Level 1

5 points

How do you setup multiple users with multiple devices on itunes?

I'm trying to find the easiest solution to our family music situation. 4 users, 4 devices (ipods, ipad, imac, pc laptops), and 4 different musical song interests. I'm sure there are millions of households that have the same exact situation. I want to be able to pull up only my musical library, not my kid's music, and then easily synch it to my ipod. Everyone in the family wants to do this same thing. I have spent alot of time trying to search the forums/internet and there does not seem to be one "most popular" solution. I did setup iCloud for each family member using a different Apple ID than my main Apple ID, and I'm happy that ALL the music shows up on my ipad. But between iCloud, MobileMe, Home Sharing it all gets very confusing. Some say to setup multiple computer login accounts, and others say to setup 1 playlist for each family member and synch from that playlist.

I would think 1 itunes account allows you to easily share a purchased song with 4 users, instead of buying songs twice.

So here are a few of my questions-

1-Is it best to have only 1 itunes account and then synch all devices off of 1 main computer?

2-Or since we each have iCloud accounts, will they be able to synch their ipods from their own pc laptop?

3-And when they synch, what is the easiest way to exclude other users music in itunes? (other than unchecking hundreds of artists)

4-Or setup 4 separate computer login accounts on the imac and then keep 1 itunes account? If so, how does this work when they open itunes?

Again, I'm hoping for a straightforward simple solution. I don't want to move & create libraries, download 3rd party software, etc. etc. Please reply if you found something that works for your family. Thanks in advance.

Imac, Mac OS X (10.5.1)

Posted on Mar 12, 2012 11:54 AM

24 replies

kwejtman

Level 1

4 points

Sep 12, 2012 4:52 AM in response to Richmaster

I think apple should have a system for parents to ween their kids from their apple accounts when they grow up and leave home so that all their music isnt lost. Any advise? Home sharing doesnt work for college bound kids.

Sep 30, 2012 5:14 PM in response to Richmaster

i don't know if i need to start a new thread or not since my question kind of pertains to the original one here. my question is how do you un-setup multiple users with identical devices (iphone) on itunes? simple please

Chris CA

Level 10

82,513 points

Sep 30, 2012 5:41 PM in response to sandy1862

sandy1862 wrote:

how do you un-setup multiple users with identical devices (iphone) on itunes? simple please

No idea what this means.

Sync what you want to each device.

Dec 11, 2012 11:49 AM in response to turingtest2

The problem with this is if there are apps that are on both devices. The iTunes acccount that was logged in when that app was updated will have "ownership" of the app, so when the other device is plugged in, it will not get the update, because of the wrong ownership and an error about not authorized on this computer.

I am trying to manage multiple iPads for multiple departments, and need a way to keep them separated under my login. I'm assuming sharing apps in a business environment is frowned upon if not flat out wrong.

Dec 24, 2012 5:51 AM in response to Richmaster

Hello, all. I'm going to chime in late here because I'm going through the same process at our house. My wife has an iPhone and syncs it to her own computer with her own Apple ID. I have a couple devices which I sync on my computer with a separate Apple ID. I decided to sync my daughters' (ages both under 10) iPods on my computer using my Apple ID. That way, one purchase can be shared between multiple devices, and I can easily create/select different playlists, movies, apps or books to sync with each one.

If we were to use the same computer for my wife, we'd probably go the separate user account with Home Sharing route.

julesCO

Level 1

4 points

Mar 5, 2013 7:59 AM in response to turingtest2

@turingtest2 - Is this earlier post still your preferred method for sorting out different family members' iTunes libraries? If not, would you mind sharing your latest?

We have 3 iPhones, with separate iCloud IDs but my wife and daughter use my Apple ID for music and apps (so we only have to buy them once). I sync my phone to my own PC, and they both sync to the family PC. Our daughter doesn't want all of "our" music on her iPhone. Currently she goes through and checks/unchecks the music she doesn't want before syncing. She has in the past (and once recently) purchased music from an older Apple ID, and now some of her music is missing on her phone. I think that's because it was purchased with the "wrong" ID account.

I'd like to figure out a way that she (15yo) can fairly easily set up the music she wants in her library and then on her phone.

She has her own Windows user account. I'm not sure if the iTunes Library is shared or duplicated on the PC. Will check that tonight when I get home. Thanks!!!

turingtest2

Level 10

278,015 points

Mar 5, 2013 9:08 AM in response to julesCO

Yes, that's still the way everything is set up. Rather than checking/unchecking timings which really only works for one user I still have the smart playlists based on the grouping tag. It takes a few moments to change the details when there are new purchases or someone broadens their musical horizons. Then connect, sync and it is all there...

tt2

julesCO

Level 1

4 points

Mar 5, 2013 9:51 AM in response to turingtest2

Thanks! I'll look at that and try to figure out the grouping tags. Haven't ever tried or noticed tags. 🙂

kcliu02

Level 1

0 points

Apr 17, 2013 7:02 PM in response to Richmaster

Keeping (or switching) Multiple iTunes library in a single computer:

http://www.apple.com/itunes/inside-itunes/2011/01/keeping-multiple-itunes-librar ies-on-a-single-computerif-you-share-your-computer-with-others-and-you.html

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How do you setup multiple users with multiple devices on itunes?