This week, Apple made many of its long-time App Store users happy by introducing a tool that finally allows you to transfer purchases from one Apple account to another. However, there are quite a few rules you have to follow before you can do this.
Here’s what you need to know:
- Account Type: Neither account involved can be a child account linked through Family Sharing.
- Previous Migrations: You can’t use an account that’s already had purchases moved from it. If you’ve undone a migration, you’ll have to wait a year before trying again.
- Music Library: If both accounts have music in their libraries, you can’t proceed with the migration.
- Apple One Subscriptions: If your Apple One plan shares iCloud storage with another account, you’re out of luck.
- New Accounts: If your primary account has never made a purchase or download, you can’t migrate purchases to it.
- Deleted or Disabled Accounts: You can’t migrate from an account that’s been deleted or is not active.
- Locked Accounts: An account that’s locked or disabled won’t allow migration.
- Special Access: Accounts with special app access, like through an employer’s VPP program, can’t migrate either.
There’s also an issue with TestFlight. If your secondary account has been used to test apps, you need to stop testing each app in TestFlight before you can move your purchases.
Apple has also clarified some regional rules:
- 15-Day Rule: In South Korea and China, you might need to wait up to 15 days for purchases made with Apple account balance to process.
Regarding Family Sharing, you can still migrate if your secondary account was used to share purchases with your primary account.
I tried this migration myself but hit a snag because I didn’t meet some requirements. Unfortunately, the system doesn’t tell you which one. As of now, the migration option has vanished from my account, even after I stopped testing all my TestFlight apps.
Have you managed to navigate through this process successfully?