Can i change my apple id on my ipad without losing everything

If you have an iPhone, or any other Apple device for that matter, then you'll be using an Apple ID to manage iCloud, your apps, Music, TV shows, and more. But sometimes it can be handy to have more than one Apple ID, especially in the case of using your phone or tablet for both work and personal use. Here is a handy guide to quickly switching Apple ID on an iPhone or iPad. 

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 when you switch Apple IDs

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

When signing in to a different Apple ID, you'll be able to merge the content on your devices 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, save them to your iPhone and then merge them when you sign in to your personal Apple ID.

How to 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.

1. Tap Sign out of iCloud if you have different accounts for iCloud, iTunes, and App Store. Otherwise, proceed to Step 5.
2. Enter the password associated with your Apple ID.
3. Tap Turn Off for Find My iPhone.
4. Tap to turn on the category for any data you want to save locally on your iPhone. Remember, when you switch accounts, the information on your iPhone will merge with the new Apple ID data.
5. Tap Sign Out.
6. Tap Sign Out again to confirm that you want to sign out.

How to sign in with a different Apple ID

After signing out of your current Apple ID, 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).

1. Tap Email and enter the email address associated with the different Apple ID.
2. Enter the Password associated with the different Apple ID.
3. 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 a different Apple ID account.

How to add a second Apple ID

If you use multiple Apple IDs, such as having one for personal use and the other for work, you'll be glad to know that you can 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 tap one of the following: Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Notes, or Reminders.
3. Tap Accounts.

1. Tap Add Account.
2. Tap iCloud.
3. Type in your Apple ID email, then tap Next.
4. Type in your password, then tap Next.
5. After verifying your info, tap 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, primarily if you use multiple accounts.

Switch Apple ID on iPhone to change things up or start fresh

As you can see, switching Apple IDs on iPhone and iPad is pretty 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 highly recommend using 2FA if you do just for that extra security. You never know these days!

Updated August 2022: Updated for iOS 15 and iOS 16 beta.

Christine Romero-Chan was formerly a Senior Editor for iMore. She has been writing about technology, specifically Apple, for over a decade at a variety of websites. She is currently part of the Digital Trends team, and has been using Apple’s smartphone since the original iPhone back in 2007. While her main speciality is the iPhone, she also covers Apple Watch, iPad, and Mac when needed.

When she isn’t writing about Apple, Christine can often be found at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, as she is a passholder and obsessed with all things Disney, especially Star Wars. Christine also enjoys coffee, food, photography, mechanical keyboards, and spending as much time with her new daughter as possible.