Did you make a digital purchase from one Apple Account but need to use it on another? Apple will now let you migrate content between primary and secondary accounts.
In a support document, first spotted by 512 Pixels, Apple says: “You can choose to migrate apps, music, and other content you’ve purchased from Apple on a secondary Apple Account to a primary Apple Account.” However, the process isn’t that straightforward. Apple has listed nearly a dozen conditions for it to work.
First, both primary and secondary accounts must be logged in to the same device. Apple will consider the Apple Account used for iCloud as the primary account and the Apple Account used for Media & Purchases as the secondary one.
Second, transfers can be made only from the secondary to the primary. So, suppose you are signed into iCloud and Media & Purchases using the same Apple Account. In that case, Apple says you must go to Settings > Apple Account (with your name) > Media & Purchases, log out of the primary account, and sign in with the secondary account before migrating.
The secondary account can’t be part of a different Family Sharing group, either. Users should also turn off Purchase Sharing for the account. And neither account can be a child account created through Family Sharing.
Once you have met the conditions, you can go to Settings > Apple Account > Media & Purchases. Sign in and tap Migrate Purchases to start the transfer. Once done, you’ll see “Purchases Have Been Migrated” displayed on the screen. After that, you can go to Media & Purchases, sign out of the secondary account, and sign in with your primary account to check your transferred items.
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According to Apple, the migration process should transfer all payment methods, in-app subscriptions, previous app purchases, music, movies, TV shows, and books, as well as music and podcast library data, to the primary account. It won’t transfer iCloud data, though. Users can also undo a migration.
At launch, the migration feature isn’t available to Apple users in Europe, the UK, or India.
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