Can you run 2 apple IDs on one computer?

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Level 1

8 points

Can you run 2 apple IDs on one computer?

Over the years since iPhones/iPads came out I've managed to have 3 apple IDs. The first one was for iTunes until the phone came out and we created our own me.com accounts. So the desktop still has that original iTunes ID, my iPhone/iPad/laptop have my ID that's different. Is it possible to run both IDs on the desktop? I would like all 4 devices to be synced via the cloud but I don't want to lose everything on the original ID because the whole family uses the iTunes account on that one. I hope this all makes sense!

Thanks,

Jeri

Posted on Feb 5, 2016 8:57 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Glenn Leblanc

Level 6

12,539 points

Jun 29, 2017 5:57 AM in response to zadygirl

You can have more than one iCloud account on a computer at one time, but only one will have all the services and will be the main account. The other accounts will only be able to use Mail, Contacts, Calendars, & Notes.

macOS Sierra: Change settings for a second iCloud account

For the iTunes Store, that is a separate login and you can use different Apple IDs than your main iCloud sign-in.

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Answer 2

Jun 29, 2017 12:02 AM in response to dialabrain

Regarding multiple apple IDs will I be able to use the same apps regardless of account I'm on?

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Answer 3

dialabrain

Level 10

136,553 points

Feb 5, 2016 9:05 AM in response to zadygirl

You can have multiple Apple IDs. But you can only log into one at a time.

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Answer 4

zadygirl Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 5, 2016 9:08 AM in response to dialabrain

Thank you dialabrain this is good news. I don't mind logging in to only one at a time. I work as a genealogist and so I use all 4 items all of the time. Sometimes I just want to sit at the "big screen" computer and not always use the laptop or the iPad pro even though they are newer! May I please ask how to set up the other ID on the desktop? I'm not computer illiterate but not a genius either 😉

Thank you!

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Answer 5

zadygirl Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 5, 2016 10:43 AM in response to dialabrain

Ill give it a try. It seems like I tried this once and it warned me I'd lose all of my information but that may have been on the iPhone/iPad. I wondered if I could set a different user ID besides the admin and then chose to log in to which ever one I wanted. I'll try it now!

Thank you,

Jeri

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Answer 6

dialabrain

Level 10

136,553 points

Feb 5, 2016 10:52 AM in response to zadygirl

well if you log out of iCloud you will get a warning to the affect that files will be removed local to your computer. However, when you re-log in with the previous ID it will sync to your iCloud account.

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Answer 7

dialabrain

Level 10

136,553 points

Feb 5, 2016 9:12 AM in response to zadygirl

Actually there is nothing to "set up". You just log out of one Apple ID in the App Store or iTunes Store or iCloud etc. and log in with whichever you want to use.

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Answer 8

dialabrain

Level 10

136,553 points

Feb 5, 2016 9:27 AM in response to dialabrain

Just a simple example, you could logout of this forum and log in with one of your other Apple IDs.

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