Apple Working on Allowing the Merging of Multiple Apple IDs

icloudiconMacRumors has learned that Apple is working on a process to merge multiple Apple IDs into a single login. The issue of juggling multiple Apple ID logins has been a minor inconvenience in the past, but with the early developer testing of iOS 5 and iCloud, users have found it to be a major issue.

TUAW described the problem back in July, and the answer at that time was that there was no way to consolidate Apple IDs:

Some readers have been managing two Apple IDs on purpose and are now frustrated about the fact that Apple is restricting logins for automatic downloads. Others have only just discovered that they have two IDs. Most of them have already contacted Apple, only to be given the same answer without exception: Apple will not consolidate Apple ID accounts.

MobileMe users especially have found that they now have at least two Apple IDs, their original one and their MobileMe account. Juggling multiple logins while using Apple's Automatic Downloads can be a particular chore since you can't easily switch between logins. Apple locks devices to a single Apple ID for 90 days, preventing any rapid switching between accounts.

appleid
Apple has provided no official guidance on the issue, except to state that Apple IDs can not be consolidated at this time.

MacRumors reader Robert emailed Apple CEO Tim Cook about the issue, and quickly received a phone call from an Apple executive relations employee. She had spoken to the team responsible for Apple IDs and acknowledged that they understood the issue and that more people would run into the problem with iCloud. She also repeated that there is no way yet to combine accounts but revealed they are working on it. In the meantime, she recommended picking a single account to plan on keeping indefinitely and to make all future purchases on that account.

Apple's Tim Cook has been particularly responsive to customer emails and inquiries. In a previous example, a user emailed Cook about iTunes Match availability in Canada. That user got a quick reply from Apple's Senior Vice President for Internet Software and Services, Eddy Cue. Apple has announced it will be launching iCloud and iOS 5 to users "this fall".

Update: Another user reports hearing the same information after emailing Tim Cook over the same issue.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 13 New Features

Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iphone 17 dummies sonny dickson

iPhone 17 Air Almost as Thin as Its Buttons, New Images Show

Thursday April 24, 2025 2:14 am PDT by
If you missed the video showing dummy models of Apple's all-new super thin iPhone 17 Air that's expected later this year, Sonny Dickson this morning shared some further images of the device in close alignment with the other dummy models in the iPhone 17 lineup, indicating just how thin it is likely to be in comparison. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be around 5.5mm thick – with a thicker ...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Air Launching Later This Year With These 16 New Features

Thursday April 24, 2025 8:24 am PDT by
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the ultra-thin device. Overall, the iPhone 17 Air sounds like a mixed bag. While the device is expected to have an impressively thin and light design, rumors indicate it will have some compromises compared to iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, a...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iphone 17 air dummy unbox therapy

iPhone 17 Air's Extreme Thinness Demoed in New Video

Tuesday April 22, 2025 10:22 am PDT by
Apple plans to release an all-new super thin iPhone this year, debuting it alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We've seen pictures of dummy models, cases, and renders with the design, but Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy today showed off newer dummy models that give us a better idea of just how thin the "iPhone 17 Air" will be. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be ...
Global Close Your Rings Day Pin

Apple Stores Giving Away a Limited-Edition Pin For Free Today

Thursday April 24, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Starting today, April 24, Apple Stores around the world are giving away a special pin for free to customers who request one, while supplies last. Photo Credit: Filip Chudzinski The enamel pin's design is inspired by the Global Close Your Rings Day award in the Activity app, which Apple Watch users can receive by closing all three Activity rings today. The limited-edition pin is the physical...
Apple Logo Spotlight Blue

White House Hits Back at Apple's Massive EU Fine

Thursday April 24, 2025 5:57 am PDT by
Apple's $570 million fine from the EU has triggered a sharp rebuke from the White House, which called the fine a form of economic extortion, Reuters reports. The fine was announced on Wednesday by the European Commission, following a formal investigation into Apple's compliance with the bloc's Digital Markets Act (DMA), a landmark piece of legislation aimed at curbing the market dominance of ...
ipad air magic keyboard feature

iPadOS 19 Rumored to Show Mac-Like Menu Bar When Connected to Magic Keyboard

Thursday April 24, 2025 12:09 pm PDT by
When an iPad running iPadOS 19 is connected to a Magic Keyboard, a macOS-like menu bar will appear on the screen, according to the leaker Majin Bu. This change would further blur the lines between the iPad and the Mac. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously claimed that iPadOS 19 will be "more like macOS," with unspecified improvements to productivity, multitasking, and app window management,...

Top Rated Comments

koobcamuk Avatar
178 months ago
It is about time they sorted this out. Having to constantly switch between IDs, especially when doing something such as updating or downloading a free application, is very frustrating.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sackvillenb Avatar
178 months ago
Good

I'm glad they're working on this. It'll be useful for many people... and it's about time too!

EDIT - I wonder if they'd ever also set up a system where you could also have multiple accounts linked together... like an umbrella account with sub-accounts. I think it would be useful for families, where the spouses and kids would have separate but linked accounts... I don't know, I think that might be useful in some scenarios... maybe?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Weaselboy Avatar
147 months ago
Hi, can we stop bumping really old threads? Make a new thread if you want to discuss it, but stop making these tragically old threads resurface.

Why create a new thread. It is a continuation of the discussion on the same topic.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FireFish Avatar
178 months ago
Long overdue

Not only should Apple absolutely support AppleID consolidation / merging, it shocks me that they haven't yet made such a feature available to customers who buy iTunes songs and movies, ultimately licensing those media files to that particular account forever.

Personally, I have a MobileMe account I use for everything except iTunes Store. I have a separate Apple ID for that and would LOVE to merge the two.

:apple::apple:
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Vip Avatar
178 months ago
Number of computers restriction...

they need to get rid of 5 "Computers" restriction, it was mainly for this reason why people choose to have (and still have) multiple apple id's.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PlutoPrime Avatar
178 months ago
as an atheist all I can say is AMEN!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)