Can you delete Settings app on iPhone?

DaveWT

Well-Known Member
I noticed my Apple Support app at one point was asking me to log in with an old Apple ID I no longer use. I actually got in touch with Apple Support and was told to delete that app, reinstall it (from the App Store) and then it will ask me to reregister, which cleared up this issue. The support person said to follow that procedure if I discover this in other apps. Now I notice that if I go into Settings on my iPhone, tap on my name at the top and then tap on "Payment & Shipping" it asks me to log in with that same old no longer used Apple ID. If I try to delete the Setting app it appears like it will let me (I get the "Remove App" choice, (which I have not yet done!) but I looked on the App Store and don't see that app being offered as a choice. Any thoughts on proceeding with this?
 

chas_m

Well-Known Member
You will be in a world of hurt if you delete that Settings app. I’m astonished Apple would even allow that. You can sign out of that old Apple ID account, but bear in mind what happens when you do that!

If you bought apps, subscriptions, or media under that old Apple ID, you won’t be able to upgrade/manage them anymore. The apps will continue to work, but the subscriptions and media will ask you to sign in to the old Apple ID with the old Apple ID password each time you want to use them.

If your other iCloud services, such as iCloud.com email, iCloud storage, Messages, etc are tied to that old Apple ID, you will lose access to those when you sign out.

While some people have legit reasons for having more than one Apple ID (one strictly for purchasing stuff from Apple for the whole family to use and one for you personally, for example), for most people the best approach is not to abandon your old Apple ID, but instead to change the email address it uses (Shaw users, pay attention!).

You can log into the old Apple ID at appleID.apple.com and easily change it to the email you now use (or your iCloud.com address if you prefer), UNLESS you’ve used your current email/iCloud email to create a new Apple ID of course.
 

DaveWT

Well-Known Member
Thanks for your detailed response, Chas. I wonder if clicking on "remove this app" would then throw up a roadblock if I actually tried to go through with trying to delete the Settings app.

At one time I had name@telus.net as my Apple ID and used that for app and music purchases. When I dumped Telus email a year before they could dump me, I went to appleid.apple.com and changed that Apple ID to a new non Telus account and I can continue to use my past app purchases and music. This has all been stable for a couple of years. But today when I went into Settings > my name > Payment & Shipping it asked me to log into my old Telus based Apple ID. Looks like another call to Apple Support is in order to see if they can offer a path to fixing this one.
 

chas_m

Well-Known Member
Generally speaking, I recommend that anyone on a local provider (Shaw, Telus, IslandNet, whatever) change their Apple ID to their iCloud.com address. You can create one easily if you don’t already have one, and if you do have to create one you only have to wait 30 days before you can change the email you are presently using for your Apple ID to the iCloud one. If you’ve had an @mac.com, @me.com, or @icloud.com email address for more than 30 days, you can change your Apple ID to use that email address right now at appleid.apple.com.

Of course, on the off chance you ever get locked out of your Apple ID, be sure to also supply Apple with an alternate email address (such as Gmail or Outlook or something, just NOT @shaw.ca) and/or a cell phone number that can receive text messages, NOT a “landline” home phone.

The reasons you should change your provider-based email to the worldwide Big Tech email provider of your choosing include but are not limited to: total freedom to change internet providers any time you like as often as you wish without disrupting email/messages/etc, works worldwide and on any internet-connected device, and — as Alan, Aitan, myself and others have been saying — whether you choose an Outlook.com address (free, private, secure), Gmail address (free, secure, but not private), or iCloud.com (free, private, secure), this will likely be the last time you ever have to change email addresses for the rest of your life.
 

chas_m

Well-Known Member
At one time I had name@telus.net as my Apple ID and used that for app and music purchases. When I dumped Telus email a year before they could dump me, I went to appleid.apple.com and changed that Apple ID to a new non Telus account and I can continue to use my past app purchases and music. This has all been stable for a couple of years. But today when I went into Settings > my name > Payment & Shipping it asked me to log into my old Telus based Apple ID. Looks like another call to Apple Support is in order to see if they can offer a path to fixing this one.

Your reply makes it unclear if you set up an entirely new AppleID, or just changed the email address of your old one. Given the issue with the payment, I’m guessing you did the former rather than the latter. If that’s correct, you’ll likely have to re-buy anything you purchased under the old Apple ID that you still want. To be clear, you can keep the apps you purchased under the old ID as long as they will work, but you can’t update them without signing in under the old Apple ID.
 

DaveWT

Well-Known Member
No it was the latter. I changed that Apple ID from the Telus one to the new one so the new one still lets me deal with all my apps and music purchases etc. My situation is far from ideal and I ended up with two Apple IDs which I now really regret. Initally I set up my Telus email address as the Apple ID I used for purchases of apps and music. First mistake, but this was back in the day with only one Mac, and not even an iPod yet. I had .me.com, mac.com and finally icloud.com at my disposal so later when I got an iPod Touch and much later an iPhone, I used my mac.com email address as my Apple ID for syncing devices. When Telus had the big server disaster and I couldn't use all my Telus email accounts for 3 months it was time to ditch Telus and then I went about changing the Telus based Apple ID to something else. But since my mac.com based Apple ID was already in use (and the me.com and icloud.com variants were really the same account) I could not change the Telus based Apple ID to the mac.com based Apple ID. So I changed it to an outlook.com based Apple ID.

Hopefully there is a lesson in all this for others to be very careful how you setup and use a single Apple ID rather than messing with multiple Apple IDs.

Dave
 

TimRichards

Well-Known Member
Chas, this thread has been of value as I ponder pulling all my old Shaw logins and changing them over to something else. I wonder if you could briefly explain what you mean with a couple of your explanatory comments?
One is, what is it with Gmail that is free, secure, but not private. Not private, sounds bad, what more precisely does that mean??
Two, does having and using an iCloud address going forward for decades until I die require ownership mac equipment of some kind specifically? Can my grandkids sit beside me in my last days while I rest and doze in my rocking chair, log into my icloud account with their arm implanted internet machine, and read me my mail from distant cousins doing the same from a rest home in outer Toronto??
 

chas_m

Well-Known Member
Chas, this thread has been of value as I ponder pulling all my old Shaw logins and changing them over to something else. I wonder if you could briefly explain what you mean with a couple of your explanatory comments?
One is, what is it with Gmail that is free, secure, but not private. Not private, sounds bad, what more precisely does that mean??
Two, does having and using an iCloud address going forward for decades until I die require ownership mac equipment of some kind specifically? Can my grandkids sit beside me in my last days while I rest and doze in my rocking chair, log into my icloud account with their arm implanted internet machine, and read me my mail from distant cousins doing the same from a rest home in outer Toronto??
1. Google makes money by scanning everything you do on their services (and beyond to whatever extent they can) to pick up data about you to target advertising and/or sell that data. Of course this means if you use Gmail, your emails are being scanned for that sort of data. This is literally their entire business model.

2. It will require an Apple ID, but beyond that it appears to work okay (now) with Windows machines using Outlook. But for best results, of course, you’ll want to use Apple products.
 

TimRichards

Well-Known Member
1. Google makes money by scanning everything you do on their services (and beyond to whatever extent they can) to pick up data about you to target advertising and/or sell that data. Of course this means if you use Gmail, your emails are being scanned for that sort of data. This is literally their entire business model.

2. It will require an Apple ID, but beyond that it appears to work okay (now) with Windows machines using Outlook. But for best results, of course, you’ll want to use Apple products.
Many thanks for this.
 
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