etc, will the automatic update still work? Or is the version of that application frozen?

In general: what are the pitfalls I have to know about if I change countries? (The question relate not only to iTunes for Mac, but also for my two IOS devices and my iPod.)

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013), OS X Yosemite (10.10.5)

Posted on Apr 2, 2016 2:07 AM

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Answer 1

Apr 2, 2016 9:25 AM in response to ivan_herman

Before you change country make sure you have downloaded and backed up any purchases from your previous country's store. You will not be able to re-download them again once you change countries and it won't be easy to change countries to the previous one once you lose your payment method for the former country (as well as a wait period). As long as you have them on your computer you will be okay.

Change your iTunes Store country or region - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201389 - "After you change the country of your account, you won't see the items you purchased from the previous country’s store in the Purchased section."

I can't change the country of my iTunes Store, App Store, iBooks Store, or Mac App Store account - https://support.apple.com/HT204447

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Answer 2

ivan_herman Author

Level 1

12 points

Apr 2, 2016 9:25 AM in response to Limnos

Limnos, thanks a lot. This covers most of my issues, except one: do I have to re-install applications to get an automatic update, or that is taken care of automatically?

(And, though the system forced me to choose among devices, I presume these facts are valid for my Mac as well as my IOS devices.)

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Answer 3

Apr 3, 2016 11:05 AM in response to ivan_herman

I do not think your mobile apps are updatable once you change stores.

I am not sure how much all of this applies to the Mac App Store for computers. Presumably computer software is also regionally licensed.

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