"Check your Apple ID device list to see where you‘re signed in"
— I don't understand the significance of "being signed in" to a device?
I see I'm signed in to my younger son's iPhone, but not my older son's ... and so what is the significance?
Should I be "signed in" to all my devices? AppleTV? My wife's devices? Her iPhone? My children's devices?
Wes K
MacBook Pro with Retina display, macOS Sierra (10.12.5)
One last question: Can a single device (to wit, my son's MacBook Air) appear on two Apple ID Lists?
Certainly, a device can appear in as many lists as accounts it is logged into.
You can only sign into one account on one device as your primary account, but you can sign into multiple accounts as secondary accounts.
See the "When do I use my Apple ID?" question in this FAQ:
https://appleid.apple.com/faq/#!&page=faq
Are you sharing your Apple ID with your younger son? If so, you should not. Everyone should have their own Apple ID (and be signed-in only to their devices). Use Family sharing instead:
Family Sharing - Apple Support
My understanding is that if you authorized the MacBook Air with your Apple ID, then it would appear as one of your devices. This article should help:
iTunes for Mac: Authorize a computer to play iTunes Store purchases
I suppose if that bothers you, then you can deauthorize the computer (see above link) and let your son authorize it with his Apple ID. I would think that simply logging on to the Mac would make it appear on your account. (But I not entirely certain.) If I'm wrong, maybe someone else can correct me.
Ok. So I'm getting my mind wrapped around this Apple ID List idea.
No, it doesn't bother me that my son's MacBook Air is a device on my Apple ID List. I'm more curious than concerned.
One last question: Can a single device (to wit, my son's MacBook Air) appear on two Apple ID Lists? In this case, it would [presumably] appear on his list as well as my own, given that [presumably] there are two logins on that device (his as the owner but also mine as a father who put it there when he first bought the device a year or so ago)?
Thank you for taking time to think this through with me.
Wes K
Correction in my previous post: I meant to say: "I would think that simply logging on to the Mac would *NOT* make it appear on your account." (Typed too fast, sorry.) As to your last question, it is my understanding that a device should appear only under ONE account.
One last question: Can a single device (to wit, my son's MacBook Air) appear on two Apple ID Lists? In this case, it would [presumably] appear on his list as well as my own, given that [presumably] there are two logins on that device (his as the owner but also mine as a father who put it there when he first bought the device a year or so ago)?
Any device can only be signed in to one account at a time.
Thank you. My younger son is 16, and has had his own Apple ID for a while.
So, if I have a login account on his MacBook Air, then that device could/would/should appear on my Apple ID list?
I think you have to log into iCloud since just logging on isn't using your Apple ID.
Apple ID device list — what's it mean: "being signed in" to a device?
