misstester
Level 1 (8 points)
iPhone

Q: Can I use two phones, with separate numbers, on the same account?

I'm not an Apple user, so apologies if this is common knowledge! But my CEO is going overseas next week, so we've given him a second phone as a backup in case anything happens - with a separate number (we'll have his current number diverted if necessary). Am I able to use his Apple ID on both of these phones, and back them up on his laptop using the same Apple iTunes account?

 

And while I'm asking, if he does lose his current phone, when he plugs the new one into his laptop and syncs with iTunes, will it download his message history as well? (email, contacts & calendar are easy because these are synced with our office exchange)

 

Thanks in advance!

iPhone 6s

Posted on Sep 1, 2016 7:44 PM

by ChrisJ4203,Solvedanswer
ChrisJ4203 ChrisJ4203
Level 9 (57,056 points)
iPhone
A:

You can use the same Apple ID on both devices. You can also backup more than one device on the same laptop with iTunes. iTunes an tell the difference in the two devices, but it is also good to give them different names, in Settings>General>About>Name.

 

As far as if something happens to the first device. If you have backed up the original device and something happens to it, you can restore the second device from a backup of the first. Anything that was backed up from the first one would end up on the second one, including messages that are currently on the phone. The problem you could encounter has to do with new messages. If people were sending to the first number, you would be better off activating the second phone with the old number if necessary. It doesn't hurt to have it already activated with the new number, but it will create an issue for messages. And, forwarding the phone number will forward phone calls, but I don't believe it would forward text messages.

Posted on Sep 1, 2016 10:50 PM

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misstester

Q: Can I use two phones, with separate numbers, on the same account?

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  • by ChrisJ4203,Solvedanswer

    ChrisJ4203 ChrisJ4203 Sep 1, 2016 10:50 PM in response to misstester
    Level 9 (57,056 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 1, 2016 10:50 PM in response to misstester

    You can use the same Apple ID on both devices. You can also backup more than one device on the same laptop with iTunes. iTunes an tell the difference in the two devices, but it is also good to give them different names, in Settings>General>About>Name.

     

    As far as if something happens to the first device. If you have backed up the original device and something happens to it, you can restore the second device from a backup of the first. Anything that was backed up from the first one would end up on the second one, including messages that are currently on the phone. The problem you could encounter has to do with new messages. If people were sending to the first number, you would be better off activating the second phone with the old number if necessary. It doesn't hurt to have it already activated with the new number, but it will create an issue for messages. And, forwarding the phone number will forward phone calls, but I don't believe it would forward text messages.

  • by Rysz,Helpful

    Rysz Rysz Sep 1, 2016 10:50 PM in response to misstester
    Level 7 (20,202 points)
    iTunes
    Sep 1, 2016 10:50 PM in response to misstester

    Yes, you can have multiple devices on the same Apple ID and iTunes will distinguish between them and their backups.

    You should also set them to make automatic backups to iCloud.

     

    When restoring a phone from a backup, it is possible to select a backup of another phone to restore from, but...

    If both phones use the same Apple ID, they will be synced. Meaning that all emails, messages, etc will be sent to both devices. This is no different than someone having an iPhone, iPad and a Mac. They're all synced.

  • by Phil0124,

    Phil0124 Phil0124 Sep 1, 2016 8:08 PM in response to misstester
    Level 7 (26,867 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 1, 2016 8:08 PM in response to misstester

    misstester wrote:

     

    Am I able to use his Apple ID on both of these phones, and back them up on his laptop using the same Apple iTunes account?

     

     

    Yes. You can backup his current iPhone, and restore that backup onto the new iPhone, and essentially get a copy of everything on the new iPhone.

     

    Backups are per-device and will not get mixed up.

     

    Some reading on backups, and what doesn't get backed up.

    About backups for iOS devices - Apple Support

  • by misstester,

    misstester misstester Sep 1, 2016 10:51 PM in response to ChrisJ4203
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 1, 2016 10:51 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

    Thank you so much for the clear explanation. Now that I'm feeling more confident, I'll test it all out before he leaves!

  • by misstester,

    misstester misstester Sep 1, 2016 10:55 PM in response to Rysz
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 1, 2016 10:55 PM in response to Rysz

    Interesting note about the Apple ID syncing both phones automatically. I'll get them both together on Monday and sort it out, now that I'm feeling better about it. Thank you!

  • by Rysz,

    Rysz Rysz Sep 2, 2016 7:07 AM in response to misstester
    Level 7 (20,202 points)
    iTunes
    Sep 2, 2016 7:07 AM in response to misstester

    If I didn't make it clear...

    When both iPhones and the Mac are set with same Apple ID and for the same email accounts, messages and iCloud Photo Library, everything will be on every device. As long as they are left connected to Internet and powered from time to time, there should be no need to have to restore from backup. They all will already be synced.

     

    The automatic iCloud backup would only be extra addition protection on top of having synced devices.