US App Store region changes and app updates

The verdict: switching regions is an account migration

The US App Store isn't a "language toggle": it follows the "country/region" of Media & Purchases in your Apple Account, and has nothing to do with iCloud storage or the device language.
Before switching you have to clear five things: account balance, blocking subscriptions, pending activity, Family Sharing membership, and a payment method for the new region.
Apple's documentation doesn't write frequency limits like "how often you can change it"; whether you can change it depends on whether the prerequisites are cleared.
After the switch, "updates ask for a password" is ownership verification, not an account problem — that's a separate matter, covered below.
account-level operations and payment prep; it offers no network-spoofing schemes. Rules about regional availability and content licensing don't live at the card or account layer.

One line answering the title: switching regions is an account migration; updates are an ownership question. Mixed together, you get confusion like "I switched to the US region, so why can't I update yet".

The five things to clear before switching

The official documentation lists the prerequisites clearly; map each one to "why you're stuck":

Item	Official requirement	Why it sticks	What to do
Account balance	Spend the account balance down	Balances don't carry across regions; with a balance left you can't change it	Spend it in the App Store or other Apple services; if the balance is below the price of a single item, contact Apple to zero it
Blocking subscriptions	Cancel and wait for the subscription period to end	An active subscription blocks the change	Change after the end date; don't expect "cancel now, gone now"
Pending activity	Wait for memberships, preorders, movie rentals, season passes to end, and pending refunds to complete	Open items block the change	Preorders can be cancelled on your own; refunds can only be waited out
Family Sharing	Members may not be able to change it themselves	The family group ties the region to the organizer's side	Leave the group or be removed; note you also lose access to shared content
Payment method	Have a payment method available in the new region	The new region needs payment info and a billing address	Have a card for the new region plus a matching billing address; or, as the official suggestion goes, create a new account once you're physically in the region

Of the five, "balance" and "pending refunds" are the easiest to underestimate — if these aren't cleared, the interface usually gives one generic failure message without telling you which item is blocking.

Apple also offers an alternative path: if you don't want to fill in a payment method, you can wait until you're physically in the new region and create a new Apple Account. That's much steadier than half-making-up a billing address that isn't yours, and holds up better under later checks.

Three ways to make the change

Device, desktop and web can all do it; they change the same setting:

iPhone / iPad: change it in Settings

Settings → tap your name → Media & Purchases → View Account → Country/Region → choose the new region → agree to the terms → fill in the payment method and billing address.

Mac / Windows: change it in Account Settings

Open the Apple Music or Apple TV app → Account → Account Settings (on Windows, tap your name at the bottom of the sidebar → View My Account) → Change Country or Region.

Web: account.apple.com

Sign in, go to Personal Information → Country or Region, follow the on-screen prompts; a payment method for the new region may also be required.

All three entries change the same setting — changing it in one place is enough; don't do all three, which only makes the state harder to read.

After the switch: why updates ask for a password

This is the most common confusion after switching. The answer isn't complicated: an app is tied to the account that originally bought it, and also to the store it was bought in. Changing your account's region to the US doesn't move the ownership of the apps you downloaded from the CN store along with it. So being asked to verify the original account on an update is ownership verification — not something wrong with your account.

Option 1

Update with the original account

The least hassle: switch back to the original account, finish the update, then switch back.

Cost: switching every time
Fits people who only update occasionally

Option 2

Delete and reinstall

Re-download with the current account; the cost is redoing local data and save files.

Free apps usually reinstall directly
Paid apps need to be bought again

Option 3

Run two accounts long-term

Downloads and subscriptions go to the foreign-region account; everyday backups and photos stay on the main account.

Configure once, little hassle long-term
Cost: one more layer of account management

The "password settings" in system settings can set free items to "Never Require" — paid items and this kind of ownership verification aren't in the closable scope; trying to switch a setting to silence the update prompt is mostly wasted effort.

Three things you'll definitely hit after switching

Item	What it looks like	What to do
Subscriptions must be re-subscribed	Existing subscriptions don't cross regions; they can't renew in the new region after they lapse	Re-subscribe in the new region; the price is calculated in the new region
Content availability differs	Some app categories, movies and books aren't offered in the new region	Apple suggests confirming in the new store first; purchased content should be re-downloaded onto the devices you'll actually use
iCloud+ linkage	After the billing address and payment method update, the plan is priced in the new region	Apple's text says iCloud+ can be upgraded at new-region pricing; downgrading or cancelling affects storage

None of the three is a malfunction; they're the normal results of an account region change — knowing ahead of time keeps "my subscription is gone" from looking like an incident.

The payment method: align the card and the address

Entering a payment method for the new region when switching actually aligns your "account region" and "payment info" to the same country. This step is adjacent to but different from binding-failure troubleshooting:

A payment method available in the new region: a US account usually takes a card on a US BIN, paired with a US billing address;
Four-way alignment: Apple Account region, card issuing country, billing address, and where you're operating from — the full troubleshooting is in Ten virtual card decline reasons and troubleshooting checks;
What this site can do: open a US-BIN card with a matching US billing address to align your payment info to the subscription region; card types and openable regions are in the product overview, and fee terms are on the fee schedule page.

account-level operations and payment prep, and is not advice to circumvent any platform rules or regional restrictions; please comply with the terms of the services you use and the laws of the applicable regions.

When you shouldn't switch

Just to watch one show or get one app: content licensing is drawn by region, and changing your account region doesn't change the licensing rules — wasted effort;
Your main account has a balance, active subscriptions, or is still in a Family Sharing group: the migration cost far outweighs the benefit;
You need long-term stable use: first consider the split of "a foreign-region account only for downloads and subscriptions, the main account untouched" — steadier than switching back and forth.

Frequently asked questions

After switching, will the apps in the App Store disappear?

Apps already installed on the device usually stay, but updates and re-downloads depend on which account they belong to. Content that isn't on sale in the new region's store may also not be searchable.

Do photos and backups in iCloud follow the region change?

iCloud data is tied to your Apple Account and doesn't follow the store region. The thing to mind is subscriptions: cancelling iCloud+ drops storage back to 5GB, and the excess stops syncing and backing up — confirm you have a local copy before migrating.

Why do updates still ask for the old account's password after the region change?

Because an update verifies the app's ownership, and ownership belongs to the account that originally downloaded it — unrelated to your current store region. This isn't a malfunction, and re-signing in won't change it.

Do I have to register a new Apple Account?

Not necessarily; you can change the region directly on the original account. Apple's alternative path is: if you don't want to fill in a payment method, wait until you're physically in the new region and then create a new account.

People online say "you can only change regions once every 90 days" — is that true?

In Apple's official document "Change the country or region of your Apple Account", I found no such limit; it appears mostly in community discussions. Check official rules rather than treating unverified numbers as restrictions.

Does a US account have to use a US card?

The official requirement is "a payment method available in the new region". In practice, a US account with a US BIN and a US billing address goes the smoothest and passes later checks most easily.

Will switching affect my existing Apple subscriptions?

Yes. Subscriptions don't cross regions; you re-subscribe in the new country or region, priced in the new region. That's also why Apple requires you to cancel the blocking subscription first and wait for it to lapse.