Need to switch Apple IDs on your iPhone? A few taps is all it takes!

Sometimes you may need to change the Apple ID being used on your iPhone or iPad. Thankfully, it's an easy task.

When you buy the current iPhone, iPad, or a new Mac, you're going to need an Apple ID. Your Apple ID is basically your ticket for all content in the Apple ecosystem, including services like Apple Music, Apple TV+, apps, and more. But maybe you need to have two Apple IDs, one for work and another for personal use. Or maybe you want to have a separate account for just content and downloads, while maintaining another for contacts and data. No matter what your reason may be, it's easy to switch between multiple Apple IDs on your devices.

This guide is for switching Apple IDs on your best iPhone or favorite iPad. If you are looking for how to change your Apple ID entirely, we have a separate guide for that as well.

What happens to the content when you switch Apple IDs

Depending on whether you keep content on your iPhone or iPad or erase it, some of your data will stay on your iPhone, even after you switch. For example, contacts, photos, and calendar events on your iPhone (and not only in iCloud) will remain. Apps, music, books, and podcast subscriptions will also stay on your iPhone, but updating them will be a problem if you're signed in to a different iTunes or App Store account than the one you purchased them on.

When signing in to a different Apple ID, you'll be able to merge the content on your iPhone with the iCloud data associated with the other Apple ID. So, if you signed out of a work Apple ID and want to keep your work contacts on the iPhone, save them to your iPhone and then merge them when you sign in to your personal Apple ID.

Step 1: Sign out of your current Apple ID

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap your Apple ID banner at the top of the screen.

3. Scroll to the bottom and tap Sign Out.

   

4. Tap Sign out of iCloud if you have different accounts for iCloud and the iTunes and App Stores. Otherwise, proceed to Step 5.
5. Enter the password associated with your Apple ID.
6. Tap Turn Off for Find My iPhone.
7. Turn on the category for any data you want to save locally on your iPhone. Remember, when you switch accounts, the data on your iPhone will merge with the new Apple ID data.
8. Tap Sign Out.

9. Tap Sign out again to confirm that you want to sign out.

   

Step 2: Sign in with a different Apple ID

Now you can sign in to your iPhone or iPad with a different Apple ID.

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.

2. Tap Sign in to your iPhone (or iPad).

   

3. Tap Email and enter the email address associated with the different Apple ID.
4. Enter the Password associated with the different Apple ID.

5. Tap Merge if you want to merge the data on your iPhone with the iCloud account associated with the different Apple ID. Tap Don't Merge if you don't want the content on the iPhone uploaded to iCloud in the different Apple ID's account.

   

Step 3: Add a second Apple ID

If you use multiple Apple IDs, such as having one for personal use and the other for work, then you'll be glad to know that you can actually use more than one Apple ID on your device for things like email, contacts, notes, and more. Here's how to add that:

1. Launch Settings.
2. Scroll down and select one of the following: Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Notes, or Reminders.

3. Tap Accounts.

   

4. Tap Add Account.
5. Select iCloud.
6. Type in your Apple ID email, then tap Next.
7. Type in your password, then tap Next.

8. After verifying your info, select the services that you want to turn on.

   

On another note, it's highly recommended that you enable two-factor authentication on your Apple ID for an extra layer of security, especially if you use multiple accounts.

Ah, the good ol' switcheroo

As you can see, switching Apple IDs on iPhone and iPad is pretty easy and straightforward. There are many reasons why you may need to manage two Apple ID accounts on all of your devices, and it's a quick process. We do highly recommend using 2FA if you do (actually, in general), just for that extra security. You never know these days!

Updated March 2022: This information is up-to-date with the latest versions of iOS 15.