Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > iPhone, iPad & iPod > 1 iTunes account, multiple iCloud acts?

1 iTunes account, multiple iCloud acts?
Thread Tools
kman42
Professional Poster
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: San Francisco
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 22, 2011, 04:29 PM
 
My wife and I each have iPhones and iPads and separate iCloud accounts. I've purchased most of the apps and previously just shared them to her devices, but she's used her account to get a few paid apps and lots of free ones. Since you can only switch iTunes accounts every 90 days for downloading purchased apps, I was thinking of consolidating to one iTunes account (mine). Can we do this and still keep everything working with two iCloud accounts? It seems like iTunes IDs and iCloud IDs are totally separate, but I want to make sure I don't screw anything up.

I think this would make it much easier for us to share apps and music in the future, not to mention iTunes Match, which is my real motivation.
     
turtle777
Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: planning a comeback !
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 22, 2011, 08:18 PM
 
Yes, it works. I'm doing it the same way.

-t
     
kman42  (op)
Professional Poster
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: San Francisco
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 23, 2011, 09:17 AM
 
Thanks. What about iBooks? Does it sync page location using iCloud or your iTunes account? I want to make sure that if my wife and I are reading the same book by downloading with the same iTunes account, that our individual page locations and bookmarks are kept in sync by our iCloud accounts so that they aren't mixed up.
     
turtle777
Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: planning a comeback !
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 23, 2011, 10:27 AM
 
All the iTunes Music Store purchases use the same account (music, movies, books, apps).

I'm not sure how it works with individual page locations and bookmarks.
You gotta try that one, but my hunch is that this info will also be shared via the iTMS Apple ID. More than likely, you can't have individual page locations and bookmarks.

-t
     
kman42  (op)
Professional Poster
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: San Francisco
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 23, 2011, 12:18 PM
 
Hmm...bummer. I'll give it a try, but I was hoping it would use iCloud IDs to sync page locations. I'll report back on what I find.
     
Wiskedjak
Posting Junkie
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Calgary
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 23, 2011, 01:29 PM
 
Originally Posted by kman42 View Post
Hmm...bummer. I'll give it a try, but I was hoping it would use iCloud IDs to sync page locations. I'll report back on what I find.
That would be nice. I suspect that multiple people reading the same book at the same time wasn't considered a high priority; in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if book publishers would actively be opposed to this.
     
kman42  (op)
Professional Poster
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: San Francisco
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 23, 2011, 04:07 PM
 
I did some testing and iBooks syncs using your iTunes ID, not your iCloud ID. This seems like a serious oversight for a family that wants to share an iTunes ID for purchases. Everything else works well with using a single iTunes ID for purchasing music, movies, etc, but using separate iCloud ID to keep data in sync.
     
Wiskedjak
Posting Junkie
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Calgary
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 23, 2011, 07:09 PM
 
I suspect it's more by design than an oversight.
     
SSharon
Professional Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Teaneck, NJ
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 24, 2011, 09:44 AM
 
Originally Posted by Wiskedjak View Post
That would be nice. I suspect that multiple people reading the same book at the same time wasn't considered a high priority; in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if book publishers would actively be opposed to this.
Because if I buy the paperback I'm prevented from placing two bookmarks in one book? I really hate how old businesses can't get with the times and actually remove features that we had previously.

Originally Posted by kman42 View Post
I did some testing and iBooks syncs using your iTunes ID, not your iCloud ID. This seems like a serious oversight for a family that wants to share an iTunes ID for purchases. Everything else works well with using a single iTunes ID for purchasing music, movies, etc, but using separate iCloud ID to keep data in sync.
Serious oversight is an understatement. I already started a few threads here trying to wrap my head around the best way to set up multiple iphones in a family. We previously used my account for both phones, but that prevented find my friends from working. Now we have separate icloud accounts (but only my itunes account) and photostream, and other syncing features (calendar and reminders) don't work.

Even after this is sorted out (my optimistic view is at least a year) I still want multiple user accounts on my phone so that I can let my nephew play games without messing with my work email.
AT&T iPhone 5S and 6; 13" MBP; MDD G4.
     
turtle777
Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: planning a comeback !
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 24, 2011, 04:43 PM
 
The only feature that can't be easily "shared" is Photostream.

For calendars, reminders, notes etc you can set up *multiple* iCloud accounts on a iOS device.

The only feature that can't be "unshared" is iBooks bookmarking and notes.

-t
     
Wiskedjak
Posting Junkie
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Calgary
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 24, 2011, 08:19 PM
 
Originally Posted by SSharon View Post
Because if I buy the paperback I'm prevented from placing two bookmarks in one book? I really hate how old businesses can't get with the times and actually remove features that we had previously.
I agree completely. But, I suspect their mindset is that with a paperback, two people can't be reading the book at the same time ... you'll have to take turns.
     
   
Thread Tools
 
Forum Links
Forum Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Top
Privacy Policy
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:49 AM.
All contents of these forums © 1995-2017 MacNN. All rights reserved.
Branding + Design: www.gesamtbild.com
vBulletin v.3.8.8 © 2000-2017, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.,