Transferring your digital life between Apple IDs used to be a major headache. Previously, content like apps, music, and movies purchased on one account were locked to that account. Apple has introduced a migration feature that allows you to move purchases from one Apple Account to another.
Migrate Purchases Between Apple Accounts
This is the main method to migrate your purchases between Apple Accounts:
Step 1: Head to your Apple Account page in the Settings app.
Step 2: Select Media & Purchases and tap View Account.
Step 3: Scroll down and tap Migrate Purchases.
Step 4: When prompted for your Apple Account password, enter it.
Step 5: On the Migrate Purchases screen, tap Continue and Continue again on the following screen.
Step 6: Check if you have the primary and secondary accounts set correctly and tap Migrate to start the migration process. (You will see the confirmation text, “Purchases Have Been Migrated,” on the screen when the migration is complete.)
Step 7: Sign out of the secondary Apple Account and sign back in to your primary Apple Account.
How to Set Up a Secondary Account on Your iPhone
Before you can migrate, you might need to set up a secondary account:
Step 1: Open Settings and tap your name at the top.
Step 2: Tap Media & Purchases and tap Sign Out to log out of the current account.
Step 3: After signing out, tap Media & Purchases again and tap Not ‘Your Name’? (Your Name here is the name that you have associated with your Apple Account.)
Step 4: Now, type in your secondary account details in the Email or Phone Number and Password fields and tap Continue.
How to Undo a Migration
If you need to reverse the process:
Step 1: Go to your Apple Account details page in Settings.
Step 2: Tap Media & Purchases > View Account.
Step 3: Under Secondary Account, you will see an Undo Migration button. Tap it.
Step 4: Now, on the Undo Purchase Migration screen, tap Continue and tap Undo Migration on the following screen and confirm the choice when prompted.
Prerequisites to Migrating Purchases Between Apple Accounts
Before you begin, keep these requirements in mind. The account you are migrating to is considered the primary account, while the account you are migrating from is the secondary account.
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Primary and secondary accounts should be set to the same country and region.
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You should have two-factor authentication enabled on both Apple Accounts.
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You shouldn’t have any rentals or pre-orders on either of the accounts.
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Make sure the secondary account is not part of any Family Sharing group.
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Your last purchase should have been made at least 15 days ago.
Note: The migration feature is currently unavailable in the European Union, United Kingdom, and India.
How to Migrate Purchases in Unsupported Regions
If you live in a region where the migration feature isn’t directly supported, you can try this workaround:
Step 1: Head to your Apple Account page in Settings.
Step 2: Go to Media & Purchases > View Account.
Step 3: Tap Country & Region and tap Change Country or Region on the following screen.
Step 4: Now select any country except for the three unsupported ones.
Step 5: Tap Agree on the Terms & Conditions page to continue.
Step 6: Now, select None for payment details and for billing address, you can fill in dummy details.
Step 7: Tap Next to finish changing the region.
The purchase migration feature simplifies managing your Apple ecosystem. Now you can consolidate your digital content under a single Apple ID.