Deauthorize your iTunes Account on a Computer

iTunes music purchases can be freely shared among many computers. Older mp3 purchases, though, as well as movies and TV shows, are still protected by DRM and aren’t permitted for sharing among more than five “authorized” computers. If you have maxed out your authorizations, but need to move your content to a new computer, here’s how to deauthorize an older machine to free up one your authorizations.

Step 1
Boot up the computer you want to deauthorize. Once the machine is up and running, launch iTunes.

Step 2
From the navigation bar that runs across the top of the screen, select “Store.” A dropdown menu will appear. From the menu, click on the “Deauthorize This Computer” option.

Step 3
A dialogue box will open up asking you to type in your Apple ID and password. Once you enter your Apple ID, iTunes purchases made through that account will no longer play on the machine you are using. Type in your Apple ID and password to deauthorize the computer.

Step 4
On your new computer, follow the same basic steps, except select “Authorize This Computer” from the “Store” dropdown menu. Enter your Apple ID and password to give your new spare authorization to the new machine.

Recap
DRM protection is one of the more annoying things about using iTunes, but luckily, it’s fairly easy to authorize and deauthorize your computers.