I'm enfuriated with Apple! Should I delete my Apple account?

[Issac Zachary]

So I don't use Apple that much. This is what I use my Apple account for:

 

1. An iPad mini I no longer use as it is so old it no longer and need to sell or recycle.
2. I really like watching movies on line in Spanish. The problem is there is no other service that offers so many moves in Spanish. Most are either in English (Amazon) or require a subscription (such as Disney or Netflix).
3. I've been kind of interested in Apple Music. After trying out free trial subscriptions to Spotify, Apple Music and Pandora I decided I prefer Apple Music. But I don't know that I listen to enough music to justify the cost.
4. I've also been kind of interested in an iPhone SE because of the length Apple updates their phones. But now Google and Samsung update their phones for about 5 years, so I'm not sure I really care. Plus the phones that have what's most interesting for me are Motorola and Nokia.

But it's the movie rentals that drive me crazy. Back before the pandemic iTunes worked fine for watching rented movies. But it's been a couple years I keep trying to watch movies on iTunes but just can't. I'm sick of it! I've tried, I've complained to Apple, I've asked for refunds and now I'm through! I've tried it on many different computers and it never works.

 

Anyhow, I'm so upset with this not working. Why is it that iTunes for Windows can not work for so long and Apple not do anything about it?

 

Sorry for venting. But I just feel like deleting my Apple account and making sure my money never goes to Apple again. But on the other hand I feel I might regret it some day. My email, which I only have one of, will never be able to be used for an Apple account ever again. Can someone just console me or yell at me or something please so I can think about this rationally!

[Raytsou]

Apple's marketing strategy is to create a walled garden ecosystem. As long as you exclusively use apple for your tech products, everything "just works". To discourage people from trying other things, apple generally makes the user experience absolute dog shit (sometimes intentional, but usually by just not putting any engineering resources there). The way they gain users is by partnering with schools to teach kids how to use apple products from a young age, and part of this partnership is that the schools get free ipads/MacBooks in exchange for not allowing the kids to be exposed to non-apple products. The downside of this is that it's extremely hard for people to get into this ecosystem if you're already used to non-apple devices. 

 

You have three options: fully commit to apple devices, never touch apple devices ever again, or just live with being frustrated all the time.

[Crunchy Dragon]

4 minutes ago, Raytsou said:

Apple's marketing strategy is to create a walled garden ecosystem. As long as you exclusively use apple for your tech products, everything "just works". To discourage people from trying other things, apple generally makes the user experience absolute dog shit (sometimes intentional, but usually by just not putting any engineering resources there). The way they gain users is by partnering with schools to teach kids how to use apple products from a young age, and part of this partnership is that the schools get free ipads/MacBooks in exchange for not allowing the kids to be exposed to non-apple products. The downside of this is that it's extremely hard for people to get into this ecosystem if you're already used to non-apple devices. 

 

You have three options: fully commit to apple devices, never touch apple devices ever again, or just live with being frustrated all the time.

For what it's worth, it is far easier to own an Apple computer and have nothing else within the Apple ecosystem than to have any Apple mobile device paired with a non-Apple system.

 

I have no issues integrating my MacBook Pro into my Android/Windows ecosystem, but if it were the other way around and I had to integrate an iPhone into my Windows ecosystem, I would probably be just as fed up as OP is.

 

Apple is also seen as a status symbol and fashion statement, which is another way they gain users.

[Kaine_ver.1.22474487139]

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/apple-tv/9mw0zwqfh0m2#activetab=pivot:overviewtab

 

Upgrade to the Apple TV app for Windows, Itunes is outdated.

[IkeaGnome]

47 minutes ago, Raytsou said:

You have three options: fully commit to apple devices, never touch apple devices ever again, or just live with being frustrated all the time.

Weird. I use an iPhone simply for FaceTime with my wife and an iPad since flight software just works best on it. I don’t use any other Apple devices and my computer surely isn’t a Mac, but I don’t know that I’ve ever been frustrated with any device simply for or not for being Apple. 

[johnt]

Dude the only reason Google and Samsung are committing to longer support periods is bc of the fruit company.

 

So your issue is that you are having problems renting movies on iTunes on Windows devices?

[Applefreak]

3 hours ago, Issac Zachary said:

So I don't use Apple that much. This is what I use my Apple account for:

 

1. An iPad mini I no longer use as it is so old it no longer and need to sell or recycle.
2. I really like watching movies on line in Spanish. The problem is there is no other service that offers so many moves in Spanish. Most are either in English (Amazon) or require a subscription (such as Disney or Netflix).
3. I've been kind of interested in Apple Music. After trying out free trial subscriptions to Spotify, Apple Music and Pandora I decided I prefer Apple Music. But I don't know that I listen to enough music to justify the cost.
4. I've also been kind of interested in an iPhone SE because of the length Apple updates their phones. But now Google and Samsung update their phones for about 5 years, so I'm not sure I really care. Plus the phones that have what's most interesting for me are Motorola and Nokia.

But it's the movie rentals that drive me crazy. Back before the pandemic iTunes worked fine for watching rented movies. But it's been a couple years I keep trying to watch movies on iTunes but just can't. I'm sick of it! I've tried, I've complained to Apple, I've asked for refunds and now I'm through! I've tried it on many different computers and it never works.

 

Anyhow, I'm so upset with this not working. Why is it that iTunes for Windows can not work for so long and Apple not do anything about it?

 

Sorry for venting. But I just feel like deleting my Apple account and making sure my money never goes to Apple again. But on the other hand I feel I might regret it some day. My email, which I only have one of, will never be able to be used for an Apple account ever again. Can someone just console me or yell at me or something please so I can think about this rationally!

Well at least there still is iTunes on windows. My 2022 M1 Macbook is unable to run iTunes, seems that program won't be supported on newer macs and OSes anymore, instead you need to use multiple apps now. I wouldn't straight up delete your account but I also wouldn't pay for a service I cannot use properly anymore. I like the smaller iPhones for size but the interface and overall experience is still way too user friendly for me. By that I mean it suggests too much and opts too many things on by default. While for someone who is new the smartphones in general, that is surely a good way of going about it but I prefer to do more than just that, not every day but every now and then and when I do I can't deal with the apple stuff, the 2FA login crap, the only online recovery through apple etc. On the other hand the seamless integration with other devices is surely a plus point and if you have an Apple Watch, it might be the only way of properly getting the full potential out of it. Soooo..... Well it depends on what you want your future to look like. Apple in other words is 90% pay as a service and will be more like that in the future. At least on windows you still have alternatives or at least be able to switch to linux without much hassle.

[mMontana]

@Applefreak your M1 MacBook would run nicely iTunes, if Apple took the bother to develop.

Apple does not want iTunes anymore, so iTunes get axed.

[HenrySalayne]

3 hours ago, Issac Zachary said:

So I don't use Apple that much. This is what I use my Apple account for:

 

1. An iPad mini I no longer use as it is so old it no longer and need to sell or recycle.
2. I really like watching movies on line in Spanish. The problem is there is no other service that offers so many moves in Spanish. Most are either in English (Amazon) or require a subscription (such as Disney or Netflix).
3. I've been kind of interested in Apple Music. After trying out free trial subscriptions to Spotify, Apple Music and Pandora I decided I prefer Apple Music. But I don't know that I listen to enough music to justify the cost.
4. I've also been kind of interested in an iPhone SE because of the length Apple updates their phones. But now Google and Samsung update their phones for about 5 years, so I'm not sure I really care. Plus the phones that have what's most interesting for me are Motorola and Nokia.

But it's the movie rentals that drive me crazy. Back before the pandemic iTunes worked fine for watching rented movies. But it's been a couple years I keep trying to watch movies on iTunes but just can't. I'm sick of it! I've tried, I've complained to Apple, I've asked for refunds and now I'm through! I've tried it on many different computers and it never works.

 

Anyhow, I'm so upset with this not working. Why is it that iTunes for Windows can not work for so long and Apple not do anything about it?

 

Sorry for venting. But I just feel like deleting my Apple account and making sure my money never goes to Apple again. But on the other hand I feel I might regret it some day. My email, which I only have one of, will never be able to be used for an Apple account ever again. Can someone just console me or yell at me or something please so I can think about this rationally!

Don't delete your Apple account!

You might need it more than you think. I've tried to sell a Macbook once - no Apple account, no fresh OS installation.

 

And don't get me started on PW resets that take 14 days unless you have a gazillion Apple devices you can verify the reset on.

[Thepyrodex]

4 hours ago, johnt said:

Dude the only reason Google and Samsung are committing to longer support periods is bc of the fruit company.

 

So your issue is that you are having problems renting movies on iTunes on Windows devices?

Yeah, my iPhone 11 still works amazing yet my wife has been through 2 android phones and we are beginning to look for a 3rd…

 

she’s had Samsung phones too.  

[johnt]

4 hours ago, Thepyrodex said:

Yeah, my iPhone 11 still works amazing yet my wife has been through 2 android phones and we are beginning to look for a 3rd…

 

she’s had Samsung phones too.  

I can't stand Samsung products. I don't understand how they are still in business. They make functioning products, but their business practices are so shady from my experience with their televisions and phones. Not to mention the horror stories about their appliances. 

 

Wives are hard on tech. My wife and I purchased the same iPhones and the same screen protectors on the same day. I installed both of them. Somehow she cracked her screen protector three times and is now on her fourth one! Poor Best Buy for offering a free replacement policy on this product  I am still on my original.

 

I've heard good things about the latest Google phones. I have no direct experience with them though.

[Erioch]

If you're really that mad, then delete it.  Why are you asking us for validation?

[johnt]

3 hours ago, Erioch said:

If you're really that mad, then delete it.  Why are you asking us for validation?

I think he was just venting. It's a little much for this issue. iTunes has always sucked according to the masses.

[Issac Zachary]

13 hours ago, Kaine_ver.1.22474487139 said:

Upgrade to the Apple TV app for Windows, Itunes is outdated.

Thanks! I am looking into that. I just downloaded the app. It does say that with the app downloaded iTunes will not work on the same computer, but that's ok.

 

12 hours ago, johnt said:

So your issue is that you are having problems renting movies on iTunes on Windows devices?

Affirmative.

 

10 hours ago, Applefreak said:

Well it depends on what you want your future to look like.

Thanks. I guess I'll just keep it or temporarily suspend it for the time being. I have no idea what my future will look like as I try not to be a fanboy of anything but look at all options when I need something. 

 

10 hours ago, HenrySalayne said:

Don't delete your Apple account!

You might need it more than you think. I've tried to sell a Macbook once - no Apple account, no fresh OS installation.

 

And don't get me started on PW resets that take 14 days unless you have a gazillion Apple devices you can verify the reset on.

You're right. I never know when I might need it. The problem is the temptation to try it again is frustrating when it's still not working months or years later.

 

Don't get me started on working on Apple products! I like helping family and friends with their tech stuff and doing anything to fix an Apple can be very difficult in comparison to anything x86.

 

3 hours ago, Erioch said:

If you're really that mad, then delete it.  Why are you asking us for validation?

Fine! I will delete it then!

 

12 minutes ago, johnt said:

I think he was just venting. It's a little much for this issue. iTunes has always sucked according to the masses.

Just kidding! Yes, I was just venting. But I did go to the page where I could delete my Apple account and worked through the whole thing until the last button and then held back and didn't do it. I guess I got anger issues.

 

But this isn't the first time I've had problems with Apple. I had to try three times just to make the account. It failed the first two times because for some reason I needed a phone number to setup the account, and it was supposed to send me a message or call me in order to verify that number. But after several attempts it never would send or call me anything, until the middle of the night when I'd get a ship load of messages with Apple verification numbers. I have no idea why that happened to me twice.

[Kisai]

14 hours ago, Issac Zachary said:

 

I've also been kind of interested in an iPhone SE because of the length Apple updates their phones. But now Google and Samsung update their phones for about 5 years, so I'm not sure I really care. Plus the phones that have what's most interesting for me are Motorola and Nokia.

 

Never buy a phone on the basis of "they (might) update it". Apple always updates their phones and iPad's until it's impractical to do so. Android devices just get updated for 18 months and then you're expected to toss it in the bin. The average smartphone is used for 2.5 years.

 

Some apple devices have been updated for 10 years, while others have been 4.

It just depends if you buy a device on the beginning or ending of a chip lifecycle. Just like a desktop. You can still use that 9 year old iPhone 6, or 8 year old iPhone 6S. iOS16 dropped support for the 6s/SE(1st)/7, even though iPad's with the same CPU support iPadOS16.

 

Where as Samsung... *shakes head*

 

This gives me the impression that they expressly support 4 years, and then make no attempt to support older devices.

 

What this means, is that Android phones have zero resale/reuse value. Once they no longer get updates, they get ZERO updates, you bin it.

 

This is why I'll never buy an Android device. Google itself, see the Google graveyard, has the propensity to change or drop features from Android, that Samsung and others then decide to arbitrarily drop support for. If you want to run Android 13 on an S10, well you're on your own, and that is too much hassle for an end user to try and get one or two more years out of it.

 

So the choice becomes clear, buy an iPhone at the right time, and use it for a decade. Buy it at the wrong time, and maybe it gets updates for 6 years and then you might hypermile it until it dies. Buy a Samsung? You get 4 years out of it if you buy it at full price on day one, or wait a year and buy it on discount but get one less year of use out of it. Once it's 4 years old, toss it in the trash. 

 

And yes, you can try to hypermile an Android device, but you will get blocked by the google play store the minute it's no longer supported. Good luck installing anything on the device after the phone expires.

 

Another way to frame this is, the older an Android device is, the more fiddly it becomes to use it for something other than a phone.

 

So while I won't advocate to stick with Apple, people often switch TO Apple because they get tired of the short-life of Android devices, or how utterly fiddly they are when they just want something that works. People rarely switch away from the Apple devices except when they can't afford to stay in it. 

[Issac Zachary]

44 minutes ago, Kisai said:

Never buy a phone on the basis of "they (might) update it". Apple always updates their phones and iPad's until it's impractical to do so. Android devices just get updated for 18 months and then you're expected to toss it in the bin.

With Samsung and Google promising 5 years of updates (although those may be only security updates) I don't think it's as bad as it used to be.

 

45 minutes ago, Kisai said:

So the choice becomes clear, buy an iPhone at the right time, and use it for a decade.

That's the appeal right there.

 

My first Android phone (second smartphone, first was Nokia Lumia 920) was an LG G3 with LineageOS after watching Linus' video on how to put LineageOS on a 5-year-old LG G3.

 

The phone I have now is my first brand new smartphone, a Google Pixel 4a (4G, not 5G). It works, but I miss things like FM radio.

[Kisai]

1 hour ago, Issac Zachary said:

With Samsung and Google promising 5 years of updates (although those may be only security updates) I don't think it's as bad as it used to be.

And it took them routinely being compared to Apple to get that far. If Apple was not in the market, you'd be throwing phones out every year, which was what we were all doing prior to the iPhone. But also, barely any phones cost more than $300, with the most expensive at that time in 2005 being $450 (Nokia 9300i.) Now they cost nearly $1600 for a flagship phone.

 

Because of the 2-year contract scams the carriers all pull, for a long period of time, people didn't value a cell phone's true cost. So you'd have carriers giving away free phones but the fine print was you had to sign a 2 or 3 year contract, and the ETF didn't even recover the price of the phone. Today, we've largely seen a move to a financing model, where even if you cancel the service, you are still paying off the phone.

 

1 hour ago, Issac Zachary said:

That's the appeal right there.

 

My first Android phone (second smartphone, first was Nokia Lumia 920) was an LG G3 with LineageOS after watching Linus' video on how to put LineageOS on a 5-year-old LG G3.

 

The phone I have now is my first brand new smartphone, a Google Pixel 4a (4G, not 5G). It works, but I miss things like FM radio.

 

I will not fault someone for buying what they can afford/justify. I just find it hard to justify an Android phone as someone who hypermiles phones until the network changes. I went from junky single-band Motorola phone to a pre-owned Nokia off ebay, to another ebay'd phone Nokia 6200 (2003), to a N95 ( in 2006 which was the first new phone) and then I held onto that until the iphone 6S in 2015) Which then died (refused to charge) and got replaced with the XS, which was the newest model at the time in 2017.

 

My only bad luck phone was the 6S, and I blame the combination of iOS 12 update and lightning connector, because it stopped charging after that update. Despite that, I gave Apple another try. I do not intend to replace it until Apple releases a USB-C iPhone and mmWave 5G is available. Not that I expect it to be available, but I prefer phones to last as long as possible, which was how the N95 lasted as long as possible as UMTS (3.5g) was new at the time, and the 6S was with LTE (and skipped the bendgate 6.)

 

[Dedayog]

19 hours ago, Issac Zachary said:

So I don't use Apple that much. This is what I use my Apple account for:

 

1. An iPad mini I no longer use as it is so old it no longer and need to sell or recycle.
2. I really like watching movies on line in Spanish. The problem is there is no other service that offers so many moves in Spanish. Most are either in English (Amazon) or require a subscription (such as Disney or Netflix).
3. I've been kind of interested in Apple Music. After trying out free trial subscriptions to Spotify, Apple Music and Pandora I decided I prefer Apple Music. But I don't know that I listen to enough music to justify the cost.
4. I've also been kind of interested in an iPhone SE because of the length Apple updates their phones. But now Google and Samsung update their phones for about 5 years, so I'm not sure I really care. Plus the phones that have what's most interesting for me are Motorola and Nokia.

But it's the movie rentals that drive me crazy. Back before the pandemic iTunes worked fine for watching rented movies. But it's been a couple years I keep trying to watch movies on iTunes but just can't. I'm sick of it! I've tried, I've complained to Apple, I've asked for refunds and now I'm through! I've tried it on many different computers and it never works.

 

Anyhow, I'm so upset with this not working. Why is it that iTunes for Windows can not work for so long and Apple not do anything about it?

 

Sorry for venting. But I just feel like deleting my Apple account and making sure my money never goes to Apple again. But on the other hand I feel I might regret it some day. My email, which I only have one of, will never be able to be used for an Apple account ever again. Can someone just console me or yell at me or something please so I can think about this rationally!

Why do you need our input in your simple life decisions?

 

Cancel it if you want.  Don't if you don't.

 

You basically answered yourself anyway.

 

Glad to help!  Anytime!

 

[Dedayog]

5 hours ago, Kisai said:

 

Never buy a phone on the basis of "they (might) update it". Apple always updates their phones and iPad's until it's impractical to do so. Android devices just get updated for 18 months and then you're expected to toss it in the bin. The average smartphone is used for 2.5 years.

 

Some apple devices have been updated for 10 years, while others have been 4.

It just depends if you buy a device on the beginning or ending of a chip lifecycle. Just like a desktop. You can still use that 9 year old iPhone 6, or 8 year old iPhone 6S. iOS16 dropped support for the 6s/SE(1st)/7, even though iPad's with the same CPU support iPadOS16.

 

Where as Samsung... *shakes head*

 

This gives me the impression that they expressly support 4 years, and then make no attempt to support older devices.

 

What this means, is that Android phones have zero resale/reuse value. Once they no longer get updates, they get ZERO updates, you bin it.

 

This is why I'll never buy an Android device. Google itself, see the Google graveyard, has the propensity to change or drop features from Android, that Samsung and others then decide to arbitrarily drop support for. If you want to run Android 13 on an S10, well you're on your own, and that is too much hassle for an end user to try and get one or two more years out of it.

 

So the choice becomes clear, buy an iPhone at the right time, and use it for a decade. Buy it at the wrong time, and maybe it gets updates for 6 years and then you might hypermile it until it dies. Buy a Samsung? You get 4 years out of it if you buy it at full price on day one, or wait a year and buy it on discount but get one less year of use out of it. Once it's 4 years old, toss it in the trash. 

 

And yes, you can try to hypermile an Android device, but you will get blocked by the google play store the minute it's no longer supported. Good luck installing anything on the device after the phone expires.

 

Another way to frame this is, the older an Android device is, the more fiddly it becomes to use it for something other than a phone.

 

So while I won't advocate to stick with Apple, people often switch TO Apple because they get tired of the short-life of Android devices, or how utterly fiddly they are when they just want something that works. People rarely switch away from the Apple devices except when they can't afford to stay in it. 

Apple does 4 years, the major Android folks do 4 years.

 

But you have a pretty table with your BS, so you win I guess

 

 

[Kisai]

5 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

Apple does 4 years, the major Android folks do 4 years.

 

But you have a pretty table with your BS, so you win I guess

 

 

It's literately there in release notes of iOS. Every single phone since the 6S supports 7 OS updates. Meanwhile Android? 2.

[Issac Zachary]

7 hours ago, Kisai said:

I just find it hard to justify an Android phone as someone who hypermiles phones until the network changes.

Yes, I prefer to make things last as long as possible. I finally pulled the trigger and got a new PC after nearly 12 years with a second gen Intel and hope to keep my current computer as long as possible. I hope my car lasts forever, even though there are things I dislike about it. I won't go get any smarphone until this one is in great need of being replaced. And I take good care of my phone, I've never cracked the screen or anything.

 

What does turn me away a bit from the iPhone is no headphones and no FM radio. Of course my current phone doesn't have FM radio. I was also concerned that the App Store didn't carry a couple of my apps, but I just checked and it does or at least carries a suitable alternative, albeit I'd have to purchase them all over again.

 

One thing that I did find out is some of my apps (for research and audiobooks) are banned in Russia right now... because... Russia is at war with the west I guess. Still, it got me thinking, if wherever I am, I or my apps get somehow banned for political or war reasons I think it would be better to have something I could sideload apps onto. iPhone doesn't allow that freedom. But then again, what are the chances of that happening in the USA?

 

4 hours ago, Dedayog said:

Why do you need our input in your simple life decisions?

If we don't need input on simple life decisions involving choices in tech why have a tech forum? AMD or Intel? Nvidia or AMD or Intel Arc? Arm or Risc or x86? Windows or Linux? Cloud or local storage?

 

4 hours ago, Kisai said:

It's literately there in release notes of iOS. Every single phone since the 6S supports 7 OS updates. Meanwhile Android? 2.

Samsung and Oneplus now pledge 4 years of OS updates and 5 for security updates on certain phones.

Google I believe is 3 years of OS updates and 5 for security.

 

I don't really care about OS or feature updates that much as they rarely bring anything interesting to me and sometimes get rid of things I like. But the more updates the longer the phone can potentially last before my apps start not working. I'm kind of on the fence as to whether I need to have a phone with security updates. It's nice to have a phone that has some protection against viruses and such, but how often does an old phone get infected and some hacker gets all your bank account information or such especially when I hardly use the internet or email and such on my phone?

 

[Mrtoyou]

Take a look at Youtube Music. 

[Issac Zachary]

3 minutes ago, Mrtoyou said:

Take a look at Youtube Music. 

I should. But as you can see I hold grudges, and I was upset when Play Music was taken down. I'm still upset with Google not ever making a YouTube app for Windows Phone. I've even uninstalled YouTube and YouTube Music (without even trying to open it) from my Google Pixel 4a.

[natie]

"Company X is so terrible and bad!! Reeee!"... uses an outdated application that hasn't been used in years. This sums up most people who blindly hate Apple, I still don't understand it. There is this wealth of knowledge called the internet and people still choose to ignore things to fuel their weird agendas. Most of the time I see people dunking on companies they don't like; they usually point out outdated information or fake nonsense they heard from grandma on facebook. Even the tech literate people.

[Issac Zachary]

3 hours ago, natie said:

"Company X is so terrible and bad!! Reeee!"... uses an outdated application that hasn't been used in years. This sums up most people who blindly hate Apple, I still don't understand it. There is this wealth of knowledge called the internet and people still choose to ignore things to fuel their weird agendas. Most of the time I see people dunking on companies they don't like; they usually point out outdated information or fake nonsense they heard from grandma on facebook. Even the tech literate people.

Using an outdated application or not doesn't solve the problem.

 

Problem: I can rent a movies from Apple just find but then I can't watch them.

 

Problem: I pay money, then can't use the product I paid for.

 

Any suggestions? Or are you an Apple representitive that will come back with something like, "Oh, just sell your PC and buy a Mac, problem solved!"