Multiple users and iPhones on on Mac - how to?

I Have one MacBook and two iPhones (both of which are set up as members of the same family). I am hoping to learn what is involved in supporting this scenario when iCloud, photos, and Apple Music is running for each person/iPhone. If there are known problems or workarounds I hope to become aware of these before I run into the problem.


So if you tried two iPhones on your mac, what did you discover? Can you do it?

thanks!

MacBook, OS X El Capitan (10.11), iPhone 6+

Posted on Jun 5, 2016 4:03 PM

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2 replies

Jun 5, 2016 4:19 PM in response to jerelo

You can have up to 10 devices linked to the same Apple ID. This is OK if all these devices belong to the same individual. However, if different users use different devices, they all should have their own Apple ID. This is the only way to avoid confusion between what is synced to each device.


You can have different Apple IDs syncing to the same iTunes on your computer and it will keep track of the different preferences for each ID and each device.


The the best option, however, is to set up separate user accounts on your Mac, as well as separate Apple IDs. Mac OS X supports Fast User Switching. You set up an account for each user in System Preferences > Users & Groups. This way each user has its own "world" to live in.


Mac applications will be available to all users, if you want the other users to have access to the main iTunes, or Photos, library you can set up Family Sharing.


I'm throwing a lot of new things and terms at you all at once, but don't feel overwhelmed. Just perform a search on Apple support pages for each of these functions or terms. The help is out there.

Jun 6, 2016 6:19 PM in response to Rysz

Thanks for the reply, and to further the discussion, I am currently using what you describe as the best solution. Separate user accounts and apple ids, with individual iPhones. The two iPhones have a family relationship, and each currently uses individual photos, music library.

However, only the authorizing family member has an iCloud subscription, so an iCloud shared folder is used for the second family member to upload photos to.

The funny part that I'm unsure about is with iTunes sync. When I was in my profile on a current macbook, I could sync my phone. But then I saw I could also sync the other family member's phone, even though it has a different apple id. So, now there is an unclear boundary.

So, I guess my question is now more pointed to "How does iTunes on a mac deal with separate iPhones when they have different apple ids?"

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Multiple users and iPhones on on Mac - how to?

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