Apple Still Working on Allowing Merging of Apple IDs

[moore2772]

It's all in the namenclature

The problem I see is that Apple calls them (iTunes IDs and MobileMe/iCloud IDs) "Apple ID." So, when setting up my phone after the IOS 5 update, I got very confused whenever I was asked for my Apple ID, which turned out to be different for my iTunes Sharing/iTunes store, etc. and my other iPhone functions, like syncing, which use the other (@me.com) one. This is nothing new- it's been this way since the beginning of MobileMe. They've certainly had plenty of time to either come up with 2 ID names or merge them into 1! Let's hope Apple will finally do one or the other!

 

[charlituna]

a new Apple ID with the @me email I got from iCloud?

It is part of iCloud and thus already an Apple ID.

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I had the same problem. I basically lost the advantage of the extra 20GB of storage that came with Mobile Me and my MobileMe login, and ditched that for iCloud / iTunes. It was just easier. Especially since my Wife and I share a single iTunes account, using it to share calendars, photos, and files across 2 iphones, an ipad, and an MB Pro.

You don't have to have the same id for iCloud and iTunes. you could have kept using the shared account for iTunes and you and your wife set up separate iCloud ids for that side of things. Works just fine.

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What is required is the generation of a super account which is the parent of all others leaving each of them to stand alone but allowing the user to login and use them all with the super account. They can then select the identity they wish to work with.

That is probably pretty much the way they are going but they have to also figure out all the legal logistics to ensure that the right people are getting access to the right accounts.

and they probably thought of the idea a long time ago as this has been a constant complaint for years

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I pray this happens soon, as people have said it splits the iCloud features in two, iTunes Match service and the iCloud service.

We haven't seen anything that says that you have to use the same iTunes account for iTunes Match so it might be possible to use Match to merge your ids by subscribing through the new one and letting the system match everything in your library (even your purchases). It could only work if all your purchases are music but for some folks that might be all they need

 

[dermeister]

I do wonder though, it would be interesting to hear why it's taking so long to figure out how to merge IDs.

Well, there are four main elements that need to get consolidated: iCloud, iTunes/App Store, Apple Store, and Developer.

Apple has to figure out how to merge them while dealing with conflicts. Each of those elements entails many potential complications/conflicts to deal with when merging.

I personally have three Apple IDs at this point:
1) Used as a Developer account
2) Used as a Developer account and iTunes/App Store + Apple Store
3) MobileMe, now iCloud

I forgot about 1) when making 2), and 3) was made for me by adding @me to 2).

It's a total mess.

So take for instance 1) and 2) - both are developer accounts. Apple needs to write the software to deal with merging these while dealing with conflicts.

And since this will affect their entire user base (since everyone is on the Apple ID system), they need to get it right the first time. No screwups can be tolerated.

I really hope they solve this soon, though I would hate to be the one having to figure it out.

 

[MrCubes]

The Apple Id/ Cloud Id/ MobileMe account chaos is a mess. Agreed.
Being able to merge accounts would be welcome.

However I'm not sure its as intractable a problem, currently, as most people are making out.

I've only just got mine all set up and working smoothly, so maybe I'm missing some other showstopper. But here's what I do:

My original AppleId has been migrated to iCloud. I have all options disabled on it, but I use it as my store account. So all my purchases are shared with my wife, who has the same Id.

I had a MobileMe account, which I have also migrated to iCloud. I have this set as my primary iCloud account and use it for contacts, calendars, storage and a few other things. As it happens I also share this with my wife (but might look into seperating that and cross syncing contacts and calendars).

I've also added new, individual, secondary, iCloud accounts that I use for anything non-shared (e.g. iMessage).

So I seem to have all the benefits:

1. Shared purchases
2. Shared contacts & calendars (which I can optionally split out)
3. Individual IDs for non-shared things.

Admittedly it's a little complex to set-up for the average user - but hardly rocket science. I still have to get around to clearing down contacts/ calendars dupes that I picked-up while playing about with it - but other than that it seems to be working quite nicely so far. Not bad for a week zero experience with such an ambitious migration.

 

[kyjaotkb]

I asked the guy on the ExpressLane (Apple customer support by chat).
He said (in French) that AppleID merging was never going to be possible for "obvious security & fraud reasons". I asked him what was so obvious, got no answer... Glad to see that even though the Apple Cust Support guy was a tad closed and arrogant about that (or he was rather just recitating official statements, without much choice to disclose information he even didn't have), the big boss is taking things seriously.

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So I seem to have all the benefits:

1. Shared purchases
2. Shared contacts & calendars (which I can optionally split out)
3. Individual IDs for non-shared things.

Admittedly it's a little complex to set-up for the average user - but hardly rocket science. I still have to get around to clearing down contacts/ calendars dupes that I picked-up while playing about with it - but other than that it seems to be working quite nicely so far. Not bad for a week zero experience with such an ambitious migration.

Well, I thought about that for a while like you and ended up with :
- Original Store Apple ID of course kept for iTunes Store, AppStore, iBookStore, used for everything including Calendars, iMessage, Facetime.
- ditched features for my MobileMe iCloud AppleID and just kept it as an additional Mail account.
- I keep using Gallery and iDisk with the MobileMe iCloud account in separate apps in iOS. These are almost the only ways I use the 20GB storage and they'll disappear with the 20GB storage in June 2012...

Only issue is with iChat, which still uses my MobileMe iCloud ID.
I use different IDs for Facetime/iMessage and iChat, which sucks a bit now but will suck more when they'l merge iChat with iMessage and Facetime (would make sense, though).

 

[VulchR]

I hope Apple does allow the merging of ID's so that all of our purchases are associated with our primary Apple ID, but I also hope that they allow us some control over where the e-mails about purchases are sent. My current primary Apple ID is from my MobileMe account and my iTunes account is associated without another personal e-mail address. I would like to merge the two ID's, but still have control over where e-mails about purchases are sent. Otherwise, imagine the nightmare situation in which somebody hacks your Apple ID - they would be able to purchase items *and* remove any e-mail evidence of the purchases by deleting the relevant messages.

As for the technical difficulties, Apple knows what we have purchased. it should be possible to re-encode music and apps with a new, merged Apple ID. It just doesn't seem like it should be that complicated.

 

[gnasher729]

Good news, but can someone PLEASE clarify one thing?

My wife and I use the same US credit card number (hers) for iTunes purchases - my question is: can I keep using her card but having MY name as owner of the account? I don't want Apple to call me by my wife's name whenever I am browsing the iTunes Store or on Find My Friends!!!

Sounds like a huge legal problem if Apple allowed you knowingly to purchase stuff with someone else's credit card. What if you buy a few hundred movies, and then your wife calls Apple and (truthfully) says that all purchases on her credit card were not made by her?

 

[iSayuSay]

I respect and adore Steve Jobs in most aspect of his life.

But I must admit I'm impressed with the way Tim handle things. Down to earth and more humane. You should be impressed too.

I mean calling a customer directly? That is awesome. Something which impossible back then. Having your email replied by Steve with more than 5 words only happens every 100 years too.

 

[Hitch08]

Great news! Hope they get this done.

 

[bstpierre]

Sounds like a huge legal problem if Apple allowed you knowingly to purchase stuff with someone else's credit card. What if you buy a few hundred movies, and then your wife calls Apple and (truthfully) says that all purchases on her credit card were not made by her?

If his wife calls Apple and tells them that, Apple will tell her to call her credit card company. Apple will not refund the money.

I know this because my wife's iTunes account was hacked and someone in China made a lot of app purchases and some music purchases. Apple keptt he profits and told her to talk to her credit card company about reimbursement for the fraud, excluding the iTunes credits she had from gift cards, that was just gone.

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The problem I see is that Apple calls them (iTunes IDs and MobileMe/iCloud IDs) "Apple ID." So, when setting up my phone after the IOS 5 update, I got very confused whenever I was asked for my Apple ID, which turned out to be different for my iTunes Sharing/iTunes store, etc. and my other iPhone functions, like syncing, which use the other (@me.com) one. This is nothing new- it's been this way since the beginning of MobileMe. They've certainly had plenty of time to either come up with 2 ID names or merge them into 1! Let's hope Apple will finally do one or the other!

I had the same issue when I was setting up but once I figured it out I was able to correct everything. I use my iTunes account for my iTunes purchases and my @me account for my iCloud. This is true on all three devices (Mac, iPhone, iPad). Everything works fine including photo stream (had to upgrade my iPhoto on the Mac).

 

[anotonin]

I hope they do merge it. Because its gonna terribly confusing for all.

 

[Obiemi]

It's always been about simplicity and the user experience

One of the basic principles that drives Apple, and has lead to their great success is the simplicity designed into each of their products from the ground up. iCloud was going to be the synthesis of this, and pull all our mail, calendars, chat, photos and music together...in a very simple, easy to understand way. Steve always tried to make their computers easy to use for first timers right out of the box, could a new user to iCloud figure all this out? I'm sure they'll find a way and again take the lead in offering a seamless eco system.
Right now I have iCloud up and running, but not tied to my iTunes which means the nine devices we have in our house (see keeping it simple wins loyalty), still have to plug in to update all the new songs we each buy.
Go get'em Tim and figure this out!

 

[hobo.hopkins]

This would be fantastic, and save users a lot of headache.

 

[britboyj]

Let me merge accounts and let me pick which Apple ID to use going forwards (my @mac.com please)

That's all I ask.

 

[jhwalker]

My partner and I each have our own mac.com IDs for email, personal calendaring, etc. But our iTunes library is a mess :/

We started buying music before either of us had a Mac, so we used our earlier email IDs for purchases (two separate Hotmail accounts). Later on, we used an joint email address from our Internet provider for a year or two, then about four years ago switched to Mac and got mac.com addresses, which we used for our iTunes purchases.

So there are at least 5 different "Apple IDs" in our joint music library - I'd love to be able to create a "super ID" and add each of these five underneath it. All of these are legitimate purchases and all came from the same joint checking account - we should each have full rights to the purchases and full use of iCloud, etc.

'course, we have almost 50,000 tracks, so iTunes Match is not going to work for us for a while, anyway, but . . .

 

[0815]

I still use my @mac address as my ID and now it's my iCloud address. I don't remember being forced to move my ID to @me when Apple made that switch.

same here - I use my @mac address for everything: iTunes/AppStore, MacAppStore, Developer Account, iCloud, .... etc. ... one ID to rule them all. (and it doesn't even has to be a @mac ID - any single email address works)

Don't know why people have so many IDs and created new once for every login they needed ...

The only reason I see is if some loved one died and inherited their 'digital music/apps/...' to you - yes than it would be nice to merge it with your one single digital (Apple) ID.

anyway: good to see that apple sees that many people have multiple IDs for various reasons and are looking into merging them into one.

 

[testcard]

Let me merge accounts and let me pick which Apple ID to use going forwards (my @mac.com please)

That's all I ask.

Likewise.

 

[50548]

Sounds like a huge legal problem if Apple allowed you knowingly to purchase stuff with someone else's credit card. What if you buy a few hundred movies, and then your wife calls Apple and (truthfully) says that all purchases on her credit card were not made by her?

Although I respect your perspective, that's an absolute non-issue that could be easily resolved by confirmation steps sent to the credit card holder, as the case may be. Not to mention, of course, that we are talking about a married couple here with full access to each other's financial details.

In other words, a household with two parents and five grown-ups now needs to use seven different credit cards for each iCloud/iTunes account?

What I am simply asking is: I have an account, she has another and we use a single credit card. I hate her music (Glee and stuff), she hates mine (Rock et al); so we don't want to mix libraries, apps or content...

And I also don't want to be called by my wife's name in my main account or under "Find my Friends"; it's as simple as that.

Is this really that impossible to achieve? Any suggestions?

 

[fixmymac]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)



Someone saying something positive about Glow? That's something you don't hear everyday!

I read the first post twice to make sure that i actually read it correctly!

Looks like that glow is getting dimmer by the day

 

[SoFresh~SoClean]

Definitely looking forward to having only one Apple ID.

I think forwarding gmail to iCloud is a best-of-both-worlds scenario. If iCloud mail craps out, just switch off auto-forwarding and your gmail will land in its bone fide inbox without you having to change your "ID."

-SoFresh

 

[superleccy]

I'm confused.

Apart from making things 'neater', which I agree would be nice, what functionality am I missing out on by having two Apple IDs?

Since 2004, I have a personal email address as an AppleID that I use for iTunes, store purchases, Apple discussion forums, etc. And, I have MobileMe account with a MobileMe email address (since about 2008) account that I have now migrated to iCloud.

Contacts, Calendar, bookmarks, reading list and everything syncs fine. PhotoStream works fine. All my protected content works fine on all devices. I can re-download previously purchased iTunes purchases to my iPhone.

So, what functionality am I missing out on by NOT being able to merge my Apple IDs?

SL

 

[JohnnyQuest]

This would be great. More than half of my iTunes library and apps were purchased with my old Gmail Apple ID, and now that I have a me.com address, I've been using that for about a year. But sometimes my iTunes gets confused. A way to merge would be great.

 

[benh911f]

He is? He hasn't fixed the merge problem yet. I can say I'm working on bringing world peace does that make me the man? No I'd actually have to do it.

They've had over a year +++ to get iCloud and merging id's figured out. Sorry this should have taken place when they rolled out iCloud.

I like apple but fanboyism is out of control.

This is me speaking for the OP, but I don't think him saying Cook is "The Man" has anything to do with the fact that he's saying he's going to do it, but the fact that he's personally calling people to say they're going to work on it. Jobs was known to email people back, but I very rarely if ever remember hearing about him calling a customer back. So I think what the OP was saying was that he was the man for personally reaching out to a customer and taking his time to call the person. I don't think that's being a fanboy. I think that would be impressive for a CEO of any company to do that, whether it's Apple, Microsoft, Google, etc.

 

[justinfreid]

I thought this had something to do with music, movie, and app licensing issues.
If I merged my Apple ID with my best friend's, couldn't we both then access all of the other's content? Or is this proposed merge going to work only on an ID level and not whole account?

 

[toranmac]

Walk the walk...

For a company like Apple that is identified with making life simpler and easier, and making things "just work" - doesn't this seem like the most obvious thing in the world for the company to do? I believe this is a potential PR disaster for Apple if not resolved quickly. Remember Steve Jobs last keynote address when he got a laugh in saying that the launch of MobileMe was not Apple's finest hour? Well, this is much, much worse.

Come on, Apple!