Severe problems with Apple ID not working/changing

I believe contacting Apple is the only way to reach a solution. The way Apple ID's are handled is a bit odd, and very unique to Apple.

It shouldn't have to be so convoluted, yet Apple insists on it. It's one of their oddities.

cowbellallen said:

Thanks so much for the response. Pulling my hair out over here.

When you say contacting Apple.... I've never had to do that before. What number would you call, exactly? Sorry if this is ignorant.

Click to expand...

It's not ignorant at all.

I'd call 1 (800) 275-2273 follow the prompts and I'm sure they will resolve it.

Despite the strange way they deal with ID's, they're very friendly, courteous & helpful. I've been an Apple customer for years & enjoyed nothing but the finest customer service.

Good Luck

Hi CowbellAllen,

I have been having the exact same problem as you. Did you get it resolved yet? If so can you please help me!! I would really be thankful.. Like you, I also want to pull my hair out! LOL

Same same

been a few days, but the follow may be of help:

1) had the same experience: rejecting password (known to have been entered properly); rejecting security info;

2) redirected to password reset page, with confirmation of e-mail sent displayed;

3) NO email (after 3 or 4 hours)

4) web search returns multiple instances of this as an issue, I have been unable to track down a clear, effective DIY solution (nor any UN-clear solutions, yet)

5) Apple support individual was very thorough and succeeded in getting the problem corrected, with the results verified.

6) Apple support tech wasn't familiar with the underlying cause of the problem.

7) should be noted that phone support is a fee for service resource, although I was assisted without charge "one time only."

Add'l -

I'm VERY new on Mac/apple (iMac purchased December, 2011) - I'm VERY familiar with PC (starting with MS DOS 1.25 - yeah that's 1983) and I'm a trouble shooter by trade;

I've encountered the rejected password anomaly six (6) times since 26 DEC; with today being the first time the reset process failed (eg. the email with the reset link never arrived).

walklong said:

been a few days, but the follow may be of help:

1) had the same experience: rejecting password (known to have been entered properly); rejecting security info;

2) redirected to password reset page, with confirmation of e-mail sent displayed;

3) NO email (after 3 or 4 hours)

Click to expand...

I still get this issue. The email NEVER arrives. About 4 weeks ago my password stopped working, tried the reset form multiple times. Never worked.

Contacted Apple, about a week later they contacted me back (yes a week). It was resolved, they manually sent a reset email.

Then today it happened again. Password stops working. Reset form still not working. Checked spam folders etc. it just does not send an email.

Very frustrating and it is really tarnishing Apple's reputation with me. Every time this nonsense happens I can't update apps, I can't login to the store, it cripples the entire ecosystem.

Severe problems with Apple ID not working/changing

Cowbellallen- were you able to get your problem fixed? I have the same problem. My original ID (first and last name; not a email address) is worthless. I can't believe I will have to purchase apps and appbooks again with my new apple ID. This is crazy. I tried calling the number someone supplied on this post and the apple people seemed clueless. They just told me to go to iforgot and did not understand the problem. I went to Apple Support today and sent them an email. I think they should at least credit my account to my new ID if my original ID will no longer work.

When they forced people to use an email address as the username/apple ID, they should have allowed us to edit our username/ID instead of making us create a new ID and losing everything that was connected to the old one or at least transfer our downloads and purchases. I can't believe more people are not having this problem. Apple has to be aware of this. Isn't this like theft?

Please let me know if you found a solution or work around. My iphone and ipad is all jacked up now. So angry and frustrated.
Thanks,
C

Same problem

This has got to be the most frustrating problem ever. I sent an email to apple, who continue to tell me to do things that involve the same ID and password, while I keep telling them I get no email and cannot use the ID. This has rendered my iPad useless. I am beyond frustration!

MobileMe change our AppleIDs

This is also a problem for me and millions of others. At the core, I think it's due to Apple's refusal to merge AppleIDs under any circumstances. Even if you can prove you own both. In my particular case, my AppleID changed from "ABCW" to "ABCW@mac.com" when MobileMe rolled out. Whether I inadvertently did it or they made the change behind the scene, who can be sure. However, this did not create a problem until iCloud came out a few years later. That is when I discovered I had purchases under both AppleIDs (not just apps, but media content as well) that I suddenly lost access to. So my suggestion if you're still searching for a solution is to test out the theory in your case and login with "@mac.com" or "@me.com" appended. (Don't create a new id, just see if it will allow you to login and update apps)..... The other option may be to update your apps in iTunes while logged in under the old AppleID. Then sync your device with iTunes.

Hi there I am having the sxame problem. I was directed to Apple store to assist with the problem I was having. My apple id was accepted but the password wasn't and I had problems getting a reset email.The latest Apple reply does not inspire confidence as I have various apple products that need to be updated but unfortunately can't be.
Here is the latest reply from apple suppor, please note I have removed names:

"HelloYYYY,

XXXXXXX here once more with iTunes Support. I understand how inconvenient it may be if you are unable to reset your password.

Currently we are not able to reset passwords or security questions because of a necessary update in security procedure. As Apple takes the security of our customer’s accounts as a priority, this is necessary to ensure our customers have an added level of protection. As technology is constantly changing, these safeguards have to be updated periodically to stay ahead of potential issues with online identity.

The investigation in question is not with your particular account, but with all Apple accounts. Apple is currently reviewing some of our internal processes, because of this, we still do not have the ability to reset at this time. I apologize again for any inconvenience this has resulted in. I do not have more information regarding a possible time frame for resolution.

I appreciate your continued patience regarding this issue, YYY. Thank you for being an iTunes customer and as soon as the investigation is over we will be happy to reset your password and get you back on track!

Sincerely,

XXXXXXX
iTunes Store Customer Support
http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/ww/

Try your email as your Apple ID

Guys,

Try your email associated with the account as your Apple ID. I recently logged in and I had to updated my Apple ID to an email address. It said it must be an email address. So I did and I forgot.

Fast forward months later and had the same issue with not being able to login or reset my password. Eventually I tried my email and it worked.

So try your email that you have with the account in case apple decided to do the change it for you.

I'm having the same problem. I apparently have at least 6 Apple ID's & I have no idea how I got so many. I'm getting messages to update iPhoto, but cannot. Signing in with each ID, I get a message saying "You have updates available for other accounts. To update this application, sign in to the account you used to purchase it." And, of course, I cannot find the account. For one of the Apple ID's, I get this message for iPhoto, "This update is not available. You must have previously purchased the item being updated. Tap Buy to purchase it now." I've been to the Apple Store & they said that I had to phone AppleCare. I phoned AppleCare & they said they couldn't figure it out & I had to contact the iTunes Store. They were no use at all so I called AppleCare again. I was on the phone with AppleCare for 2 hours today. They cannot help me. They say that I "bought" iPhoto (which I've had for 6 years & which also came installed on my new computer this year) with a different ID & they cannot give me any idea of what it was or how to find it. I am going nuts!! I hope someone gets a solution for this problem, but at least I see that I'm not alone.

Wow…I have been having the same exact issues as cowabella. I have been pulling my hair out for the past two days trying to figure out what "I" was doing wrong. I am locked into my old "@mac.com" ID. I can't merge any of my old purchases from that account into my new ID. Apparently I have other mysterious ID's that I can't recover. Apple keeps asking me the security question "Birth Date (sans year)" and then telling me I wasn't born on that day. I contacted Apple Support via email, and they sent me back to the same links I have been trying to navigate through since yesterday. It is SO FRUSTRATING! I'm sorry to say this but I'm glad I am not the only one losing my mind. Keep the detailed posts coming…Power in numbers will hopefully get this resolved quickly. Oh and BTW the last time I had issues with my @mac account. I just completely gave up and forfeited my iTunes purchases because I couldn't get anybody to understand what my situation was and I wasted so much time.

Ongoing issue with logging in and password reset

Well.........after several attempts tonight I am now locked out of my account anyway because it won't accept the answers to the security questions and as per all of the previous post...NO email sent to reset password. I have been trying to get this resolved for over a month now. I keep trying and keep getting thrown out. That means I have no access to my Itunes account, cant update any of my apps on my IPhone or Ipad and feel like my right arm has been chopped off as I need access to stuff.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Apple get this sorted otherwise I will be leaving you ..and that means you have lost a macbook, iphone and ipad customer.

Apple Id Issue

Following my post yesterday and a lot of googling I have managed to have some success. I realised that my user id on my ipad was different to that of my macbook, therefore posing a different challenge. I found a blog on google that told me to go to myuserid@apple.com which then proceeded to give instructions on how to amend it. Both of my user id's were my email addresses but somehow the Ipad was set up with an old Hotmail one which was set up as a secondary address on my id account but not as a secondary id. So I deleted the address and then added it back in, although I have still not been able to verify it as the email never arrived and then saved the changes. Hey presto, this prompted a change on the user ID on the Ipad.
Not sure if this will work for everybody but it has cured my issue.

Same Issue!

My mother, who isn't very techy asked me to update the software on her iPad, which I managed to do successfully. But now we can't seem to access her apple ID account, which has rendered her iPad useless! And she is very frustrated because she uses it everyday...

In an attempt to try and figure out what was wrong I tried to sign into my own apple ID account and now, even that doesn't seem to be working! This is possibly the hardest time I've had trying to reset a simple account...

Why are we not receiving any of the email authentications that Apple claims they have sent? Also how can both our birthdays not match up, when we try the security question method? This is ridiculous - get it together Apple!

This appears to be the official Apple ID management page.
https://appleid.apple.com

Let me know if you're able to resolve your problem. I've been wondering what will happen if I change my Apple ID to a different email address. Now I'm afraid to try.

i wanted to rent a movie and i was "blocked" by this security question. i might have filled up the answer fields (before). but somehow, i don't have the answers to the questions anymore.

and there is no way to reset the questions or answers.

this is frustrating. so how can we harness our "power in numbers" regarding this issue? ideas anybody?

Had to call 800-My-Apple to resolve without charge

My problem was the same as everyone else's... Account disabled; resetting the PW did not solve the problem. However, what I discovered was that my iTunes account had been hacked and so Apple Security LOCKED my ID. Therefore, no matter how many times I reset my PW, my ID would not have worked.

I was told at the time I contacted iTunes about the charges, that "these iTunes accounts get hacked ALL THE TIME..." So now I just don't use iTunes. Period.

After spending two hours resetting my password at iForgot several times, I finally called MyApple and demanded to speak to a human to resolve the issue. They waived the fee and were extremely friendly, helpful and apologetic.

Here's what happened... So apparently, my account was LOCKED, even though I was in contact with iTunes, reset everything several months ago as they suggested, worked with my bank to get the financial portion resolved, updated my payment information with iTunes...

I asked MyApple what to do in the future if fraud ever happens again to ensure my account is not LOCKED. I was told to contact them at the 800 again after contacting iTunes and the bank.

So for all of you out there, first contact iTunes about the fraud. Then contact your financial institution. THEN, ALSO CONTACT MYAPPLE, who will contact the security department, who will verify your identity, and then unlock your account.

Less than 30 seconds after the phone call with MyApple, I was able to update my applications, etc. Problem solved.

If you have discovered you have more than one ID and can't figure out why... consider whether someone hacked the account and changed things around right under your nose like happened to me.

Have a great day!
--rabidconsumer

no link in apple id password resetting e-mail

Hi, I tried to recover my Apple ID password and it sent me an e-mail, but there wasn't confirmation link in it - just the text that says there must be a link for resetting but no links at all. Can anybody help me?

The same exact thing happened to me–I thought my iPhone got hacked LOL xD. Thank god for this forum or I would've probably canceled my apple ID or something (0-0)

Has any solved this problem?
Please list steps you used if you have resolved your issue.

rgare2 said:

Has any solved this problem?
Please list steps you used if you have resolved your issue.

Click to expand...

Your best bet is to call apple.