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Switching an iTunes Store account to a different country
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Q: How do I switch from a U.S. iTunes Store account back to an Australian iTunes Store account?
- Vicky
A: There are actually a couple of different ways that you can handle this, depending on what your needs are and whether you plan to continue to shop in the iTunes Stores for both countries.
If you’re moving back to Australia after having resided in the U.S. and want to maintain a single iTunes Store account that you simply want to use in Australia, the easiest approach is to simply change the country associated with your iTunes Store account. To do this, log into your iTunes Store account settings by choosing Account from the Quick Links section on the right-hand side of your iTunes Store home page, and then when your information appears, choose the Change Country or Region link that appears below your billing address.
You will be prompted to choose a new country and will then need to provide an address in that country and an appropriate payment method that matches the country and billing address; generally a credit card or funding from a locally-purchased iTunes Gift Card will work for this purpose.
Note that if you have an iTunes Match subscription or any incomplete season passes or unexpired movie rentals you will not be able to change countries for your existing iTunes Store account. In the case of iTunes Match, you can simply cancel your subscription; for passes or movie rentals, you must wait until the pass is complete and/or your movie rentals have expired.
Changing your iTunes Store account to a different country will not affect your ability to access or play any of your existing purchased content. However, it may impact your ability to download previously purchased items from iTunes in the Cloud or update previously purchased apps. Basically, only content that is available in your new country will be accessible from iTunes in the Cloud. Again, however, this will not affect access to anything that is already stored in your iTunes library, and in fact these items will still be available from the iTunes Store in the country where you originally purchased them should you switch back in the future.
An alternative to switching the country on your existing iTunes Store Apple ID is to setup a second, new iTunes Store account for the second country and continue to maintain both accounts. This will give you the advantage of accessing previously purchased content and app updates, but will require you to sign in and out of the different accounts in order to do so. Further, if you’re using an iOS device, remember that you can only change the account used for iTunes in the Cloud once every 90 days, making it more complicated to juggle multiple iTunes Store accounts.
For more information, be sure to check out our Complete Guide to Using the iTunes Store.
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1
I am trying to change my iTunes country or region as I have moved country but it won’t let me because I have $0.49 of outstanding credit on my account. My old credit card in the old country has expired, I can’t use my credit card in the new country because it is not from the same country as the account, and I can’t find anything to purchase that costs $0.49, everything is either $2+ or free.
Can anyone suggest something?
Posted by Stevo in Toronto on June 19, 2013 at 11:46 PM (CDT)
1
How do I switch my iTunes account to U.K itunes Store?
Everything I’m trying to purchase is in U.S dollars I don’t
Know how my phone switched from pounds to dollars in
in the first place.
Posted by Dionecia Maharaj in Toronto on June 26, 2013 at 3:39 AM (CDT)
1
Thanks that was simple and quick now i have changed my itunes store to India from UK
Posted by Aniket Nanjee in Toronto on July 22, 2013 at 3:25 AM (CDT)
1
How do I establish an account without a payment account address for the country I want to establish the account in? I want to set up a UK account but it just prompted me that I must have an address for the country I am choosing…does paypal count?
Posted by TM in Toronto on August 1, 2013 at 1:45 PM (CDT)
1
For some reason I’ve got the American iTunes Store but I need the Australian one,I haven’t got an account thatI know of,I want to use some iTunes gift cards to purchase some movies,bewildered please help!
Posted by Matthew Greer in Toronto on August 24, 2013 at 9:43 PM (CDT)
1
I was actually slightly astonished at the pompous responses to a simple question on this thread.
The answer is, log into your account and it will return you to your country automatically. There! wasn’t difficult was it?
Posted by Jasper in Toronto on September 30, 2013 at 4:46 PM (CDT)
1
First I see no “Quick link” on the right hand side of the i-tunes store homepage. Second when I try and do an update it says “your account is not in this store” but gives me no clue how to change it. Gawd I hate apple products.
Posted by Jack Wells in Toronto on October 3, 2013 at 10:52 AM (CDT)
1
I’ve a problem. I’d really appreciate some help:
I’ve two different accounts: my first one is from Mexico and my second one is from USA. I didn’t have problems until I bought a MacBook, and I had to wait 90 days to switch from one account to the other.
And now, because I don’t want to change my mexican account (because most of my purchases are from iTunes Mexico), I tried to switch my american one to Germany. The problem? I’ve a minimum credit ($0.44) and I cannot switch.
So, this is the point: what happens if I create a third account (in Germany) and use it in my MacBook? Will I have to wait again 90 days? Will I be able to switch accounts freely? Will my MacBook explode?
Posted by Oscar in Toronto on December 7, 2013 at 2:56 AM (CST)
1
Is it not possible to always have it in English no matter where you live???
Posted by Jesse in Toronto on January 7, 2014 at 10:31 AM (CST)
1
I have a question, how do you switch one ipod from one account to a different account. my brother gave me his old ipod and it is to his account, is there a way i can take that same ipod and switch it to my account instead of his
Posted by Jennifer in Toronto on January 25, 2014 at 10:07 PM (CST)