You’re setting up your new iPad or you’ve restored from a backup, and all of a sudden your iPad begins asking for passwords for other people’s Apple Accounts. You don’t even know who these Apple Accounts belong to, so why are they showing up on your iPad? In this article, I’ll explain why other people’s Apple Accounts are showing up on your iPad and explain how to stop your iPad from asking for the wrong Apple Account.
Why Is My iPad Asking For Passwords For Apple Accounts I Don’t Recognize?
Your iPad will ask for the wrong Apple Account and password when there are apps, songs, movies, TV shows, or books that were purchased with someone else’s Apple Account. Your iPad is asking for their Apple Account and password as part of the Apple authorization process.
In other words, there are purchased items on your iPad that are linked to that person’s Apple Account, and your iPad won’t let you access them without permission from the person who originally purchased them.
How Do I Know Which Apps, Music, Movies, TV Shows, and Books Have Been Purchased With Someone Else’s Apple Account?
Unfortunately, there’s no easy way to list which items are linked to which Apple Accounts. The rule of thumb is that if an app won’t download or a song, movie, or TV show won’t play, it’s most likely linked to another Apple Account. You’ll need to get that person’s password to be able to download it.
How To Stop Your iPad From Asking For The Wrong Apple Account
If you’ve just restored your iPad and you’re being prompted for Apple Account passwords that belong to people you don’t know, it’s often easier to set up your iPad as new instead of going through and trying to weed out every purchase that wasn’t made with your Apple Account. It might seem a bit drastic, but starting fresh might save a serious headache.
To set up your iPad as new, head to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPad and choose ‘Erase All Content and Settings’.
After your iPad reboots, choose to set up your iPad as new instead of restoring from an iCloud backup. From then on, make sure that you use your personal Apple Account for all purchases.
How To Share Your Apps, Music, Movies, TV Shows, and Books
With the release of iOS 8, Apple introduced a new feature called Family Sharing that allows up to 6 people to share apps, music, movies, TV shows, and books. Apple has created a section about Family Sharing on their website, and their article called "How to set up Family Sharing on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac" is a great place to start.
Thanks so much for reading and I look forward to hearing your questions and comments below. I’ll do my best to help you out along the way.
All the best,
See also: How to reset an iPad to factory settings
