Switch Apple ID & Save Data

[dubstir]

I have a friend who has used a @hotmail for the Apple ID for many years. They wanted to start fresh with a new Apple ID and have all the years worth of photos and apps be saved/associated to the new ID. I created them a brand new @icloud address. If they would sign OUT of their @hotmail ID on their iPhone and sign IN with their new @icloud ID, would all the photos, apps, etc... now be linked, saved, and backed up to the new @icloud ID?

The only real concern is saving all the photos. They wanted to purchase the 50GB iCloud storage plan with the new @icloud ID. I know I could download all the photos to a computer and then transfer them back to iCloud with Control Panel, but I wanted to see if the idea above would work or if there is an easier solution I'm missing.

Thanks

 

[techwarrior]

Mac, iOS, both?

I believe Photos will sync to the new account, that is if all of the photos are on the device. If space is limited, iCloud stores photos in the cloud and downloads to the device on demand to save space.

To be safe, backup the Photos library (usually ~.Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary), switch accounts, and check that all photos are there, if not, open Photos with the Option key pressed to select the backup library, which will then sync to the cloud. Before doing this, on a Mac, open Photos and then Preferences > iCloud and make sure Download Originals to this Mac is selected, and Optimize Mac Storage is not selected. Then, in the Photos app, with the number of photos and videos at the bottom of the screen to make sure sync completes.

With iOS, it is more likely some photos are not on the device due to space limitations. So the local photos may not be complete.

Another way may be to share all of the photos with the new AppleID.

 

[dubstir]

Thanks for that information. They do have a MacBook, but the concern is the iPhone as it's used daily. I am not a Mac person, so maybe I will import all the photos/videos on the iPhone into my laptop as a safety measure before proceeding with switching IDs.