Why do I get the "Device Already Associated With an Apple Account" Popup on my iPad?

You can read what Apple says about it, here:

From: View and remove your devices that are associated with your Apple Account for purchases - Apple Support

"When you try to associate a device that was previously associated, you might notice a message that says, ‘This device is associated with another Apple Account. You cannot associate this device with another Apple Account for [number] days.’ You might need to wait up to 90 days to associate the device with a different Apple Account."

Somehow another account was used to download something (an app or media) on that iPad in the last 90 days. You are welcome to contact Apple about this but it would not surprise me if they just tell you the same thing. :-)

Refer to this page for Apple Support features ➔ Contact - Official Apple Support

Select from the presented options until you find a solution for your issue, or see if there is a chat or phone call contact method offered lower on the page (you sometimes have to narrow down the options multiple times before this is shown). If you do not see your issue, keep experimenting with any series of selections until you reach one that offers a chat session or a telephone call and get the representative to redirect you.

This support article has various country telephone numbers for contacting Apple for support and service ➔ Contact Apple for support and service - Apple Support For some countries look under “Other” listing at the end of each region. Not every country has telephone support.

An iPad is a single-user device. So as to inhibit AppleID Account abuse, if you sign-out from your AppleID and sign-in with another account, you cannot switch back to the previous AppleID for 90-days.

In such circumstances, you may see the warning illustrated in your screenshot. Downloaded Apps are permanently tied to the AppleID that was used to purchase and download them to the device; Apps can only be updated if the AppleID matches the current AppleID used to sign-in to the Apple App Store.

I feel your pain. If you look for more conversations around this topic (just search the whole error message) you will find many of us began having this problem when we updated to 18.1. None of the criteria apply, including all the reasons listed in this thread. It is definitely a bug, but one that Apple refuses to acknowledge (I can't tell you how many customer service agents and "Tech" experts I've spoken with, all with useless suggestions, like "remove your devices from your account" or "update all your apps manually and it will go away". I get this message 10-15 times per day on my phone, nothing on my macbook air. We just have to wait until Apple fixes it - hopefully in 18.3 or 19 or whatever. Sorry, I know it's really frustrating.

How can I resolve Apple Account associati… - Apple Community

In addition to what LotusPilot has already stated, if you purchased the iPad or it was given to you by someone, it could also mean that the person/people, did not adequately remove their Apple ID from any association with the iPad, so the iPad is giving you the warning. If you changed your Apple ID, and are signing into your iPad with it, and making any changes to its downloading capabilities, you get the warning.

Good luck to you.

You’re not addressing Apple in the communities. This is a public discussion forum for users to connect with other users to share their knowledge and experience. Apple moderates the communities only for T&C violations and will never see your comments.

I would continue to pursue your conversations with Tier 2 support. You already have a case number and if you hit a wall, ask for your case to be reviewed by a senior advisor.

I do have two Apple IDs which was a weird mistake from years ago. My iPhone is signed into one Apple ID but I use the other one sometimes too, I just don’t switch the main one if that makes sense. I just use the second one for another iCloud email. I no longer have access to the original iCloud account email because it was associated with the school email at a school that I no longer attend so they booted me from the email service. Regardless, I had issues with billing out of nowhere, and it stopped purchasing extra storage, When that happened. I stopped receiving emails on the email that actually works, but I haven’t been able to fix it and I’m getting this error message every other day. I click transfer or I click ignore it doesn’t matter what I do. Nothing changes it. I just updated to the latest version so I hope that helps but I doubt it I wish Apple was just admit that it’s a mistake on their end and fix it. I’ve never had one single issue with having these two Apple IDs in the 11 years. I’ve been dealing with iPhone, now all of a sudden it’s an issue?

[Edited by Moderator]

Been having the same problem since Nov 2024. Spoken to Apple support four times, been to the Genius Bar and am now working with a tier two tech. We have had numerous phone conversations and have tried everything including a factory reset. I bought this IPad new and haven’t had a problem for two years. Seems odd that it occurred after the Apple update and it DOESN'T go away after waiting 90 days. WHAT’S UP APPLE??

Nothing. I usually click cancel. The pop-up goes away and comes back a few minutes or hours later. I’ve tried clicking transfer, same thing. I’ve checked in my settings and I have no other Apple accounts linked to this iPad.

Thank you. This is driving me batty. I suspect that it is a bug that Apple is finally aware of, but has not been able to fix. It affects a relative small number of users, so it is a very low priority for their engineers. Those folks are busy fighting off Russian cyberattacks or some ****.

Hopefully, when the engineers have a few minutes to sit back and relax with their organic non-dairy chai infused beet root tea, they’ll bang out a few lines of code and help us out. I’m guessing it will come in 18.7.2, but who knows, I don’t have a Chrystal ball.

Wet Baloney, same for me

Thanks for responding and for your suggestion Jeff but WHAT’S UP APPLE?? was meant as a rhetorical question.

I just got a refurbed iPad from Apple and am getting this popup repeatedly. Did anyone find a solution?