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iPad in UK: ins and outs of using a USA iTS account in UK

netdog

netdog

macrumors 603
Original poster
Feb 6, 2006
5,760
38
London
There are a fair number of us in the UK with US iPads that have been imported and I think many of are unsure of how to best proceed in setting up our devices before the UK iTS iPad App Store opens.

My main concern is what happens to the stuff that you get under the US account once you switch back to syncing with your UK account once the UK iPad apps store opens.

Anybody know what you'd lose? What you won't lose? Any other complications?

Also, how is it easy to set up an American store account if you don't have a credit card with a USA billing address. Don't iTS accounts require a credit card?
 
netdog said:
There are a fair number of us in the UK with US iPads that have been imported and I think many of are unsure of how to best proceed in setting up our devices before the UK iTS iPad App Store opens.

My main concern is what happens to the stuff that you get under the US account once you switch back to syncing with your UK account once the UK iPad apps store opens.

Anybody know what you'd lose? What you won't lose? Any other complications?

Also, how is it easy to set up an American store account if you don't have a credit card with a USA billing address. Don't iTS accounts require a credit card?
Click to expand...

You can open it with a US iTunes card that you can get off eBay etc thats the only part i know :)

The rest i want to know as well please :)
 
That's what is holding me off opening an iTunes US account.

Will iTunes sync apps from 2 different accounts onto a single iPad or will only apps from Account 1 or 2 go to the iPad/iPhone etc.

Fine if your starting fresh, but if you already have an abundance of apps from your legit country, it could be a pain in the rectum if you have to choose to lose / non sync them because of different accounts etc.

So can anyone confirm how it works ?
 
I have an US and UK iTunes account. I have the US one for TV shows and apps that aren't out in the UK.

You can get a US account by signing up with an iTunes card/gift certificate/pre-paid thing. These can legitimately be bought online from sites like www.maximuscards.com - These let you get a US account without the need for a US credit card.

You can download and use anything you buy from any store on any of your 5 authorised computers or idevices. You just sign in and out of the relevant account to browse the store you want. Your iPhone/iPad doesn't care where the app came from, so long as your host computer is authorised through iTunes. It's seamless and effectively a non issue.

The only slight inconvenience will come when downloading updates to your purchased apps. You need to be signed into the relevant account to get the updates from that countries store, which can be a little faffy, but other than that I've found basically no drawbacks in the 3+ years I've been doing it.
 
rhaleuk said:
I have an US and UK iTunes account. I have the US one for TV shows and apps that aren't out in the UK.

You can get a US account by signing up with an iTunes card/gift certificate/pre-paid thing. These can legitimately be bought online from sites like www.maximuscards.com - These let you get a US account without the need for a US credit card.

You can download and use anything you buy from any store on any of your 5 authorised computers or idevices. You just sign in and out of the relevant account to browse the store you want. Your iPhone/iPad doesn't care where the app came from, so long as your host computer is authorised through iTunes. It's seamless and effectively a non issue.

The only slight inconvenience will come when downloading updates to your purchased apps. You need to be signed into the relevant account to get the updates from that countries store, which can be a little faffy, but other than that I've found basically no drawbacks in the 3+ years I've been doing it.
Click to expand...

Have you copied and pasted that from another thread you wrote that in? think ive read it before.

So you have both of your accounts on your iphone and are able to have both accounts apps on the phone?
 
You can not make a US account without a us credit card and billing address anymore, I've tried several times and had it confirmed by numerous aple employees.

If you can, will somebody please explain to me how you do without being asked for one? I've tried the gift card thing, but it still asks for a credit card and gives no option not to give on...
 
David N said:
You can not make a US account without a us credit card and billing address anymore, I've tried several times and had it confirmed by numerous aple employees.

If you can, will somebody please explain to me how you do without being asked for one? I've tried the gift card thing, but it still asks for a credit card and gives no option not to give on...
Click to expand...

Try this:

http://www.usunlocked.com/

You can get a 'virtual' US debit card that allows you to purchase directly in the USA anbd you can use this to set up a US iTunes account. I use this for my US iTunes account.
 
Nipz said:
Have you copied and pasted that from another thread you wrote that in? think ive read it before.

So you have both of your accounts on your iphone and are able to have both accounts apps on the phone?
Click to expand...

Yep, I remembered that I posted it in another thread just a few days before and seeing this question come up in a separate thread made me think that there must be a clear demand for this kind of setup.

In answer to your question: Yes. I have apps from both of my accounts on the phone at the same time and without any issue at all.

The phone and itunes doesn't separate them or treat them any differently. I can also sign in and out of both accounts directly on the phone to browse both stores and carry out updates.

This is actually quite an improvement on previous versions of the iPhone. Previously whichever store your computer was signed into was the store that your phone would use when you synced up. This was a major pain for me personally so I was thrilled when an update gave me the ability to swap between the accounts.

I don't feel bad about doing this in any way. I'm not pirating the app or sharing it or anything illegal. It's nothing to do with jailbreaking the phone or anything. I just think of it as getting early access to things while big slow companies sort out the nitty gritty legal fluff.
 
Anybody got a good source for US iTunes gift cards?

I don't particularly want to pay a 25% premium for one :rolleyes:
 
I am in Canada with a US account that I only use gift cards for. When you set up your payment method you select "none" for credit card.

David N said:
You can not make a US account without a us credit card and billing address anymore, I've tried several times and had it confirmed by numerous aple employees.

If you can, will somebody please explain to me how you do without being asked for one? I've tried the gift card thing, but it still asks for a credit card and gives no option not to give on...
Click to expand...
 
It's really not a big deal to do this.

I have a Canadian account with iTunes and a US account.

For the US account I use my parents in law address in the US. I didn't enter any credit card.

To fill the account I use iTunes cards that you can buy at any apple store in the US or elsewhere online.

All of your apps will be bundled together in your iTunes. You can add them to your iPad or iPhone just the same.

The only problem is that you can only be logged into one iTunes account at a time. So if you've downloaded for example a TV series, you can only get new episodes if you're signed in.

Or if you want to update your apps, you can only update the apps from the store you've purchased them from. So you have to be signed in to that store to do that. So it's just a matter of signing in one store and updating all the apps, and then signing into the other store and doing the same again.

A lot of stuff is cheaper in the US iTunes store so definitely buy it there! The only thing is the Canadian store seems to have the movies of the week for 99 cents which I didn't see in the US store. The apps are about the same price.

You also get taxed based on the address you entered in the store. Some states have no taxes and some do.
 
There's thousands of iPad apps up on the UK store already (I've bought mine in preparation - can't wait to play WarpgateHD and X-Plane!) so I'm confused as to why I'll need a US iTunes account when my partner gives me my iPad in a few weeks :confused:

I know that by the time I get my iPad it'll be out in the UK (it's being ordered this week some time and I get given it at the beginning of May) but I still don't understand why everyone is clambering toward a US iTunes account - what have I missed?
 
iNeko said:
There's thousands of iPad apps up on the UK store already (I've bought mine in preparation - can't wait to play WarpgateHD and X-Plane!) so I'm confused as to why I'll need a US iTunes account when my partner gives me my iPad in a few weeks :confused:

I know that by the time I get my iPad it'll be out in the UK (it's being ordered this week some time and I get given it at the beginning of May) but I still don't understand why everyone is clambering toward a US iTunes account - what have I missed?
Click to expand...

US magazine subscriptions....prices are much cheaper and theres a much wider range! Thats my reason anyway :eek:
 
PhantomZone said:
US magazine subscriptions....prices are much cheaper and theres a much wider range! Thats my reason anyway :eek:
Click to expand...

Ah! That makes sense! I thought I was missing out on something! I've spent over £30 on iPad apps already and I don't even have it yet - I feel a bit sad for being so excited about getting it! :eek:
 
I just tried it, I got a message to say that they would be sending a verification email - this was about 30 minutes ago...
 
To create a US account:

1) You'll need a spare email address not registered with apple yet.

2) Get a US iTunes card from either eBay or somewhere like www.maximuscards.com

3) Swap to the US iTunes store and try to download an app, sign up a new account. Enter a US address (maybe the Apple store on 5th Ave, NYC?) and enter the card details you bought in step 1

3) That's it. You can swap between accounts by clicking on the the email address in the top right of iTunes. You never need enter a real US credit card because you just keep buying codes from eBay or some other online retailer.

Hope that helps. There are also plenty of more thorough guides online if you Google it.
 
USA ABC Television app

Anybody know if the ABC TV app will work in the UK if you buy the app through a US account?
 
One quick question for those that have imported an iPad from the US. It comes with a mains plug - but presumably with a US plug. How have you gotten around this?

Chris
 
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