How to remove device from your iTunes account

Remove device from your iTunes account

In a world of almost unlimited digital content such as music, texts, videos, and storage you need at a single tap. As bumping up against restrictions feels like being pulled over by the cops when you weren’t even speeding.

You can only associate 10 devices with your iTunes account is the Apple’s one of the silliest restrictions around that includes just five computers. This Draconian rule is a holdover from the early days of the iTunes Store. When Apple had to make accommodations to the rights owners to make sure you didn’t share an album or movie with all your friends.

We can only hope that the kings from Cupertino revises their policy soon. Here’s how to remove devices from your iTunes account when you hit the limit.

Remove a Computer

This is easy to remove a computer from your account as long as you still have access to the computer in question. On the computer you want to remove:

1. Open iTunes and tap “Store” in the menu.
2. Select “Deauthorize this computer.” You’ll need to enter your Apple ID and password.

Your only option is to deauthorize all computers if the computer died or you have given it away. You will have to re-authorize the computers you still use when you go this route. You can only use this nuclear option once a year. So it’s better to deauthorize individual machines when you can. Follow these steps to do that:

1. Open iTunes and tap your name. Select “Account Info” from the drop-down menu.
2. Sign in with your Apple ID and password.
3. The last item tells you how many computers are authorized for this account under Apple ID Summary. You’ll see the “Deauthorize All” button to the right of this.
4. Tap the button and confirm that you want to do this. You can authorize up to five machines again now.

Remove an iOS Device

You had to associate the device with your account first if you have enabled automatic downloads used Family Sharing, or a few other features on an iPhone, iPod, or iPad. You’ll need to remove some to add more if you reach the 10-device limit.

1. Open iTunes and tap your name. Select “Account Info” from the drop-down menu.
2. Sign in with your Apple ID and password.
3. The first item is “Manage Devices” under iTunes in the Cloud. Tap the link next to this.
4. You’ll see a list of devices associated with your account. The ones you haven’t used recently will have a “Remove” button that you can tap. The button won’t be clickable if you’ve used the device with this account within the past 30.

You might find a completely different list of devices to make the whole thing even more confusing and frustrating if you look on your iOS device’s iCloud settings. That’s because your iOS device is showing devices that are currently using your account. While the iTunes list shows devices that are authorized to access downloads, Family Sharing, and other features that require iTunes authentication.