Little help with Apple ID and Media & Purchase account.

[neomorpheus]

Hello.

My neighbor asked for help with his iPhone and I noted that he has 10K photos and videos and other data but nothing is backed up.

I went to settings and found that he is using one email address for his Apple ID but there is a different email address under the fields "Media & Purchases" and also under "Subscriptions".

How can i safely merge them into one?

Thanks in advance.

 

[now i see it]

Leave the emails alone and just back it all up to iCloud or a computer

 

[neomorpheus]

Leave the emails alone and just back it all up to iCloud or a computer

I'm sorry but i dont see how that helps with the request.

 

[now i see it]

Why consolidate the emails? Why not leave the emails as is?
There’s a very real chance of creating untold wonton mayhem trying to merge all email IDs into one. A possible disaster. I’d leave it alone… especially since you’d be doing this for a neighbor. It’s very possible to totally screw things up without a way to go back — and he’d/she’d blame you.
Not good for neighborly relationships.

I speak from experience. Messing with Apple ID emails can create mayhem with all other devices sharing that ID. I call it Apple ID Hell.

 

[neomorpheus]

Why consolidate the emails? Why not leave the emails as is?
There’s a very real chance of creating untold wonton mayhem trying to merge all email IDs into one. A possible disaster. I’d leave it alone.

Problem is, he wants that and i dont blame him, since for many people, password management is a pain and the less passwords to remember, the better.

Yes, i know about password managers, but this person wont do it.

Its an uphill battle.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

I went to settings and found that he is using one email address for his Apple ID but there is a different email address under the fields "Media & Purchases" and also under "Subscriptions".

How can i safely merge them into one?

You can't change the Media & Purchases ID, without losing access to all prior purchases. Not a big deal if he only uses free apps & doesn't buy movies or music... but a VERY big deal if he has any significant purchases already.

Assuming that's true, the only option would be to sign him out of his "Primary" Apple ID, which is what's used for iCloud. The drawback to doing that is that he'll have to move all his photos, messages, and iCloud Drive from the old to the new. Which is... well, not "Complicated" other than potentially taking hours or days - IF he has enough free space to fit all that on the phone in the meantime. If he doesn't - leave it as is.

 

[chown33]

Consider setting up a family group and using Family Sharing.

Family Sharing

Family Sharing lets up to six family members share Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, iCloud storage, and more. All without sharing accounts.

www.apple.com

If Family Sharing doesn't work out, or doesn't gain anything useful, there's no harm done. Simply unenroll the account from the family group, and have the family organizer delete the group.

 

[neomorpheus]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I think we are talking free apps only and nothing purchased.

Also looks like one of the emails is part of a family share, so i need to look more into this.