Renewing an email only account

[ericddd]

hi - if i renew mobileme through amazon or ebay to get a cheaper rate, is it possible to retain an email only account?

i have one for my mom for $10 which if i renew through apple they add that to the $99 fee (you could keep these if you had it before the switch to mobileme)

but if i input an activation code what happens to that extra $10 fee for the email only account? pay $10 to apple. i have a feeling the answer is no, hopefully i'm wrong.

thanks, eric

 

[maflynn]

No, you cannot use those discounts to renew mobileme, only create a new account. If you want to renew, it will cost you the 99 bucks, as there is no option for email only.

 

[ericddd]

thanks for the reply. you can however, buy mobileme through amazon or ebay and use that to renew. there's a lot of threads on it.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/804065/

my question is whether that can be applied to an email only account that already exists under a full account. thanks, eric

 

[viggen61]

hi - if i renew mobileme through amazon or ebay to get a cheaper rate, is it possible to retain an email only account?

i have one for my mom for $10 which if i renew through apple they add that to the $99 fee (you could keep these if you had it before the switch to mobileme)

but if i input an activation code what happens to that extra $10 fee for the email only account? pay $10 to apple. i have a feeling the answer is no, hopefully i'm wrong.

thanks, eric

Yes, you can. It works just fine.

When you purchase the "discounted" MobileMe from Amazon or wherever, you go into your MobileMe account, to (I believe) the billing page, and you can add an activation code, which you'll get in the MM box.

Now, the activation code is only good for the base MM package. ANY add-ons: space, email-only, etc. will still be billed separately. So you may get your activation code for $71 (as I recently did), but you'll still need to pay Apple the $10 (plus taxes, and whatever) for the email-only account. There is no discounting the additional fees.

Be sure to buy your activation code early enough so you get the box before your expiration date. I don't know if Apple has a "grace period" or not. So, if you get the code through Amazon, and enter it in advance of your account, your account will be updated, and they'll apply the code towards the $99 annual fee on your renewal date.

And personally, I would not trust a seller who would "e-mail the activation code" to you. Too much potential for a scam. Get the silly little cardboard box from a reputable seller.

 

[UngratefulNinja]

I thought they didn't allow the email only accounts anymore? That's what it says in their FAQs.

 

[viggen61]

I thought they didn't allow the email only accounts anymore? That's what it says in their FAQs.

You can't purchase a NEW email-only account to add to an existing or new MM account.

But if you already have one (or more) email-only accounts, you may keep it (as long as you keep paying for them...), or convert it to a "Family Pack" account. At least until/unless Apple changes things...

 

[viggen61]

my question is whether that can be applied to an email only account that already exists under a full account. thanks, eric

In short, no, it can't. The box and activation code you purchase through Amazon is good against ONLY the base $99 MobileMe subscription.

You still save money, just not on the "add-ons".

 

[auero]

This is why I ditched my mobileme account after having it for a good 4-5 years. I was renewing for the soul purpose of email and there are way better alternatives. Use gmail! All the little other features can be done with other services for free too. Yes its a little more of a pain but it saves you a hundred dollars!

 

[ericddd]

wow i miss a day and all these responses thanks for the info - i was able to buy mobile me for around $50 on ebay, not so bad - and good to know i can then pay separately for the email only account, my concern was i would lose it by not renewing directly with apple ...

as far as the eternal debate whether to not renew, every year i think about moving on, but then decide i use the services enough to warrant the cost, more so when it's basically half-price, $5 a month isn't so bad (the answer to that being of course "it adds up") ...

and yes, email-only accounts are not offered anymore, this is an old one i set up for my mom ...

thanks again for the help, eric

 

[viggen61]

wow i miss a day and all these responses thanks for the info - i was able to buy mobile me for around $50 on ebay, not so bad - and good to know i can then pay separately for the email only account, my concern was i would lose it by not renewing directly with apple ...

as far as the eternal debate whether to not renew, every year i think about moving on, but then decide i use the services enough to warrant the cost, more so when it's basically half-price, $5 a month isn't so bad (the answer to that being of course "it adds up") ...

and yes, email-only accounts are not offered anymore, this is an old one i set up for my mom ...

thanks again for the help, eric

For me, MobileMe is easily worth the $99 per year ($8.25/month, about the cost of two Lattes) for the sole purpose of keeping my @MAC.COM accounts. Oh yeah, and the utterly seamless OTA synching of my contacts & calendars between my Mac, MobileMe and my iPhone...

The rest is all gravy to me...