On your Iphone go to:
Settings
Store
Sing Out
After this you need to sign in again
go to :
Sign in
enter your User Name
xxxxx@aol.com (make sure you enter the complete email address with the @aol.com)
Enter your password
hit ok
click on View Account
at this point you will be able to view your acct. info
click Done
Go back to your home screen
click on App store and try to get a free app. if you do...you just fix your baby!!
Thanks.
Unfortunately this didn't work for me. But after countless hours trying to fix the problem I did discover a few flaws in Apple's iTunes account system. I wrote the following email and sent it to a few places, hopefully we will have a fix soon. You can read it if you have some time....
Dear ___________,
I have recently discovered a huge flaw in the way iTunes accounts are setup and am having trouble resolving the issue with Apple. I have found that it is possible to create two separate iTunes accounts using the same username in iTunes which will affect both iPhone and iTouch users. Both of these usernames will be identical, however the two accounts are completely different. The best way to describe this is to explain the process and understand the that the two terms "Screen name" and "Apple ID" refer to two separate titles serving the same purpose in iTunes as a username. Please try to follow my explanation as I know it is very complicated.
The Processes for setting up an iTunes username:
1. After installing iTunes you are given the option to create either a new Apple Id or use an existing AOL account for your iTunes. If you choose the existing AOL method, it will assign your screen name as the user account for iTunes. (On a side not if you go into your account information after creating this account, it clearly is labeled as a "screen name"). For future reference we will say that I created the account using the fictional screen name Bert101. From this point on in iTunes I will login using the AOL option only entering Bert101 and my password.
2. Now lets say this account was previously created and someone else came along and decided to setup their iTunes account using the "Apple ID" option instead of the AOL option. This person too decided they wanted to use Bert101 as well, however like previously mentioned, did so using the Apple ID method. Thus allowing two different users of iTunes to have the same username only differentiated by the two terms "Screen name" and "Apple ID." (On another side not, if you go into account information for this account, it is clearly labeled as "Apple ID")
The Problem:
Now the actual problem comes in when the person using the "Screen name" instead of an "Apple ID" tries to sign into their iTunes account on their iPhone or iTouch. When signing in, the person is asked to log in using their username and password. If the person using the "Screen name" method tries, they are presented with an invalid password message. This message is because of two reasons. The first reason being that someone has created an Apple ID username identical to the "Screen Name" username, which has a different password and iTunes is only recognizing the "Apple ID" option. The second reason is because even though iTunes clearly states that a username can be a full email address such as
Bert101@hotmail.com, it will not recognize a full AOL address such as
Bert101@aol.com.
I discovered this problem because I have used the screen name method for about three and a half years and after upgrading both mine and my wife's iPhones to the 3.0 os, was continually presented with the invalid password error. I know this password is correct because I am able to log in to my account using iTunes on my computer with that same screen name and password. After having my different family members duplicate the problem on more than one iPhone and making countless phone calls and searching Apples website, it was suggested that I try to make an Apple ID using the same email account, which would then merge the Apple ID and the Screen name together. This did not work, and in fact created the second account with an identical username. Ultimately comes down to that the iPhone/Touch is missing the option to choose "AOL Screen Name" when logging into an iTunes account, where as iTunes on a computer gives you this option. I have read countless message boards and S.O.S.s from people wondering why all of a sudden they are not able to log into iTunes on their iPhones or iTouches using their AOL screen name anymore. This is a big problem for many people such as myself, who have spent a small fortune using their screen name account for years. Is Apple trying to enforce that we use an Apple ID instead of our pre-existing AOL usernames that worked perfectly fine in the past? Please help those of us out there who have been loyal iTunes customers for years now and are all of a sudden stranded. I'm sure a simple update to the 3.0 os giving us the option to choose if we are using a screen name or Apple ID to log in to iTunes would fix the problem. If you are still reading this, thank you! I know you are affiliated with AOL and I hope you will be able to help.
Sincerely,
Will M
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