Sorry for being ignorant, but I don't understand the above. I have used the same .mac account for over a decade, first for email, homepage, and iTunes, and now for iCloud and iPhone backups. Everything I have purchased or downloaded through iTunes (including all of the really old weekly free iTunes songs) is available to me on my iPhone, apple tv, home and work computers, etc., via iCloud/iTunes login. I don't understand the statement that iCloud caused separate accounts.
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Apple Dropping AOL Sign-In for iTunes and App Store in March
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Sorry for being ignorant, but I don't understand the above. I have used the same .mac account for over a decade, first for email, homepage, and iTunes, and now for iCloud and iPhone backups. Everything I have purchased or downloaded through iTunes (including all of the really old weekly free iTunes songs) is available to me on my iPhone, apple tv, home and work computers, etc., via iCloud/iTunes login. I don't understand the statement that iCloud caused separate accounts.
Well I was sent an email telling me that I need to change my Apple ID. It's a pain but I suppose I have until the end of March to do it. I shall wait until I get my new laptop at the weekend to sort it out.
You could have used the Apple ID you made for iTunes for iCloud too, there wasn't any need to make another. You can use the same Apple ID for everything. Agree at this point you should be able to merge accounts though, doesn't affect me but I can see the need. Even if the only way to do so is through Apple ID support, the option should at least be there.
I thought they did this years ago. I originally had an AOL name that I was using for log-in on the App Store and Apple made me change it one day. Can't remember if it was upon a log-in or whether when I tired to buy an app or song.
I now forget all the details, but it completely screwed up something - maybe iCloud and it took me many hours to resolve because I was getting caught in some kind of ridiculous loop. Couldn't get into one thing until I changed the credentials on another, which was again dependent upon the first thing. I'm still stuck with several different sets of credentials - one for the iTunes store, one for iCloud, one for the developer program and at least one other.
At one point, the AOL credential, which wasn't supposed to work anymore at all (since Apple said I was changing it, still worked from the iPhone, but not from iTunes on my Mac.
I remember being extremely pissed at Apple for doing such an incredibly awful job of account management, which became as bolloxed and non-intuitive as anything you would expect out of Wintel.
Apple should really have come up by now with a tool where one could merge all their Apple accounts and delete the unused ones. I think for a new user, it's still all confusing as hell. Apple used to be much better at testing and implementing precise language on their instructional screens.
I now forget all the details, but it completely screwed up something - maybe iCloud and it took me many hours to resolve because I was getting caught in some kind of ridiculous loop. Couldn't get into one thing until I changed the credentials on another, which was again dependent upon the first thing. I'm still stuck with several different sets of credentials - one for the iTunes store, one for iCloud, one for the developer program and at least one other.
At one point, the AOL credential, which wasn't supposed to work anymore at all (since Apple said I was changing it, still worked from the iPhone, but not from iTunes on my Mac.
I remember being extremely pissed at Apple for doing such an incredibly awful job of account management, which became as bolloxed and non-intuitive as anything you would expect out of Wintel.
Apple should really have come up by now with a tool where one could merge all their Apple accounts and delete the unused ones. I think for a new user, it's still all confusing as hell. Apple used to be much better at testing and implementing precise language on their instructional screens.
No method for merging accounts. There has always been a way to re-name accounts (change the primary email address) - that's closer to what's being done here.
Back when this all started, the idea was that AOL members could use the same screen name and password for Apple as they used for AOL. Nice convenience, but done in a much simpler, more naive day. At the time, it was mostly about AIM, and AOL's user base was bigger than Apple's.
t.gillespie is on the money here. And it's not just a matter of what has to be done to merge, but to un-merge, should the merger be the result of an unauthorized account take-over, or just a bone-headed move.
iTunes Store created a situation where a family would share a single Apple ID in order to share the purchases. For most every other kind of service, it's far better to have each family member have a unique Apple ID - their iMessage/FaceTime identities, email, their iCloud data, etc.
Family Sharing is the closest we're likely to come to merger. That keeps the individual purchases "owned" by the original purchaser, and any time they are to be un-shared (when kids leave the nest, or "'til death do us part" turns out to be overly-optimistic), it's a matter of removing a person from the sharing account. While it's not directly related to this AOL move, it's essentially part of the same initiative - get everyone on a personal Apple ID.
If a person with different Apple IDs for iTunes and iCloud wants to merge them, the better solution (from Apple's standpoint) is to migrate the iCloud data to the iTunes Store account. That keeps the licensing issues with the developers and record labels "clean." If the iTunes content is being shared, then the "right"solution is to keep using the iCloud account, add a "new" iTunes/App Store account to that iCloud account, and use Family Sharing in order to maintain access to prior purchases. Apple perhaps gave us an interesting hint in that regard when they put administration of Family Sharing in the iCloud settings, not the iTunes & App Store settings.
I agree!!! I've had the same AOL email since I was 14 in 1998 and I just can't part with it. It's been reliable and I know that all of my friends/family know it. I've also had the same cell # since 2000 for the same reason. It's a little more of a hassle since I now live in a different area code, but I still like knowing that anyone I know can get ahold of me even though I moved out of state.
Have you tried calling and asking them to fix it? I've had a lot of success calling them about issues with my accounts and having them fix it...
To those saying you have two different account logins for Apple and iTunes...
How did that happen???
I have two different email addresses with apple/iTunes that uses the same passwords. I added my first email to my account years ago and never lost anything.
Just curious.
How did that happen???
I have two different email addresses with apple/iTunes that uses the same passwords. I added my first email to my account years ago and never lost anything.
Just curious.
I may be cynical but it wont be towards you. I registered for iTunes from a window's machine using my gmail account way back at the beginning. I stopped using that account about 2 years. I cannot change my appleID even though I was finally able to get all emails to be sent to my alternate which is a .me account. Still, I am unable to delete my gmail account because that is the official email associated with my account.
Instead of purchasing under separate accounts, I have kept all my purchases under the one account that is associated with an email that I no longer use.
Apple has really had a mess when it comes to this and they just started fixing things when they moved to family sharing of accounts (which may allow you to fix your situation in kludge solution), but they really need to work at this some more.
With millions of users moving, switching emails, changing names, etc., they need to come up with a better solution.
CompuServe? I moved on from them a long time ago... What I'm worried about is my ICQ... "Uh Oh!!"
It's not that iCloud caused separate accounts - it's that I did not become aware that they were separate until iCloud.
Way back when, in the iTools/Mac OS 9 days, I created an @mac.com account (for the sake of example, I'll say it was "anonymousfreak@mac.com".) Back then, you could log in to the system using just your user name (so just "anonymousfreak".)
When the iTunes Store came out, I logged in as "anonymousfreak". Apparently I created a separate/new no-@mac.com account at that time. That's the account I was purchasing music, then later movies and apps under.
When MobileMe converted to iCloud, I tried to log in as "anonymousfreak" and it told me specifically that you had to use the @icloud.com on the end (or, for legacy users, @me.com or @mac.com.) I didn't think much of it at the time, and ended up buying an app.
Then I noticed that none of my previous apps were visible. Then I had to change my password, and noticed that when I reauthorized a computer, my iTunes account (anonymousfreak) had what I thought was the "old" password, while my iCloud account (anonymousfreak@mac.com) had the "new" password. That's when I noticed that the two were, in fact, separate accounts.
So now, I use the iCloud account for nearly everything. Except the iTunes/App Store. For that, I still use the no-@mac.com account.
I think you're misunderstanding. Up until now Apple has allowed you to use your AOL username, not your AOL email address to sign in. They're now going to force you to use an email address instead. I'm sure they'll allow it to be your AOL email address if you want.
I seem to remember that when I got my iPhone 5 (first ever iOS device), it would not allow me to use my old iTunes account login for iCloud. The setup forced me to create a new @icloud.com account while the iTunes account is simply a username with no @___.com. I also have an @mac.com account, but I only ever used it for iChat on my 09 MBP before I upgraded to Mavericks and later Yosemite (iChat has been removed on the late OSes).
But it's actually useful. I have my iCloud stuff on one account and my iTunes and App Store purchases on the other. Since my boyfriend also has his own iCloud account, this allows him to use my iTunes account for music and movies. His apps are on his iCloud account since he got a 4S before I got my 5.
Except for the @mac, @me, or @icloud.com accounts, which happen to be the accounts most people would like to be able to change or merge.
I already use my aol email address to sign in. I vaguely remember changing it some years ago from my username to the full email address. Does this mean that I don't need to change it?
I use an AOL email for the German iTunes, so I just signed in there & received no "request" to move to an Apple ID, so either this change is only for USA iTunes, or as someone says above it only applies to people just using their user name
I am not the authority, but I would guess that's right. Apple will likely view your AOL email address as just another iTunes user id.
True enough. However, for those addresses you can create up to three aliases.
There's a fundamental difference between an email address and account name (and those @mac, @me, and @icloud accounts are email addresses, even if you don't use them as such). What would happen to an Apple email address if you removed it from your account? Would it go out into a recycle bin, where some years down the road someone else might be able to reuse it? Of course not. It could go forever into a "do not use" list, but it's probably best that it remain attached to your account in some form or other, even if it's hidden from you.
Yup, tried calling twice 6 months apart. No dice. Spent 45 minutes on the phone each time explaining the situation and what needs to be done. I almost just want to go into the DB and set the flag in the table myself - or tell one of the tech support people to do that. But my guess is they won't know what a DB table is or have access lol.
There's a simple reason for keeping an AOL/AIM screen name. For instance you have an elderly friend or parent you need to stay in touch with who will never update to something of today standards.
Or you have your own name or business which otherwise would not be possible on any other email service. Why get rid of something that works reliably for certain purposes?
Now my next question is, will I lose my MSN sign in to iTUNES and that Apple ID next? I'm already having trouble with it not working in other new Apple services like Messenger & FaceTime.
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No, this means you're a young punk with limited knowledge.
I chat with elderly people every day on AOL/AIM. These are people that will never change. Don't look down upon people who didn't live your young life. Be thankful you know more.
Or you have your own name or business which otherwise would not be possible on any other email service. Why get rid of something that works reliably for certain purposes?
Now my next question is, will I lose my MSN sign in to iTUNES and that Apple ID next? I'm already having trouble with it not working in other new Apple services like Messenger & FaceTime.
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No, this means you're a young punk with limited knowledge.
I chat with elderly people every day on AOL/AIM. These are people that will never change. Don't look down upon people who didn't live your young life. Be thankful you know more.