[SSharon]

I just joined the club of multi-iphone ownership since my wife got the 4S. For those of you in similar circumstances, particularly if you share a computer, how do you have your devices set up?

I am using a single apple account and sync both phones to a single itunes library. I'm doing this because so far I find it easiest to have playlists for each of us, iphoto albums for each of us, and contact groups for each of us that I can sync to.

This works very well, but I'm running into some problems. I can't use the Find my Friends app because we both use the same credentials. I also can't figure out how to properly sync contacts with icloud while also allowing each of us to maintain our own (but overlapping) contact lists.

I don't have too many paid apps, but I do have some so I'm also curious to know whether each of our phones could install apps the other person purchased if we were to have separate itunes accounts. Can I authorize a phone to use multiple accounts just like a computer can?

[Waragainstsleep]

Surely it makes sense to use the same account to buy apps, then you can definitely share the ones you want to.

Find My Friends/Phone allows multiple devices, I don't see the problem here.

[SSharon]

Originally Posted by Waragainstsleep 

Surely it makes sense to use the same account to buy apps, then you can definitely share the ones you want to.

Find My Friends/Phone allows multiple devices, I don't see the problem here.

The problem is that it thinks I'm me on both phones. I wanted to share my location on each device so my wife and I don't need to constantly call/text each other asking where are you. I can you find my iphone, but that is a bit more clumsy. Find my friends is also integrated with siri so my wife could ask where is my husband, but right now that doesn't work.

[Helmling]

Use a different Apple ID for iCloud than for iTunes?

[mduell]

This whole "shared account" thing, popular mostly to avoid duplicate purchases, is going to become more painful in the future.

Reminds me of back in the day when a family would have a single email account.

[ort888]

I think iCloud is really confusing this issue.

I consider myself an iOS power user and I'm finding this confusing.

[SSharon]

Originally Posted by ort888 

I think iCloud is really confusing this issue.

I consider myself an iOS power user and I'm finding this confusing.

Same here. I've been using an iPhone since they first came out and I feel dumb for not realizing that iTunes account ≠ iCloud account.

[SSharon]

Originally Posted by Helmling 

Use a different Apple ID for iCloud than for iTunes?

I tried this method by making a new iCLoud account for my wife to use.

The good news:
Find my Friends works.
My wife doesn't get imessages intended for me.

The bad news:
Our calendars and other things (reminders, notes, contacts) no longer sync.
Photo stream doesn't sync.

Still I haven't purchased any new apps, but I suspect they will continue to sync since we use the same itunes account. Either I'm missing something in my implementation or Apple really does not have an elegant solution for what I consider to be a common problem.

[SSharon]

More bad news is that all of our devices don't show up using find my iphone since we now use separate icloud accounts. This isn't the biggest deal since we have each others passwords, but it means I can't see all my devices on one screen like I used to.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by SSharon 

I tried this method by making a new iCLoud account for my wife to use.

The good news:
Find my Friends works.
My wife doesn't get imessages intended for me.

The bad news:
Our calendars and other things (reminders, notes, contacts) no longer sync.
Photo stream doesn't sync.

Still I haven't purchased any new apps, but I suspect they will continue to sync since we use the same itunes account. Either I'm missing something in my implementation or Apple really does not have an elegant solution for what I consider to be a common problem.

All of your problems except Photostream can be easily solved.

You use ONE Apple ID on all phones for the iTunes Store.

You use unique Apple IDs for your personal email, calendar, reminders, notes.

If you want to share anything (email, calendar, reminders, notes), add an iCloud account manually under "Mail, Contacts, Calendars" settings.
You can have multiple accounts on one device.

For shared Photostream, it might work to have ALL devices set up with the same "base" Apple ID, but deselect all other features (mail, calendars, contacts, reminders) except Photostream.

-t

[SSharon]

Thanks for the tips turtle, I'll try it out when I have both phones in front of me.

[SSharon]

I haven't fully tested everything, but it looks like your suggestion worked. Thanks again turtle!

I still want to sync the phone with the computer and test out the calendar, but if the only thing I don't have now is photostream that isn't so bad.