How to Delete Apple ID from my iPhone or iPad

Let's start with what exactly Apple ID is. It's the email address you use to enter the App Store as well as multiple other Apple services. You usually only need to log in with your Apple ID at the beginning, usually when you're setting it up and from that point iOS will automatically remember it for you whenever you go to the App store to download an app or when you use another service that requires Apple ID. Keep in mind that while iOS will remember your Apple ID you will have to enter your password yourself, so don't forget it.

However, there are cases when iOS gets mixed-up and asks for the password for the wrong Apple ID. This happens often to people who buy used iPhones because they usually still have the previous user's Apple ID stored in their memory. Whatever the case is, you need to remove the other Apple ID from your iPhone so that you can use your own instead. Read on if you want to learn how to remove an old Apple ID from your iPhone.

The most common cause of this issue is when somebody else uses your iPhone or iPad and enters their own Apple ID to use a certain service. They might forget to remove it or they simply don't know how to do so and the next time you enter the Apple App Store it will try to log in with your friend's Apple ID.

How to remove an external Apple ID from your iPhone?

Deleting the other Apple ID from the App Store and reinstating your own instead is not hard at all. All you have to do is follow these 4 easy steps:

  1. Enter the App Store app.
  2. Press on the circular avatar at the upper right-hand side. The avatar is usually the Apple ID owner's picture.
  3. Tap the "Sign Out" button at the bottom.
  4. Now type your own Apple ID and password and press "Done".

Your Apple ID and your password should be back to being the default again. The App Store will ask you for your password whenever you need to install updates to your apps. Keep in mind that if the other Apple ID installed apps on your phone they will not be deleted along with their ID. This can be problematic because iOS will remember that these apps were installed by another account instead of yours and if an update becomes available for those apps, you will be asked to enter the other Apple ID account's password to be able to download and install it.

Fortunately, you can opt to manage without the update since many updates to apps are not critical and sometimes they're pretty superficial. Your other options are to delete the app or to get your friend's password, though they are probably reluctant to give it away freely like that.

How do I remove Apple ID from iCloud or Find My Friends?

The previous steps were relatively simple, however, removing Apple ID from iCloud and Find My Friends is more difficult. In these cases, Apple wants the Apple ID password before it will erase the foreign account. It's annoying but completely understandable since it's a security feature intended to make selling stolen iPhones more difficult for the thieves. So how do you remove it? Well, there are a few things you can try here.

The first and most obvious is that you try contacting the person who owns the ID if you know them. Assuming that you do and that they give you their password, then you can follow this guide to remove their Apple ID account from iCloud and Find My Friends.

  1. First, open the Settings app.
  2. Press on the top entry of the app where your name and picture are displayed or on iCloud if you're using an older version of iOS.
  3. Then scroll down and select "Sign Out". Tap "Delete from My iPhone" if need be.
  4. Type the password of the person's Apple ID when prompted.
  5. Choose if you want to keep copies of your iCloud data for Calendars, Contacts, Reminders, and Safari.
  6. Hit "Sign Out" or "Turn Off", depending on your iOS version.

Once you have successfully signed out of the other person's Apple ID you can tap Sign In and log in with your own Apple ID and password to use on the device from now on.

What should I do if I do not know the other person’s Apple ID password?

That's very unfortunate because while there is a way to delete an Apple ID from an iPhone or iPod without knowing the password it's very hard and it might even be dangerous, so don't do this unless you have run out of options.

Here's what you need to do: First you must turn off the Apple device in question and then plug it into a Mac or Windows computer which has iTunes installed on it while holding down the Home button. Oh, and iTunes needs to be open during this process. You have to hold down the Home button until the iTunes logo and cable graphic are displayed on your iPad or iPhone. If you see it then you should be able to use iTunes on the Mac or PC to reset the device.

Why is this potentially dangerous? Because there is a small but very real chance that an error may occur during the procedure. If that happens your phone will get stuck in recovery mode so be very careful if you attempt this process.

February 20, 2019
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