Apple Dropping AOL Sign-In for iTunes and App Store in March

[MacRumors]

Apple has added a support document to its website stating that customers who use an AOL username to sign into the iTunes Store, App Store or iBooks Store will be unable to continue doing so starting March 31 (via 9to5Mac). Apple customers must convert their AOL username to an Apple ID account in order to maintain access to the storefronts following the deadline.

"Starting March 31, 2015, AOL will no longer allow customers to use their AOL Username (also known as an AOL Screen Name) to sign in to the iTunes Store, App Store, or iBooks Store. You must convert your AOL Username to an Apple ID in order to maintain access to the stores and to content you purchased previously."

Apple will no longer provide support for AOL usernames that are not converted following March 31. The transition does not affect any iTunes purchases made with the AOL username or any other AOL services that may be associated with the account. To begin the transition process, users must sign into iTunes with an AOL username and follow the on-screen instructions.

Article Link: Apple Dropping AOL Sign-In for iTunes and App Store in March

 

[Klae17]

AOL? More like LOL

 

[NikeSG]

Honest question, any word on when users with separate iCloud and iTunes accounts will be able to merge them? So tired of being forced to manage separate accounts. It's just awkward, and yeah, maybe somewhat my mistake initially, but the fact is, I wasn't a Mac user and didn't have a "me" account when I first registered and started making purchases on iTunes.

I am one person, I should only need to maintain one account.

Can't wait for the cynical, biting replies.

 

[nouveau-apple]

I believed in AOL.

 

[jmh600cbr]

what was their history again? why did they have a partnership in the first place?

 

[Acidsplat]

what was their history again? why did they have a partnership in the first place?

It goes back to the iChat days. It had AIM integration starting with version 2.1

 

[oneMadRssn]

Honest question, any word on when users with separate iCloud and iTunes accounts will be able to merge them? So tired of being forced to manage separate accounts. It's just awkward, and yeah, maybe somewhat my mistake initially, but the fact is, I wasn't a Mac user and didn't have a "me" account when I first registered and started making purchases on iTunes.

I am one person, I should only need to maintain one account.

Can't wait for the cynical, biting replies.

This is a very valid request, but Apple accounts in general are a mess.

My peeve currently is being forced to make a new password every 3 months. There used to be a setting that made passwords to expire after a certain amount of time. They took the setting away, but left it set as it was when the setting did exist. So my password expires every 3 months, and I have no way to change this.

 

[saxon48]

I didn't know AOL was still around.

 

[Elbon]

Honest question, any word on when users with separate iCloud and iTunes accounts will be able to merge them? ...
I am one person, I should only need to maintain one account.

Couldn't agree more. I have been wrestling with this issue for YEARS. I have an old .Mac account that is no longer in use, yet I can't migrate purchases from it to my new account. So annoying.

 

[TWSS37]

[Door slams shut]

 

[TsMkLg068426]

Big deal can not remember the last time I used my AOL e-mail other than to log in to Myspace and for spam or junk e-mail. I am not even sure how AOL is still around as for anything other than having their own original series streaming.


Yahoo and AOL e-mail so 90s when their is iCloud and Gmail which are superior e-mail service to use (forgot Outlook).

 

[solamar]

Honest question, any word on when users with separate iCloud and iTunes accounts will be able to merge them? So tired of being forced to manage separate accounts. It's just awkward, and yeah, maybe somewhat my mistake initially, but the fact is, I wasn't a Mac user and didn't have a "me" account when I first registered and started making purchases on iTunes.

I am one person, I should only need to maintain one account.

Can't wait for the cynical, biting replies.

Lord, I wish they would address this...

My understanding is their is a major issue with licensing transfers.. They'd have trouble verifying 2 accounts are the same person... they could get sued if even a few apps, movies, or songs get 'illegally' transferred when they were supposed to be non-transferable. Thats per their agreements with devs and artists..

Lord knows, I'd be willing to drop the few movies on my main iCloud account to merge it with my old non-icloud account.

 

[GreenFreaK]

This is a very valid request, but Apple accounts in general are a mess.

My peeve currently is being forced to make a new password every 3 months. There used to be a setting that made passwords to expire after a certain amount of time. They took the setting away, but left it set as it was when the setting did exist. So my password expires every 3 months, and I have no way to change this.

I'm right there with you! Have to change mine every 90 days and there's nothing I can do about it. How hard is it to remove a field in a DB table?

 

[myrtlebee]

Ridiculous how people scoff at AOL email addresses. It's just juvenille and petty. I've had the same AOL primary personal email address for 15 years and it has been the most reliable service out of the 4 providers I use. If something works, what is the problem?

 

[Brownsiey]

This is a very valid request, but Apple accounts in general are a mess.

agreed, but the original article seems to indicate that apple does have a method in place for merging accounts. if so, the question becomes why would they not allow their non-aol customers to take advantage of this?

to force customers to double-dip on purchases? conspiracy theories welcome.

 

[oneMadRssn]

Ridiculous how people scoff at AOL email addresses. It's just juvenille and petty. I've had the same AOL primary personal email address for 15 years and it has been the most reliable service out of the 4 providers I use. If something works, what is the problem?

The problem, for me anyway, is that a major source of revenue for AOL, and thus a major part of its business model, is the deceitful practice of charging a monthly for access to AOL services that have been free for years. They made the services free a while ago, but continue to charge those people who never called to cancel. Many of these people simply don't know better and think that they need to keep paying AOL to keep their email and homepage. I believe it's mostly the elderly at this point, which makes the practice even more reprehensible.

Even though the various major email providers (gmail, live, yahoo, aol, etc) seem free, we are actually paying my being exposed to ads. I wouldn't pay a company that takes advantage of people like that, so I wouldn't give them the benefit of my ad-viewing eyes either.

 

[longterm]

Oh great, the next thing they'll tell us is that our CompuServe logins are going to quit working too...

At this rate, I guess i have to get rid of my 1400-baud modem and maybe take a drastic step and upgrade to OS X.

 

[LizKat]

I believed in AOL.

Yeah, so did Time Warner. Look what it did for them.

 

[kds1]

[Door slams shut]

LOL. I wonder how many people don't get this.

 

[ValSalva]

This must be business or political move. Apple still supports email from all kinds of domains for Apple accounts. An email address from AOL is just the same as any other email address.

 

[Joey225]

Okay, so let's say someone's iTunes sign-in is:

johndoe@aol.com
PASSWORD

That person would have to change that @aol.com sign-in to something else, correct?

Not asking for me, but my parents still use the AOL browser and everything, so I need to get them set up with something else if this is the case.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

Lord, I wish they would address this...

My understanding is their is a major issue with licensing transfers.. They'd have trouble verifying 2 accounts are the same person... they could get sued if even a few apps, movies, or songs get 'illegally' transferred when they were supposed to be non-transferable. Thats per their agreements with devs and artists..

Lord knows, I'd be willing to drop the few movies on my main iCloud account to merge it with my old non-icloud account.

Same here. I have exactly one purchased item (Angry Birds) on my main iCloud account, but quite a lot of purchases on my non-iCloud account (with the same name! I didn't even realize they were separate until iCloud - under .Mac / MobileMe, they were separate enough that I never noticed they weren't actually linked.)

 

[AlecZ]

Ridiculous how people scoff at AOL email addresses. It's just juvenille and petty. I've had the same AOL primary personal email address for 15 years and it has been the most reliable service out of the 4 providers I use. If something works, what is the problem?

It works better than Gmail because they use standard IMAP. Gmail, on the other hand, causes so many problems with mail clients. I had to spend 30 minutes fixing Gmail authentication problems for my friend last time I was at his house. He wasn't laughing at my AOL email account then.

It's also noticeably more reliable than iCloud email in my experience, as is AIM compared to iMessage. It always amazes me that AOL does a better job than Apple in those areas.

----------

Okay, so let's say someone's iTunes sign-in is:

johndoe@aol.com
PASSWORD

That person would have to change that @aol.com sign-in to something else, correct?

Not asking for me, but my parents still use the AOL browser and everything, so I need to get them set up with something else if this is the case.

I don't think so. They're probably referring to those awkward AOL/MobileMe integrated accounts from around 2003 that you used to be able to make. Well, if I'm wrong, I'll find out when my Apple ID that has an AOL email address stops working.

 

[Joey225]

It works better than Gmail because they use standard IMAP. Gmail, on the other hand, causes so many problems with mail clients. I had to spend 30 minutes fixing Gmail authentication problems for my friend last time I was at his house. He wasn't laughing at my AOL email account then.

----------



I don't think so. They're probably referring to those awkward AOL/MobileMe integrated accounts from around 2003 that you used to be able to make. Well, if I'm wrong, I'll find out when my Apple ID that has an AOL email address stops working.

Cool, thanks!

 

[kinless]

I don't think so. They're probably referring to those awkward AOL/MobileMe integrated accounts from around 2003 that you used to be able to make. Well, if I'm wrong, I'll find out when my Apple ID that has an AOL email address stops working.

Right there with you. My AOL address of 21 years (even though I stopped using their client many years ago) has been all I ever used for iTunes since the store opened. Never used any of that MobileMe stuff, so I would think they'd treat it no different than any other e-mail address, but as you said, we'll see.