A few months ago I moved from NZ to London. For a while I kept using my NZ account on iTunes and on my iPhone to buy apps, but eventually I needed to start using the UK app store.
The only info I could find on google was how to change your country in iTunes. That’s easy enough, using the country selector at the bottom of the screen. So now I can browse the UK iTunes store, and everything appears in £. But when I’d try and sign in to buy something, I’d get an error message “Your account is only valid for purchases in the NZ iStore” and I’d get redirected to the NZ iStore. I couldn’t find much help online, and was about to sign up for a whole new UK-based iTunes account with another email address, until I found this help page:
Changing your iTunes Store country:
Sign in to the account for the iTunes Store region you’d like to use. If already signed in to an account, from Settings, choose Store and then View Account.
Tap “Change Country of Region” and follow the on screen process of changing your region. Agree to the terms and conditions for the region if necessary, and then change your billing information.
Once that was done, I could see and use the UK iTunes on my Mac. But when I would surf the App Store on my iPhone I was still seeing the NZ app store. The fix is to just download any free app. Once it starts downloading it, it realises you’ve signed up to use a new country’s App Store and redirects you there. Or, on the iPhone go into Settings -> iTunes & App Stores -> Apple ID, and then Sign Out. When you Sign in again you’ll be redirected to the new country’s App Store.
A final tip: if you decide you don’t want to change your country and you need to buy US iTunes vouchers from overseas, TunesBud can hook you up.
Matt's work blog 
Hi Matt,
I tried this. But it is still not working.
I am trying to change my region to the US. Presently it has Jamaica. When I follow the instructions above, it asks me for a US credit card number which I do not have.
I am aware that sometimes there is an option to not leave any payment information. When I have put in my US address, it does not give me the option to not include a credit card number. Do you know how I can get around this and still change my region without having to submit a US credit card?
Cafefoxx
Hmm dunno. You could try putting in your Jamaican credit card number? But I think you probably need to have a US credit card number to access the US iStore.
Thank you Matt. Will try that and see what happens.
Cafefoxx
Any developments since? I’m just traveling this summer and would like to buy music on itunes…has this been worked out?
If you’re just travelling for a summer you can continue to use your home country’s itunes store and your existing credit card.
Apple ID does not have permission to access iTunes Connect.
Password
Why do i get this message. I am able to acess the Itunes from my ipad 2 not via a pc
thank you matt my mom was stressed trying to look were to change region
i have 10cents remaning in canadian $$ and am trying to chnage over to australian but it ownt let me until i use up my canadian store credit but i cant buy anything with 10cents and do not have a canadian credit card to help me out…? any ideas?
I have thE exact same problem
Same. Exact. Problem.
actually, they link the credit card with the postal code, so use your jamaican credit card, put “invent” a US adress and use a real postal code….
just tried and nope it does not work, it recognizes the origin of the credit card
Thanks Buddy, I was just about to give up myself. Thanks for the help
Hi Matt!
My country region is Philippines. And I got an apple ID freely. But when I wanted to change it to U.S because of this ‘Greyson chance app thingy, i couldn’t change it. It requires billing and payment, but I don’t have a credit card, what should I do? PLEASE REPLY, help me.
I changed my itunes and iphone to usa with cc info and addy…. however, when I try to update canadian apps that i had on the iphone, it wont let me. Any thoughts?
Would the NZ apps still update because you change your region, can you change back to your previous country if you decided to move back?
Cheers
as far as I know to access UK apps such as “O2 priority moments” for discounts etc. you will need to change origin of apps country to UK. I’m from NZ and was only the O2 shop who discovered this and was new to them as well. I’ve not done it yet as will lose all the apps I downloaded in NZ.
Hi Anne, Welcome to the UK. I saw your blog and recognised Papamoa’s beach instantly – my parents live at the Mount. I don’t understand your comment though. How do you change “origin of apps country”? And I’m pretty sure you don’t lose your NZ apps when you change your iTunes country – I didn’t, but that was 4 years ago.
The good think about changing between different countries is that you can even change to the US store. Some countries get ripped off in their own store (like Australia), for the SAME content. I can get stuff cheaper, or find things that I normally couldn’t get by buying a US iTunes code and buying direct from the US store. Bought mine from cardmummy.com, works great.
thank you very much :**
im from ireland but bought my phone in australia. i have done this and when the process is over it still says that country/region is australia??? iv tried resetting my phone but still nothing.. any ideas?
It is easy to fix and will only take a few clicks!
1) login to your itunes account on a computer.
2) scroll to the very bottom of the screen and you will see an icon of the country flag which you are currently registered to.
3) click to switch it to your new location.
4) once this is done, you can take you iPhone
5) go to settings and select the iTunes & App store menu
6) log out of your account and then log back in. This will refresh you new selected country.
I just did it now with the new IOS6 update and it works perfectly. I hope this helps!
Thank you Kemal, log out and log in to reset seems so simple but took me ages to work out!!!
Thank u kemal , i tried the above steps but still didnt work until i logged out and than on again
I just tried this fix, and it worked for me…..thanks Kemal
THANKS. YOUR SOLUTION WAS PERFECT!!
No request for a card is made on my iphone, just keeps telling me I’m in Japan account not US account. My laptop account for itunes indicates US as my country, but not my iphone. I don’t see any option or location to change it. ARGH!
The suggestion to download a free app after updating the payment info on itunes worked great for me…it immediately recognized that I wanted the Singapore store! Amazing that it did not do that when I wanted a paid app!! Thank you so much.
I also had a message appear on my iPhone 4 suggesting to switch to Ukrainian iTunes store from my U.S. iTunes store. (I am currently in Ukraine) I didn’t have a computer with iTunes with me to change the settings as it was suggested above. So I did as Kemal suggested starting with #5. I went into Settings on iPhone and then to iTunes and App Stores, then clicked on Apple ID and chose Sign out from the menu that appeared. When I signed back in, it told me that I had no Ukrainian iTunes store account and it switched me automatically to my U.S. iTunes account. Now I am able to update my apps and download the new ones as before. Hope it helps.
R u still using a Ukraine iTunes ?
It works :)
It works: thanks Kemal!!
I moved to Switzerland and at that time, only had a Hungarian credit card, so I registered that at itunes. There is LOADS of stuff not available in the Hungarian store so I decided to get a Swiss account. I went to the bank and the idiot issued me with some Master Card that is just not accepted at Itunes (and also, it seems, at the Playstation network). Turns out its called a “prepaid credit card” which Apple does not accept. Now here I am stuck with some useless bank card I don’t even need, and an utmost crappy Hungarian app selection (no thanks I do want to park in Budapest) – I am thinking is Apple really like back in 1998 or something? Whats up with the Paypal option at least?
I am wondering if I should try and get like another credit card (what if that dont work either, am I gonna be having like 3-4 contracts just to try my luck with Apple), or just sell all my apple stuff and never buy anything again…
I just dont get how they call themselves innovative and all that and cannot deal with people changing countries? It is 2012 for chrissake, people DO change countries, moreover, want to watch Jason Bourne in English even if they live in Ticino… what is the big deal about it?
End of rant.
asdf, should be quite easy to do. Use Swiss iTunes cards instead of a credit card. Go into the Swiss iTunes store and select Redeem Gift Token, it will then ask if you have an account already, answer no and set up a new one up using Swiss address. Keep using gift tokens and you’ll never have to enter a credit card. My own PC has music from UK, US and Japan which plays on my iPhone. When you first play music or apps bought from another store it will ask you to confirm your password once and then play afterwards.
My iPhone 4S I am using iTunes on. I live in Canada and wanted a song by Bob segar.. It said I must go to US store. So it automatically switched me. Then it said I cannot purchase this song because I am not On a US account. Now on my phones iTunes I have no settings option.. It says “music, search, top charts, downloads, more” and under more… It’s just ring tones and garbage. So now I am stuck on US iTunes and can’t ever download. So it will automatically switch u to US in a hurry because its promoting itself, then when I want to switch back, it’s the least user friendly thing possible. Thanks.
your information was very helpful!! many thanks from switzerland!
Thanks Matt it helped. I logged out and back in.
THANKYOU SO MUCH! This was so helpful and completely fixed my problem!!
it worked
Thanks!!!! it worked!!!!!
I’m from Myanmar. Account was created from Singapore. I would like to know how can I change iTunes store country to Singapore. Thanks.
Hi Matt,
thnx for the info,was driving me nuts.
thanks Matt so simple when you explained it…You rock ..Regards Macca Aus
It worked thanks ever so much xxx
I needed to change the countries frequently to check my apps, so I put together a little Web App with 1-click region switching for myself. Maybe it’s also helpful for you.
You can find it at http://appstoreswitch.com.
Thanks !!
I want to change the appstore country, I just realized that the only thing I need is re-login mw appleid..
Haha thanks
Thank you SO much. I had accidently switched to the Mexico store and couldn’t figure out how to switch back. My itunes still said United States but my phone still said I was signed in to the Mexico store. Once I read to sign out of my Apple ID on my phone then sign back in and download a free App, I was set. Thank you so much!
thank you. the answer is so simple but this has been a hassle for me for ages as I couldn’t install any updates. Thank you again.
This worked – thank you!
Thanx so much x
Thank you so much! I’ve been looking everywhere and asking everyone how to do it, this worked woo!
Thanks so much! It works and I appreciate the info!!
thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! I’ve spent the better part of a morning trying to switch countries. Logging out of my account on my iphone and logging back in is what triggered it to change back to my country of choice.
I need to change the country from my account but I still have 0,58 dollar on my account, how do I get it away?
thanks everyone for the info..
Thanks so much. I thought I’d have to go to apple or something but this worked. Thank you
Thank you sooooo much. I was stuck for days in another countries store. While I fixed it on my computer, the iphone was still buggered! Saved me so grief, thank you!!!
Thanks a ton !! Glad that I found your place as soon as I searched for this problem on Google !!
Worked for me, I’ve been trying to figure this out for a couple of weeks! THANKS!!
Hi Matt, thank you for the information. It help me a lot.
Hi Matt
Thanks so much for the advice about changing countries on your iTunes from US to NZ by easily just “logging out and then logging in again……….
It just takes a bit of common sense thats all!
Cheers and thanks
thank u kemal.. signing out n going back in helped!! thanx a ton. i had been wanting to do this for a long time now. finally got it. thanx!
Thank you so much for this, I switched to Germany earlier just to download a banking app, and got stuck!
Why things like this seem to assume that people never travel anywhere is beyond me!
when i am putting my payment details in my credit card the state it is reflecting is not in india i thing i need to change some setting but dont know where to change
Perfect. Super easy advice. One second later problem fixed! Thanks
Thx this helped a lot, but I really dont see why apple needs to separate the countries so much. I had to switch just to redeem a gift card-it’s such a pain!
I’m trying to download apps on my iPhone 4 and it keeps telling me to change it to Australia but I’m not sure how to change the setting on my phone can anyone help
Me pls?
I want to get Lion King 3 from the australian store, but it says I have to spend my credit first, but I need that credit for the movie. :/ Ay ideas?
I just want to install to my iphone 4s but the server said.., your phone is not swich in the philippines you must swich in the US,,,what can i do???
I’ve been stuck with this for ages! Thank you- it’s finally changed to the UK store!
Thanks Mr, Kemal
Life saver thank you!!!!
genius… thanks for the help
I have that problem on my iPad 2. I changed from the Canadian app store to the Newzeland store to check for an up that was not available in Canada. I did not find the app, so i changed everything back to Canada but when i try to download an app now, it still says i’m in the Newzeland store so i cant download any apps. Tried everything that’s been posted but still no luck. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks
thanks . information was handy
Other countries Itunes account fix. You need to buy an iTunes gift card from the country you wish to be able to access their iTunes. In my case the USA. Create a new Apple ID, go to iTunes and create a new account. Select “None” for Credit Card and enter the gift card serial number. You will probably find that the system recognizes you are not in the USA, so enter details fro the country you are located. Then change the location to USA, then enter payment details as I said above. Only problem is you need to find a way to top up a gift card or buy a new one. Fiddly but it works. Buona Fortuna !!
i got an ipad from work and wanted to buy from another country with enlgish as its language as ii dont want books in german… however, i cant deal with all this bollcks, totally unfriendly, marred user experience. apple sucks and so do its prosucts, they just try to chain you. f*ck you very much apple. you suck. android anytime!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’ve been pulling my hair out , trying to figure out how to switch from the U.S. Store to Mexico. I switched on my iPhone by signing out and then updating my info. Now my iPad is using the Mexican store too. Did I say thank you??
Hey Matt , I got an itunes gift card for the Canadian App Store so I switched from my USA App Store to the Canada appstore and put the code in. Now when I go to buy an app it says “your purchase can not be complete” and it says I need to make a purchase to switch back to the USA App Store but as you can see I can’t make any purchases any suggestions ?
Hi Matt, not very competent with my iPad yet. I signed up with iTunes in uk, then spent a few months in Ireland now in UK and I am unable to update iTunes can you suggestions please
i need ur help my dear friend . I m use to USA Iphone 4s and i live in india. . i want change my network so what i do…..
Hey Matt,
I have exactly the same situation you had. From NZ moved to the Uk. I followed all your steps but when i went o download a free app it still just pops up with this iTunes store is only valid for NZ store Purchases. any thoughts?
Hi Anna. Maybe try the last step I wrote in the post? “Or, on the iPhone go into Settings -> iTunes & App Stores -> Apple ID, and then Sign Out. When you Sign in again you’ll be redirected to the new country’s App Store.”
Thanks Matt, I tried that too but It says…. “This apple ID is only valid for purchases in the NewZealand iTunes Store. you will be switched to that store”
Hmm, how frustrating. Did you change your billing information to your UK address? If so, I’m not sure what the problem could be.
So frustrating! Tried changing my billing information but when I put in my card details it tells me its not valid for the UK which is weird as its a credit card that I assume would work in any country… even when I try change the country of residence on my mac it still won’t work, when I go to download an app it automatically resets its self to NZ then that store obviously can’t find any UK based apps.
HI All I am trying to change countries too. I followed the steps above to do this in itunes which was fine. When I change it on my phone it says
“You have store credit balance, you must spend your balance before you can change stores”
My balance is USD0-03 …? I no longer have US credit cards to increase my balance and am now in SA..? how do i get around this ?
Hi. I’m having trouble changing my iPhone iTunes from Australian store to UK store. I go into my Apple ID and select change region, enter new credit card details and new UK address but Apple won’t accept the new details. I have also tried a second UK credit card and it won’t accept that either. It won’t accept my Australian cards either.
Please help!
Taz
Hi bro I juz need ur help … My app ID was made based on US country region cuz there is no option for my country Myanmar in Country selection … Then now I can’t download anything from App store … They shows “app name” could not be downloaded at this time everytime :'( wht should I do?!
Hello, im just new here and i have a problem. I recieved itunes gift card that is US based and I live in the Philippines. When i try to redeem it says i must redeem in the US storefront. I cant change country and region because i dont have a credit card and i dont even have a US address. Should i just contact Apple?
Yes, I guess you could try to contact Apple. Good luck.
I have that problem on my iPad 2. I changed from the Canadian app store to the Newzeland store to check for an up that was not available in Canada. I did not find the app, so i changed everything back to Canada but when i try to download an app now, it still says i’m in the Newzeland store so i cant download any apps. Tried everything that’s been posted but still no luck. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks
Hi Matt,
I’ve found a easier way to switch the app store country with just a few clicks and created a PWA App for it.
(* just open the app on mobile Safari browser )
Here is the link to the app: https://applab.cloud/