In my transition to updating to iCloud, I created two identical iCloud accounts, one associated with my iTunes Apple ID and the other with my MobileMe me.com email.

I decided I am keeping connected to the iCloud associated with my MobileMe me.com email for ID.

How do I delete the other iCloud account associated with my iTunes Apple ID? Searching the internet via Google, says I can't do it! REALLY?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/16/2011 02:54AM by SKYLANE.

You intentionally duplicated ? Created two iCloud accounts on purpose?

That sounds like asking for complications.

Apple's instructions here aren't exactly clear, or beneficial, either.

I have the misfortune of having..over the last four or five years... somehow created two iTunes accounts, one with a MobileMe email account, and one based on a Gmail address, and it gives me headaches. Particularly 'authorization' issues when moving songs around. I wish I'd never stepped into this, made this duplicate I.D. error. I was already having problems by having more than on account associated with Apple and iTunes. And now, this.

Apple makes some vague distinction between an Apple I.D.", and an "iTunes I.D.", but reminds me I need to choose one of them, to work with iCloud.

I can't win. Some things are associated with one account, some with the other. And I'm not allowed to merge them. I'm stuck.

And now, if I sign up for iCloud, I'll have to choose one of these.

I'm sure there are lots of people like this.

Quote
SKYLANE
In my transition to updating to iCloud, I created two identical iCloud accounts, one associated with my iTunes Apple ID and the other with my MobileMe me.com email.

I decided I am keeping connected to the iCloud associated with my MobileMe me.com email for ID.

How do I delete the other iCloud account associated with my iTunes Apple ID? Searching the internet via Google, says I can't do it! REALLY?

Keeping the MM ID and deleting the iTunes ID will lock you out of your purchased iTunes apps and music, etc. You will have to repurchase them under the new ID. They are not transferable.

I was lucky enough to have used only MY one Apple ID for everything: MM, iTunes, and all Apple hardware/software purchases.

I created a new Apple ID for my wife for iCloud after installing Lion 10.7.1 but before iOS5 was available, to realizing the consequences. Now she has 2 Apple IDs: one for iTunes and one for iCloud. I am having a hell of a time trying to get rid of the second (iCloud) ID and get her iTunes ID as the primary iCloud one. I can't do it on either her iPad or iPhone 4S. Now I'm going to try doing it on her iMac and then since the 2 handhelds.

A single Apple ID makes purchasing software and syncing a very simple affair for one User.

Two Apple IDs create nothing but headaches for many of us.

---

Ed (modelamac)

I think I will just put an OUT OF ORDER
sticker on my head and call it a day.

Sky,

You can't. Once an Apple ID exists Apple will absolutely not under any circumstances delete it or merge it with another Apple ID. Since iCloud accounts are affiliated with Apple IDs, once you create an iCloud account, said account cannot be removed or merged with a different iCloud account either. The only thing you can do is simply not use one of the Apple ID and/or iCloud accounts.

I found this out the hard way after a _very_ long conversation with Apple Corporate in reference to my own Apple ID. To make a long story short, due to a change in their system about requiring email addresses as an Apple ID instead of just a single nick and a screw up on their part, I now have two Apple IDs, one of which is affiliated with a secondary email address, the other affiliated with my primary address.

The AppleID affiliated with the secondary address is the Apple ID with my history of purchases from the Apple Online Store, the Mac App Store and the ITunes Music/Video/App (for IPhone/IPOD Touch/IPad) Store. The Apple ID affiliated with my primary email address has nothing affiliated to it at all. Think of it as a blank slate with Apple.

Personally, I'd prefer to use my primary email address as my normal Apple ID. But, if I do that, I lose everything. That's unacceptable. I contacted Apple corporate about this issue and they will do absolutely _nothing_ about it. They will not merge the Apple IDs into a single account. They will not remove the Apple ID affiliated with my primary address so I can in turn use said address with what should be my real account. Nada.

My plan is now to use the Apple ID affiliated with my secondary email address as my Apple ID for purchases at Apple's various "stores" be it the online store, the app store, the iTunes store, or even a retail store. The new Apple ID affiliated with my primary email address will be used for iCloud and its various services such as FaceTime. It isn't a perfect solution but it'll do until such a time that Apple decides to allow a user to remove permanently an Apple ID.

Or, it may work out perfectly since my Apple History isn't affiliated with a set of services Apple may or may not keep for the long term. iCloud may be fresh and new now but for all we know in a few years, Apple may decide to get rid of it in favor of something else. They've done it before, i.e. world (now gone), iTools (now gone), MobileMe (on its way out).

Robert



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/16/2011 08:12AM by Robert M.

The iCloud control panel (or whatever it's called in the Settings) on my iPod touch has a big red "DELETE ACCOUNT" button at the bottom. What does that do?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/16/2011 12:48PM by Acer.

Acer,

That removes the iCloud account from the device and only that device. It does not remove the iCloud account you have with Apple itself.

Robert

In my transition to updating to iCloud, I created two identical iCloud accounts, one associated with my iTunes Apple ID and the other with my MobileMe me.com email.

I decided I am keeping connected to the iCloud associated with my MobileMe me.com email for ID.

I created a new Apple ID for my wife for iCloud after installing Lion 10.7.1 but before iOS5 was available, to realizing the consequences. Now she has 2 Apple IDs: one for iTunes and one for iCloud. I am having a hell of a time trying to get rid of the second (iCloud) ID and get her iTunes ID as the primary iCloud one.

A single Apple ID makes purchasing software and syncing a very simple affair for one User.

Two Apple IDs create nothing but headaches for many of us.

---------

Which raises the question for me.. which of two accounts does one choose?

My current, most used, preferred iTunes login happens to be a Gmail email address, that's my iTunes I.D.. Then, I have my MobileMe I.D.

My iTunes account has all my app purchases and music and video (though not many, I don't buy music or movies on iTunes much, but don't want to be locked out of what I do have, and particularly Apps, which I have a lot of)

My MobileMe I.D. is where I have all my sync services now, including domain name/website hosting, iDisk, and other MobileMe service (those features disappear in June, not to be replaced, customer loses) and because my sync services were associated with MobileMe login account, that would have been my natural choice.

But then It locks me out of iTunes purchases.

How does one know which account to choose? The relative gains and losses?

Any advice here appreciated.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/16/2011 01:03PM by guitarist.

What happens if the email address used as your Apple ID changes due to circumstances beyond your control? I once had a provider go belly up and take my email address with it. I suppose you could still use the same ID to access your account, but any receipts or other communication from Apple would be sent into the ether.

Guitarist,

I face a similar situation... I have the following:

A. My primary account with Apple aka Apple ID #1.

Due to Apple @#$%&'ing my ID, all of my Apple related purchases and services via the Online Store, Mac App Store and iTunes Music/Video/App/etc store, and such are affiliated with a secondary email address now and connected to Apple ID #1. Think of it as my entire history with Apple. As a result, I also have an iCloud account affiliated with this ID.

B. The "new" account with Apple created due to their error. Call this Apple ID #2.

This is a completely fresh account with Apple. No history. No nothing. This account has an iCloud account affiliated with it. Due to Apple @#$%&'ing my Apple ID, this account is connected to my primary email address.

C. A MobileMe account. While affiliated with an Apple service, it is not an actual Apple ID.

While I have this account, the sole purpose I signed up with MobileMe was for syncing contacts between my IPhone, home computer, my office laptop and office desktop. I took advantage of a few other benefits such as online storage and MobileMe gallery, I can do without them easily. The syncing of my contacts is very important and handy.

My plan:

1. Use Apple ID #1 has my "purchases" account with Apple. this ensure my long history with Apple as well as my purchases and such stay intact. I'll maintain access to everything and not have to "purchase" apps and such all over again. That this account is affiliated with a secondary email address won't have a bearing on the matter. Every once in a while I will sync this account with iCloud to ensure it has a reasonably current copy of all my contacts. (I will not be using iCloud for email and storage)

2. Use Apple ID #2 as my "iCloud" account.

I will use this account for syncing contacts between my home machine and my IPhone. At some point, I'll transition my office machine to OS 10.7.x and at that point, it will get synced via this account as well. I kind of like the idea of separating my "historical" Apple ID (aka Apple ID #1) from my iCloud configuration. Apple can be flakey when it comes to online services. So, in the event Apple discontinues iCloud, it will have no impact whatsoever on my primary Apple ID. Apple got rid of EWorld, ITools, and is in the process of discontinuing MobileMe. Who's to say how long Apple will maintain iCloud?

3. My MobileMe account will remain active until such a time Apple discontinues it entirely. That way, my IPhone and home machine will retain the ability to sync contacts with my office laptop and office desktop. Once Apple discontinues MobileMe, I'll find a different way to ensure the contacts on the hardware I own that isn't iCloud friendly. The easiest way will be to archive my contacts. Once I've archived the contacts, I can easily import them into Address Book on both my office laptop and desktop. A tad inconvenient but very doable.

On a different note, all of my friend and family use my primary email address for contacting me via email. Since FaceTime requires an Apple ID, I'll use the ID affiliated with my primary email address (Apple ID #2 - my iCloud ID) as my FaceTime ID. That way, if people want to video chat with me, they simply use the same email address for me they use for everything else.

Robert

Jimmy,

The situation you describe is exactly why I will not rely on an email address provided to me by an Internet Service Provider (ISP), Yahoo, Google, etc. Rather, I use an email address affiliated with my own domain. Any email sent to that address is in turn directed into the inbox of my email provider. That way, I can change email providers at my convenience and it doesn't have any impact on my email address.

Currently, I have all of my mail sent to an account with Fastmail.fm. If I decide to dump Fastmail.fm, I create an email account with a different provider. Once it's configured, I change the forwarding settings of my domain to direct the mail to the new email provider. My email address remains the same. No muss, no fuss.

Robert

im trying to change my icloud id because i've created a new apple id. what will happen once i delete my icloud id on my iphone4 ? i dont want to lose all my contacts reminders and stuffs.