Worried about forfeiting new .me AppleID signup in iOS 5.0 if old ID is used?

[timidhermit]

I just upgraded to iOS 5.0.

I am debating on whether or not I should take this opportunity to get a new .me Apple ID and email address from Apple.

I understand that each iDevice is eligible for creating ONLY ONE new .me Apple ID and email address.

My question is this: If I choose to use an existing Apple ID (including another .me address that I created from a different idevice) when I upgraded this current idevice to iOS 5, do I somewhat forfeit my opportunity (or quota) to create a NEW .me Apple ID later on to use with iCloud?

Does Apple automatically associate the first Apple ID sign-in (even if it is an existing Apple ID) to the idevice as the PRIMARY id for that device so that it could not be changed later?

My dilemma comes from the fact that all variations of my real name for a .me Apple ID had been taken by someone else, so I need time to think up of another one.

Help?

 

[Night Spring]

You can create as many apple IDs as you want, and change them on a device as many times as you want. We have several iPhones / iPads / iPod touches, and we've been playing musical chairs with them as we upgrade devices and pass on old ones to other family members, and we haven't had problems switching Apple IDs.

 

[timidhermit]

I am unsure if this is true. As I recall, there is a hard limit of one NEW Apple ID creation per iDevice. It is true that you can switch around afterward, but my question is related to the creation of NEW Apple ID.

Can someone else chip in to help?

You can create as many apple IDs as you want.

 

[Night Spring]

I am unsure if this is true. As I recall, there is a hard limit of one NEW Apple ID creation per iDevice.

Where did you hear that? When I delete the iCloud account on an iDevice, it goes back to a screen asking you if you already have an Apple ID or you want to create a new one. Say you want to create a new one, and it lets you do it.

Just think, unless you are able to do this, you can't pass on your device to another person. If I create a new Apple ID on my device, then later on I decide to give or sell it, then the new owner needs to be able to create a new Apple ID on that deivce.

 

[Narse77]

You can make as many as you want. I know, I have like 4.

 

[timidhermit]

Interesting. Are these ALL .me IDs though? I had thought that there is a limit on .me names. Other names can be unlimited.

Also, when you "sign out" or "delete" an Apple ID, are those .me IDs?

When I delete the iCloud account on an iDevice, it goes back to a screen asking you if you already have an Apple ID or you want to create a new one.

 

[Night Spring]

Interesting. Are these ALL .me IDs though? I had thought that there is a limit on .me names. Other names can be unlimited.

Also, when you "sign out" or "delete" an Apple ID, are those .me IDs?

Yes, I've created multiple ".me" IDs on the same device.

And Apple IDs can be any email address. But in my case, I've been signing devices in and out of multiple ".me" accounts without any problems.

 

[timidhermit]

In this case, what stops from someone hoarding a huge number of .me accounts of popular names and nicknames just to screw other people who are legitimately wanting to get an easy-to-remember Apple ID?

In my case, I found it very odd that every variation of my real name (including those used in Facebook, Twitter, LinkIn, etc.) are all taken. This is the first time I have ever been in such a situation when every variant has been taken.

Yes, I've created multiple ".me" IDs on the same device.

And Apple IDs can be any email address. But in my case, I've been signing devices in and out of multiple ".me" accounts without any problems.

 

[Night Spring]

In this case, what stops from someone hoarding a huge number of .me accounts of popular names and nicknames just to screw other people who are legitimately wanting to get an easy-to-remember Apple ID?

In my case, I found it very odd that every variation of my real name (including those used in Facebook, Twitter, LinkIn, etc.) are all taken. This is the first time I have ever been in such a situation when every variant has been taken.

Oh, hey, maybe I should go make up a bunch of me.com addies and sell them on ebay!

Ok, kidding. But unfortunately, I don't think there is anything preventing people from hoarding me.com addies, if they are so inclined. Sorry about your not being able to get any of your preferred names, but basically, it's just like any other system where you need to set up a unique username. I mean, people can and do make up as many Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn accounts as they want, right? From what I can tell, Apple is not being any more or less diligent by not putting in safeguards against account hoarding.

 

[gentlefury]

You can create as many apple IDs as you want, and change them on a device as many times as you want. We have several iPhones / iPads / iPod touches, and we've been playing musical chairs with them as we upgrade devices and pass on old ones to other family members, and we haven't had problems switching Apple IDs.

I have 3 apple ids (one has my iTunes info on it, one is my me.com account and one is my old .mac account)... this is not true, you can have as many as you like...its just annoying to switch between them

 

[docprego]

Apple really needs to allow consolidation of ID's. I know they're working on it, but it should have been ready with iOS 5 and iCloud IMO. I have three and would love to consolidate them into one.

 

[timidhermit]

This makes me mad. :;

For 3 days now, I have been trying to come up with a usable ID. Whatever I typed in, Apple would only return a suggested ID that included a numerical number. I tried combination of first, middle, last, and even initials with periods, hyphen, etc...

: mad:

Ok, kidding. But unfortunately, I don't think there is anything preventing people from hoarding me.com addies, if they are so inclined. Sorry about your not being able to get any of your preferred names, but basically, it's just like any other system where you need to set up a unique username. I mean, people can and do make up as many Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn accounts as they want, right? From what I can tell, Apple is not being any more or less diligent by not putting in safeguards against account hoarding.

 

[Menel]

This makes me mad. :;

For 3 days now, I have been trying to come up with a usable ID. Whatever I typed in, Apple would only return a suggested ID that included a numerical number. I tried combination of first, middle, last, and even initials with periods, hyphen, etc...

: mad:

LOL sucks to be you, I use my old MobileMe account that got upgraded to 25GB with multiple aliases set.

I have my AppleID for store, with aliases maxed out. Tagged every combination of name and initials I could think of.

Back during beta I let several family and friends do the same using my ios5 beta dev devices.

 

[timidhermit]

That is a very clever move.

For my gf, should I ask her to go to the Apple store and use the store's computers to create a bunch of Apple ID of all variants of her name. She is planning to purchase a Mac soon, but she does not want to wait until that time to create the accounts because she may miss out on her wanted IDs.

Is there any security concern in using the store's computers to "reserve" the .me Apple IDs? She REALLY wants a .me email address.

I have my AppleID for store, with aliases maxed out. Tagged every combination of name and initials I could think of.