How to renew your .Mac membership with a retail box activation key

This article shows you how to use the activation key included in a .Mac retail box to renew your .Mac membership. If you haven't already purchased a retail box, you can renew your .Mac account automatically through the Account page of .Mac—just click the Credit Card Info link, then select the Auto-Renew option in the resulting page. This ensures that your service will renew with no interruption.

To take full advantage of all the software and services available with .Mac, be sure that you activate your membership within nine months of purchasing the retail box.

To renew your .Mac membership:

1. Go to the .Mac Signup webpage (http://www.mac.com/activate).
2. Enter your activation key (it's printed on the front of your .Mac Quick Start card) in the corresponding field.
3. Select upgrade or renew your current account.
4. Enter your member name and password in the appropriate fields.
5. Click Continue.
6. If you want to have your .Mac membership renew automatically, enter your billing information, then click Continue.

   Tip: Entering your credit card information also allows you to easily purchase songs from the iTunes Store, books and prints through iPhoto, and software and accessories from the online Apple Store. Your credit card information is stored securely by Apple, and you can remove it at any time if you wish.

7. Print your account settings for future reference if you wish (or take a screen shot or save the document as a PDF), and then click Continue.
8. If you are activating a family pack membership, follow the onscreen instructions for setting up sub-accounts.

If you are renewing a traditional .Mac membership with a family pack membership, the new features and sub-accounts will not be available until after the renewal date of your current subscription. On the other hand, if you are renewing a family pack membership with a traditional .Mac activation key, all sub-accounts will expire at renewal time.