Can I consolidate two Apple Id's? One is very old and seems active but the new one has my most current information. I upgraded my 'full' icloud storage on my new laptop by paying extra but it seems like the newly purchased storage does not correspond with my payment for the same laptop. I used only one laptop (the new one) to upgrade and make the payment.
MacBook Air 13″, OS X 10.11
Apple says:
Your Apple ID is the personal account you use with all Apple products and services. It includes the email address and password you use to sign in, as well as the contact, payment, and security details that you use with Apple.
You can’t merge multiple Apple ID accounts.
See the following Apple articles
Sign in with your Apple ID -> Sign in with your Apple ID - Apple Support
Manage and use your Apple ID -> Manage and use your Apple ID – Apple Support (UK)
Apple says:
Your Apple ID is the personal account you use with all Apple products and services. It includes the email address and password you use to sign in, as well as the contact, payment, and security details that you use with Apple.
You can’t merge multiple Apple ID accounts.
See the following Apple articles
Sign in with your Apple ID -> Sign in with your Apple ID - Apple Support
Manage and use your Apple ID -> Manage and use your Apple ID – Apple Support (UK)
Frequently the statement "you can't merge/transfer IDs" is recommended here as a complete answer to your question when asked on this forum. It is, however, an over-simplification and also not really one that helps you. It is true that some things (notably purchases) cannot be transferred, but you can still share them between your accounts and have access to them from the account you wish to use. Furthermore, you can transfer data. Read the links below for things you may need to do to transfer as much as is possible and to share some others. I will provide you with a more encouraging and complete answer outlining what you can do.
Apps and media bought with one ID are permanently associated with that ID. Look into using Family Sharing to continue to be able to use items purchased with one Apple ID with other Apple IDs, and for some data sharing features.
- Family Sharing - What is Family Sharing? - Apple Support
- Set up Family Sharing - Set up Family Sharing - Apple Support
Share folders with iCloud Drive --> Share files and folders in iCloud Drive on iCloud.com - Apple Support
Read How to use Shared Albums in Photos on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac - Apple Support about how to share photos.
If you have signed into the first ID on a device then fortunately when you sign out of that ID, do not erase the device, then sign in with a different ID, it asks you in most cases if you wish to merge the data from the two IDs on your device (toggle the ones you want to on). Say yes and later delete individual items from the other ID that you do not want. Note, in How to save apps and progress on one Appl… - Apple Community a Community Specialist says, "you will not be able to transfer the meta data from one Apple ID to another. Once you switch to another Apple ID the information associated with the old Apple ID will be gone except for physical content on the device like photos and videos." Also turn off storage optimization before doing this. With Optimize Storage, smaller, space-saving photos and videos are kept on your device while all of your original, full-resolution versions are stored in iCloud. Make sure photo optimization is turned off. Manage your photo and video storage - Apple Support
Sign out of iCloud on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV, or Mac --> Sign out of iCloud on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV, or Mac - Apple Support
If another Apple ID is signed in you may need to enter the password for that ID to sign out of that ID first.
Thank you. This is new and relevant info that I'll definitely explore in details.
Can I consolidate two Apple Id's?
