Configuring two-factor authentication for shared accounts on Apple TV+ app

Most basic: you should never share an Apple ID between different people, even if they are related. It will lead to a litany of problems; as Apple says→Make sure that each family member has a unique Apple ID - Apple Support

It is fine (and recommended) to share an Apple ID between the devices used by a user, such as an iPhone, iPad, Mac or even Windows PC with iCloud for Windows installed, but not between different users.

If you are currently sharing an Apple ID→How to “unshare” an Apple ID - Apple Community

Peon4 wrote:

It seems very short-sighted of Apple to assume that any individual has only one device, or that more than one person might use a device.

They are not assuming people will have only one device. I have four Apple devices and never have any issues. All of my Apple devices are signed into the same Apple Accounts and are all trusted devices. I almost never need to sign in or authenticate. Yes, Apple is assuming that only one person will be using an Apple Account.

I watch on the TV that I share with my husband, but I also watch on my tablet and sometimes my phone. It's my account, but I want him to be able to auth on the TV if I'm not home, so I added his number. Now it has taken precedence, tho, so if I want to watch on my tablet it sends the auth code to his phone, and I can't seem to change that.

What is not clear is why you are signing out of anything. You should be able to sign in and stay signed in.

Besides, authing to his phone didn't actually work (because he was asleep and his phone was not accessible to me), but I had no way to tell it to use the other number -- which should be the primary anyway, since it was added first.

Technically, it is working. The authentication is successfully sent and and sucessfully received by his phone.

Try these instructions:

If you don’t have a trusted device handy, you can have a verification code sent to your trusted phone number as a text message or phone call.

1. 1. Select “Didn’t Get a Code?” on the sign in screen.
   2. Choose to have the code sent to your trusted phone number.
   3. You’ll get a text message or phone call from Apple with your verification code. This text message might include an additional domain validation line. This line includes the @ symbol, the website name, and your code (for example: @icloud.com #123456 %apple.com).
   4. Enter the code on your other device to complete sign in.

This is my main problem with the Apple ecosystem -- it assumes a one-to-one correlation of user to device, and that is just not how things work in 2025.

No, it assumes a one user to one Apple Account correlation.

Are you using a single AppleTV+ subscription on two separate devices? If so, that may be at the root of your problem. Any individual Apple Account assumes that only one person is going to be using it. Additional numbers are backup verification methods if the first one doesn't work. But that's not the case here.

Just thought I would note that this is a user forum. If you want to make Apple aware then you can use the feedback form to let them know.

Product Feedback - Apple