How Do I Change The Apple ID On My Watch?

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Sign in Go back to my question Apple Watch User profile for user: pattonsm pattonsm Author User level: Level 1 57 points How do I change the Apple ID on my watch?

I have 2 Apple IDs, and the one on my watch is not the same as on my phone, so nothing on my phone is syncing to the watch.

Watch Standard 38mm, iOS 8.3

Posted on Apr 24, 2015 7:33 PM

Me too (3637) Me too Me too (3637) Me too Reply Question marked as Top-ranking reply User profile for user: VinceClarke VinceClarke User level: Level 1 8 points

Posted on Sep 5, 2015 8:07 PM

I spent over an hour on the phone with apple and, while not ideal, we figured out the solution.

My two Apple ID's each serve a specific function. One is for iMessaging, iTunes and App Store purchases and the other is for iCloud Storage.

When the watch pairs with the phone it automatically picks up the apple ID being used for iCloud on the phone. Since this was not the account I wanted to use I had to sign out of that account and sign in to icloud using the other id.

Then I had to un-pair and re-pair the watch. At this point during set-up it will show the "correct" apple id in the prompts and allow everything to synch as desired. Once everything was done, I went back into the phone settings and reconnected it to the other apple id and EVERYTHING is working just fine.

This was a time consuming process but worth it in the long run. Now everything is working as desired.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply User profile for user: VinceClarke VinceClarke User level: Level 1 8 points

Sep 5, 2015 8:07 PM in response to pattonsm

I spent over an hour on the phone with apple and, while not ideal, we figured out the solution.

My two Apple ID's each serve a specific function. One is for iMessaging, iTunes and App Store purchases and the other is for iCloud Storage.

This was a time consuming process but worth it in the long run. Now everything is working as desired.

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User profile for user: jechama8 jechama8 User level: Level 1 9 points

May 29, 2015 3:49 PM in response to pattonsm

I had the problem but fixed it. The Apple Watch wants to use the Apple ID associated with your iMessage account on your iPhone. I had to do a factory reset but I was able to change it by following these steps:

1) On your phone, log out of iMessage (settings/messages/send and receive/ then select Apple ID and it should give you the option to logout)

2) Log back in to iMessage on phone phone using your new Apple ID account

3) From your watch, do a hard reboot (by pushing in the crown and the other button at the same time)

4) From there, reset and start over by pairing your Watch to your Phone, it should automatically detect your new Apple ID account.

Good luck.

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User profile for user: yun shifrom佛山市 yun shifrom佛山市 User level: Level 1 4 points

Apr 25, 2015 2:38 AM in response to pattonsm

On your iPhone "Apple Watch app">“Apple ID”.

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User profile for user: DaveG DaveG User level: Level 1 25 points

Apr 25, 2015 7:15 AM in response to nick101

You cannot change the Apple ID once its synced. Where you mention looking for the ID there is no option to change it. The only option is to unsync and resync. Actually you cannot use 2 IDs it automatically points to the one I use for backup only.

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User profile for user: pattonsm pattonsm Author User level: Level 1 57 points

Apr 25, 2015 10:06 AM in response to DaveG

After I initially set it up using the wrong ID, I restored to factory settings and tried setting up again, but still couldn't change the Apple ID. What do you mean to unsync and resync? I don't use this Apple ID for anything - everything is on my other ID (iTunes, Apple Pay, etc.)...

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User profile for user: Jayplus Jayplus User level: Level 1 20 points

Jun 5, 2015 2:15 PM in response to jechama8

I'm in the same exact boat, which honestly, I hope Apple knows is really not our fault. I had an Apple ID for making any Apple/iTunes purchases, and MobileMe comes around. Ok, I create a new account and subscribe to MobileMe, and now that's on iCloud. Everything in iCloud is attached to my old MobileMe login, not my Apple ID login.

If I understand the solution listed above, if I use my Apple ID on my watch, and use my iCloud account on my phone, does that mean I will no longer get messages on my watch?

I hope not. I think the better solution is for Apple to be aware that there are many of us who have two logins.

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User profile for user: jolaca jolaca User level: Level 1 8 points

Jun 5, 2015 5:16 PM in response to Jayplus

I'm in the same boat. The watch uses my iCloud ID, but my account ID is different. The watch automatically detected iCloud ID and now all my notifications are different. When I buy something on my computer, it does not appear on my Apple Watch because the ID is different.

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User profile for user: DaveG DaveG User level: Level 1 25 points

Apr 25, 2015 10:47 AM in response to pattonsm

my iphone syncs to a 2nd Apple ID for the sole purpose of syncing to iCloud. I use another apple id for only purchases. I did disconnected the watch from the phone and synced it back. It only sees my 2nd ID and won't let me change it.

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User profile for user: Gerhard Uhlhorn - Hamburg Gerhard Uhlhorn - Hamburg User level: Level 1 19 points

Nov 27, 2017 3:45 PM in response to pattonsm

After trying to install HighSierra on an other external disk, I was not longer able to unlock my Mac via Apple Watch. It was not possible to switch it off and on again in the system preferences. The computer said: I the Watch has to be unlocked, but it was always unlocked.

My solution:

logout in iMassage
login in iMassage
Switch on the unlocking feature again.

This worked for me. jechama8 gave me the idea to try this! :-) Thanks!

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User profile for user: Skyboii Skyboii User level: Level 1 8 points

Dec 6, 2016 8:02 AM in response to pattonsm

I can't do this. Cause I need one ID for my iTunes and another for iCloud. So this makes it really hard. So I need to change I'd manually.

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User profile for user: Bnax Bnax User level: Level 1 4 points

May 7, 2015 4:03 PM in response to pattonsm

I also have 2 Apple IDs. When I buy from the Apple, App or iTunes Store, I use abc. For iCloud backups, I use xyz.

When I purchased the watch, I signed in to do so using my standard "buy" abc ID. But when the watch arrived, the iCloud-only xyz was already listed, which I could not change. Oddly (to me), all apps purchased with the abc I.D. Nonetheless appeared as expected. FWIW, I'm a paid iCloud subscriber. No clue if that status plays a role in this -- I'm thinking since the same AmEx account number is used with both IDs, that may have sparked the link between the two IDs. Just a thought. But the bottom-line = I have the best if all worlds, with both IDs playing nice with each other (a first!).

At some point, Apple should really allow us to merge multiple I.D.s, but for now, it seems to me they are indeed aware of the problem, and have taken steps to assist via pre-establishing the I.D. to be used on the Watch, presumably for hand-off purposes. If only they'd work similar quiet magic re ipad/iPhone/Mac.

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User profile for user: Jayplus Jayplus User level: Level 1 20 points

Jun 5, 2015 9:54 PM in response to jolaca

I tried what jechama8 had recommended above and it works (I think). I just downloaded an app from the watch app and it downloaded to my watch. For some reason, it still wants you to log into your iCloud account in the app, which you can do safely afterwards. I'm going to download some random apps to see if it works a couple more times. I'll keep you posted.

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User profile for user: jlbachs jlbachs User level: Level 1 9 points

Jun 18, 2015 6:31 PM in response to jechama8

This kinda worked. I was already logged into my secondary ID in iMessage and FaceTime on my phone which is different than my iCloud account. I had to log out of iCloud on the phone, set up the watch then log back into iCloud on my phone. And it wasn't all that seamless. You should be able to easily select the ID you want to use and log in.

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User profile for user: lanceanz lanceanz User level: Level 1 16 points

Aug 4, 2015 12:33 AM in response to jechama8

I have the same situation. On my iPhone, my "me.com" account is used for iCloud, and is also set as the "Apple ID" in iMessage. My true "Apple ID" is used for everything else.

When I paired my new Watch it only displayed my "me.com" account and would not let me change it to my Apple ID. I followed your instructions and changed my iMessage "Apple ID" to be my "Apple ID". After re-pairing the Watch it still showed my "me.com" account on the "Apple ID" screen. The next screen showed my Apple ID account as the iMessage account. So that's all it achieved. That shows that the Watch isn't using the iPhone iMessage account as the Apple ID on the Watch. I therefore set accounts on my iPhone back to the way they were at the start.

After completing Watch setup, I installed apps from my iPhone. They all work (but oh boy, some really are pretty lame on the Watch!). So yes, it simply doesn't seem to matter that the Apple ID on my Watch isn't my real Apple ID.

Perhaps Apple will make things clearer in a future Watch OS as we shouldn't have to go through this. It is their fault for telling "me.com" account holders that we should use our main contact email as our Apple ID.

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User profile for user: nick101 nick101 User level: Level 5 5,150 points

Apr 25, 2015 3:03 AM in response to yun shifrom佛山市

Just to avoid confusion, it's Apple Watch app, General, Apple ID

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