I get all confused about all these different IDs I have and need to use the iOS devices/iTunes. I want to use our devices in the family the best way.
We are three people:
- me — currently the only one with a real Apple-ID
- my wife — currently without an Apple-ID, but with her own email
- and my infant which does not have nor need her own ID at all, I think 🙂
The devices we have are:
- 1 iPhone for myself, ("A" = phone husband)
- 1 PC+iTunes, which syncs my iPhone ("PC-A" = PC/iTunes husband)
- 1 iPhone for my wife ("B" = phone wife)
- 1 PC+iTunes, which syncs hers ("PC-B")
- 1 iPod Touch 1G for my infant, which she just starts to appreciate ("C")
- I probably sync/fill this device with my PC+iTunes, too, for the time being.
Of course I want to use the Apps and Music to by available on all devices. And as far as I understand this is allowed by apple, as long as its up to 5 devices, which its is. I was able to do this at least while I gave my old phone to my wife while both devices were connected to the same Apple-ID — but I don't think this how it is meant to be set-up, right?
Very important is that both iPhones are able to use their respective iMessage accounts, so I can recieve mine (and only mine), she hers (and only hers), and we can send iMessages to each other. During upgrading to iOS7 I managed to mess this up and we got all iMessages of each other ;-(. This is where I got confuded with iCloud-Account, iMessage-Adresses and Apple-ID, I think.
Not as much important would be to share a Todo-List and/or Calendar over the phones, so we can put items and appointments into our own calendar, which then appears on the others phone.
- What IDs and Accounts do we need?
- and what device should be connected to which accounts?
- What accounts should be the same on which devices, if any?
- I am correct that I can legally access the Apps/Music family-wide, right?
- If the phones are connected to different Apple-IDs and synced with different iTunes', how can I use acquired Apps/Music on both?
Best Answer
You need to understand that an Apple ID is not (or may not be) the same as an iCloud Account, which is not (or may not be) the same as an iTunes Store Account. An Apple ID is the credential set you use for accessing various services by Apple. Once you have an Apple ID, you can associate it with different services from Apple.
Anyone can create an Apple ID by visiting My Apple ID. Once you have an Apple ID (or more), you can choose how you would wish to use it.
For your case, you need three Apple IDs to keep things simple:
Here's how you would use these Apple IDs on the devices and PCs:
iTunes Store Purchases - In the case of a family (and specifically for you), you would have one Apple ID whose credentials are known by all family members so that all content purchased from the iTunes and App Stores can be shared across all devices.
iCloud Services - In almost every case, this would be an individual Apple ID so that Find My iPhone, Mail, Calendar, Reminders, etc., are segregated by user.
iMessage - In almost every case, this would be an individual Apple ID so that each person receives and manages messages intended for that person.
FaceTime - To avoid confusion, this would be an individual Apple ID for each person.
On content sharing between devices, you can use an account with up to 10 devices. Here's what iLounge says based on Apple's policy about "More than five family devices sharing a single iTunes account":
To share calendars, see iCloud: Share a calendar with others.
To share reminders, see iCloud: Share a reminder list.