[Atheist]

I've always gotten confused between my AppleID and my MobileMe accounts. Especially since it seems that an AppleID automagically gets created when you sign up for MobileMe.

So prior to MobileMe, I had an AppleID of FirstnameLastname. That is the AppleID associated with my iTunes account. I now have a MobileMe account of [email protected].

When I setup the new Mac App Store yesterday, I wasn't paying attention and used my MobileMe account as my AppleID. So now I've got one AppleID associated with iTunes/iOS App Store and another with the Mac App Store. And it looks like you can't change your AppleID after the fact.

Another thing I've noticed. With the Find My iPhone app on the iPhone, it will automatically append @me.com to the AppleID I enter. Further confusing things because it makes you think that the @me.com is required in the AppleID.

Anyone else frustrated with the AppleID / MobileMe confusion?

[turtle777]

I never thought of it, because I just started using Mobile me.

My Apple ID is my last name, and the same is used for iTunes.

When I signed up for MobileMe, I also used last name as my MobileMe ID.
I assume that MobileMe somehow got connected to my Apple ID, but I'm not sure how to check.

The interesting part is that I have different password for the two.

-t

[Atheist]

Your MobileMe account is definitely separate from your AppleID account. Where Apple really makes things confusing is that you can use your MobileMe account in place of an AppleID.

Googling will show you lots of people that, like you, assumed that your MobileMe account was somehow magically connected to your AppleID. It's not. And if you have purchased a bunch of content under the AppleID, there is no way to transfer it to the MobileMe account. So you have to manage both.

If you were to buy a new computer you'd have to authorize it to play purchased content under both accounts. Seems awfully messy if you ask me.

[Doc HM]

Yes, the ability to link and then merge Apple ID and mm accounts would be a godsend. It can't be THAT hard.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by Atheist 

Your MobileMe account is definitely separate from your AppleID account. Where Apple really makes things confusing is that you can use your MobileMe account in place of an AppleID.

Googling will show you lots of people that, like you, assumed that your MobileMe account was somehow magically connected to your AppleID. It's not. And if you have purchased a bunch of content under the AppleID, there is no way to transfer it to the MobileMe account.

You've fallen for it, too.

You don't purchase anything under your MobileMe account.

You use an email address to sign up for an AppleID. If you create a new AppleID using your MobileMe address, that's simply a new AppleID. It doesn't actually have anything to do with MobileMe AT ALL.

[mcleaver]

My AppleID has been hijacked – by Apple
I have had one Apple account ever since buying my first iPod. I have now four iPods and four iPhones in the house as well as two Macs and several PCs. All that time I have used my one AppleID for everything. (The kids also occasionally need it for their apps.)

Yesterday I found out that I could start using “Find my iPhone” for my iPhone 4, but for some reason when I tried it, all I got was the message that my email address annex Apple ID account name could not be used for the "Find my iPhone". “The email address has already been verified for a different account.” That’s weird. I only have one AppleID and one email address.

So I added a second email address I have for work just to enable to “Find my iPhone”. But apparently to FIND your iPhone you have to LOSE your email address/AppleID. So now my AppleID has apparently acquired my work email address as its name and I can’t change it back. No one can explain to me why. I also have no idea what an AppleID actually is. I am not supposed to share it – even with relatives (the children) – but they don’t have credit cards, so I have to.

How many computers/iPods/iPhones can I have on one account? Is there a limit and if so why? How does one communicate with Apple? I haven’t even started on the problems one can have with a Google account, but will Apple please solve this issue first?

The bottom line - according to a very amiable Apple iTunesStoreSupport staffer who wanted to help - "Your email had been already used on your account and Apple identifies this as an Apple ID. This is the reason you are not able to change the mail."

[Atheist]

Thought I'd resurrect this thread to share my joy with AppleID's. So I have an AppleID that I set up years ago on apple.com. I use it for iTunes. It's my name: FirstLast. When .Mac came around I signed up with [email protected]. I've been using that account for years. For reasons I don't really need to go in to (except my own stupidity), my [email protected] account got deactivated. When iCloud was launched, I tried to connect to iCloud using my [email protected] account and was informed I needed to convert the MobileMe account to an AppleID. But that failed because the MobileMe account was deactivated. Apple support insists there is no way to reactivate a MobileMe account so my [email protected] I've been using forever (and that is attached to my bank and all sorts of other important things) is gone forever.

I give in and create an AppleID as [email protected]. Sure enough, that works fine. Better yet, iCloud tells me that my new email addresses are [email protected] and [email protected]. That said, emails sent to [email protected] are returned as undeliverable.

Being the persistent person I am, while I'm upgrading my iPhone to iOS 5 and iCloud it lets me somehow create a [email protected] AppleID that has [email protected] and [email protected] email addresses. Woohoo! I've tricked Apple into giving me my @mac.com account back.

Not so fast. Email [email protected] still doesn't work. However I've now got 2, yes 2 AppleID's associated with the same email address: [email protected]. I can log into iCloud.com with [email protected] or [email protected] and it's ultimately the same iCloud account.

Now... here's where it's even more confusing. When I go into the Mail app on my Mac and open up the Account preferences pane, the User Name value for the incoming mail server is FirstLast. FirstLast is not the AppleID associated with my iCloud account. It's [email protected] (or [email protected]). FirstLast is the AppleID I use with iTunes.

So how is the Mail app logging in as FirstLast and getting my email. I'm suspecting that iCloud is automatically appending @me.com to the user name. It does that when I log in to iCloud.com.

Wish I could get my @mac.com account back but that's never gonna happen. Also wish I could merge the FirstLast AppleID with [email protected] AppleID.

I find this whole AppleID is not really an email address but sort of is an email address thing confusing.

[Spheric Harlot]

MobileMe always let me sign in with myusername or [email protected] or [email protected]. (I created my @mac.com address in iTools over ten years ago.)

Any of those three worked.

The only thing that has changed for me is that just logging in as "myusername" without a domain no longer works, as iCloud accounts absolutely require an email address.

[posthumanus]

this whole AppleID/iCloud thing's been a giant clusterf**k for me.

i purged it as much as i could. the only inconvenience left (i think) is having iPhone apps 'purchased' by different me's

[Thorzdad]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

The only thing that has changed for me is that just logging in as "myusername" without a domain no longer works, as iCloud accounts absolutely require an email address.

That's worrying. My Apple ID (as used in the iTunes Store and Apple.com) has always been just "myusername". If I decide to jump into iCloud, would I need to establish a brand-new Apple ID, or would I be able to use whatever email address is associated with my Apple ID and have the two combine as one?

[Atheist]

Thorzdad... I'm fairly certain you will NOT be able to use your AppleID "myusername" with iCloud. This is where it gets really confusing. If you attempt to log in to iCloud with just "myusername" you get this:



So just what is an AppleID? This implies it has to be an email address. So what about all of us with old AppleID's we used with iTunes? I find it all very confusing.

I'm actually curious what would happen if I were to attempt to change my FirstLast AppleID into an email address as suggested by that message. Would it convert it to [email protected]... which already exists. What would happen to my music and apps that are tied to my FirstLast AppleID.