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Bill Loubiere
Level 1 (17 points)

Q: 2 iPhones 1 iCloud

We have 2 iPhones and share one iCloud account. We share contacts and calendar. This works well. We want to use "Find My Friends".

 

When we try to accept an invitation, a warning comes up-you can't be friends with yourself. Is there a work around for this?

iMac (21.5-inch Late 2009), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Nov 2, 2012 1:51 PM

by randers4,Solvedanswer
randers4 randers4
Level 9 (62,891 points)
A:

There is one thing you can try.  On one of the phones create a secondary iCloud account.  You do this by going to Settings>Mail,Contacts,Calendars...tap Add Account and select iCloud from the list, tap Get Free Apple ID at the bottom and follow the instructions to set it up.  You don't need to turn on any data syncing with this secondary account since you want to share your contacts and calendars using your primary shared account anyway. 

 

Once this account is created, use this second ID for identifying this phone in Find My Friends.  I haven't tested this approach, but I believe you can use a secondary iCloud account ID as an identifier in Find My Friends so it's woth a try.

Posted on Nov 2, 2012 2:30 PM

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Bill Loubiere

Q: 2 iPhones 1 iCloud

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  • Helpful answers

  • by randers4,Helpful

    randers4 randers4 Nov 2, 2012 2:04 PM in response to Bill Loubiere
    Level 9 (62,891 points)
    Nov 2, 2012 2:04 PM in response to Bill Loubiere

    No, Find My Friends sees each iCloud account (ID) as a "person".  To see each other separately you wlll have to have two different iCloud accounts.  Even with two iCloud accounts you can still share your calendar, and you can each have a copy of the contact list in your own iCloud account (but changes to the contacts made on one phone will no longer be reflected on the other).  If you would like to set it up this way let me know and I'll give you the steps to do so.

  • by Bill Loubiere,

    Bill Loubiere Bill Loubiere Nov 2, 2012 2:13 PM in response to randers4
    Level 1 (17 points)
    Nov 2, 2012 2:13 PM in response to randers4

    Thanks for your input. The contacts and calendars more important to me than the find my friends.  I will wait to see if I can figure something else out.

  • by randers4,Solvedanswer

    randers4 randers4 Nov 2, 2012 2:30 PM in response to Bill Loubiere
    Level 9 (62,891 points)
    Nov 2, 2012 2:30 PM in response to Bill Loubiere

    There is one thing you can try.  On one of the phones create a secondary iCloud account.  You do this by going to Settings>Mail,Contacts,Calendars...tap Add Account and select iCloud from the list, tap Get Free Apple ID at the bottom and follow the instructions to set it up.  You don't need to turn on any data syncing with this secondary account since you want to share your contacts and calendars using your primary shared account anyway. 

     

    Once this account is created, use this second ID for identifying this phone in Find My Friends.  I haven't tested this approach, but I believe you can use a secondary iCloud account ID as an identifier in Find My Friends so it's woth a try.

  • by michaelfromtigard,

    michaelfromtigard michaelfromtigard Nov 2, 2012 4:53 PM in response to randers4
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 2, 2012 4:53 PM in response to randers4

    THis is exactly what I did and it worked. But technically I think the app you're talking about is "Find Friends" from Apple vs some other app called "Find My Friends". I used this method with the Apple one.

  • by randers4,

    randers4 randers4 Nov 2, 2012 4:58 PM in response to michaelfromtigard
    Level 9 (62,891 points)
    Nov 2, 2012 4:58 PM in response to michaelfromtigard

    Thanks for letting me know.  I wasn't sure if it worked with secondary account IDs, good to know that it does.  Also, at least in the US app store, the Apple app is called Find My Friends.  There is an app called Find Friends, but that is from another developer.

  • by michaelfromtigard,

    michaelfromtigard michaelfromtigard Nov 2, 2012 5:07 PM in response to randers4
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 2, 2012 5:07 PM in response to randers4

    Interesting. The app icon on my devices is called "Find Friends" yet in the App Store and when the app is opened it's called "Find My Friends". And to further the confusion, when I opened it a pop-up asked my if it was ok if "Find Friends" accessed my contacts. I guess it must be a space limitation thing for characters. Confusing none the less!  Thanks for the clarification.

  • by Bill Loubiere,

    Bill Loubiere Bill Loubiere Nov 2, 2012 6:54 PM in response to randers4
    Level 1 (17 points)
    Nov 2, 2012 6:54 PM in response to randers4

    Thanks. That did it.