Managing multiple devices in a family - iCloud better using Mac or PC?

Anyone using a Mac to manage multiple i devices? We're sharing an iTunes account in the family and are finding limitations using iCloud on our PC. Specifically, can you manage iCloud on each device from a Mac?

The only practicable way to do this is for each person who has an iCloud account to have their own user account on the Mac, They can then sign into iCloud and keep their data separate from everyong else.
It is possible to have a single user account and sign into one iCloud account in System Preferences>iCloud and then sign into subsequent ones in System Preferences>Mail, Contacts and Calendars, but if you do this with a number of accounts it will get messy, and everyone will see everyone else's data and emails.
If you enable 'Fast use switching' you can have several user accounts running at once and simply switch between them (though of course this all takes processing power and RAM). Probably better for everyone to sign in and sign out to their user account when they want to use the Mac - that feels like everyone having their own computer.

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We have multiple devices in our family. On each iPad/iPhone each user has their own apple id for iMessage, Facetime and icloud, but we all sign in to the same apple id for itunes. When one of my kids comments on my shared photostream, it shows my name??

We have multiple devices in our family. On each iPad/iPhone each user has their own apple id for iMessage, Facetime and icloud, but we all sign in to the same apple id for itunes. When one of my kids comments on my shared photostream, it shows my name and not theirs as the commenter. How do I fix that?

CREATE A NEW USER
Go to System Preferences --> Create a New User in Users & Groups
Decide on whether to setup as Admin or Standard User.
Switch to the New User by logging out under the Apple in the Menu Bar or use Fast User Switching
Fast User Switching allows other users to leave current applications and windows open. Depending on RAM, you might need to log out rather than use FUS.

How do I manage multiple devices on the iCloud

How do I manage multiple devices on the icloud. We have 2 ipods, 2 iphones, ipad and a mac and right now the icloud thinks my son has my phone.

Try going to Settings>Mail,Contacts,Calendars>My Info (in the Contacts section), then select your contact from the list.

I have one apple ID for multiple devices in my family. I'd like to keep it that way for itunes/app purchases. I would like a simple step 1, step 2, step 3 response on what I need to do to separate all other features like imessage, contacts, emails, etc.

I have one apple ID for multiple devices in my family. I'd like to keep it that way for itunes/app purchases. I would like a simple step 1, step 2, step 3 response on what I need to do to separate all other features like imessage, contacts, emails, etc.
I have been reasearching how to do this on the internet, but I haven't found an easy explanation yet. My family is going crazy over each others imessages being sent to others in the family and not being able to use FaceTime because of conflicting email addresses. I have read that if each person gets their own iCloud account, this would work. However, I need to know what to do after I set everyone up with their own iCloud account. Do I make that the default email address to be contacted or can they still use their hotmail email addresses. Any help- with easy explanation- would be much appreciated!!

We do this in my family now. We have one account for purchases, so it is used to share music and apps (I think that is in Settings/iTunes & App Stores). Each iDevice has this configured.
Then, each of us has our own iCloud account that is configured under Settings/iCloud. That then allows us to have our own Mail/Contacts/Calendars/Reminders/Safari Bookmarks/Notes/Passbook/Photo Stream/Documents & Data/Find My iPhone/and Backup. That Backup piece is pretty sweet and comes in handly if you replace your iDevice. You can just restore from it.
So we all share the Apple Store account but we all have our own iCloud accounts to keep the rest seperate or things like you mentioned are a nightmare.
In answer to what iCloud does for you: http://www.apple.com/icloud/features/
Think of it as an internet based ("cloud") area for all of those items listed in my response. What you need to remember is photo stream only maintans the last 1000 pictures so don't count it as a complete backup solution for your pictures. Even though I rarely sync with a computer these days, I do still try to sync my phone with iPhoto (I have an iMac) so that I have copies of all of my pictures. 1000 may not stretch as far as it sounds.
Message was edited by: Michael Pardee

I have multiple devices that have my iCloud E-mail, I want to disable the E-Mail on some of the devices but keep it on others, I do not have physical access to the ones I want to disable but I do have access to the devices I want to keep receiving mc

I have multiple devices that have my iCloud E-mail, I want to disable the E-Mail on some of the devices but keep it on others, I do not have physical access to the ones I want to disable but I do have access to the devices I want to keep receiving mail, can I do this with a simple password reset or will that still leave all devices enabled?

The simple way would be to uncheck 'Mail' in System Preferences (or Settings)>iCloud, but as you would need access to the devices in question to do that you will have to change your password, at http://appleid.apple.com. You will then need to sign out and back on all the devices you want to be able to receive mail, and it's important that you follow this procedure and note the warning:
Firstly, if you have 'Find My iPhone/iPad/iMac' enabled on any of your devices, turn it off.
Go to http://appleid.apple.com and click 'Manage your Apple ID'. Sign in with the current ID.
Where it says 'Password & Security' and gives your current ID email address, click 'edit'.
Enter your new password and click 'Save changes'.
Now you will need to go to each of your devices and sign out in System Preferences (or Settings)>iCloud - 'Sign out' on a Mac, 'Delete this account' on an iOS device (this will not delete the account from the server).
Then sign back in with your new ID. Your iCloud data will disappear from your devices when you sign out, but reappear when you sign back in.
I re-iterate: before you start, turn off 'Find My Mac' (or whatever) or you will need the services of Support.
The devices on which you have not changed the password will throw up continual error messages as they attempt to contact iCloud and fail.

We have multiple devices in the family, including now 4 iphones, all who share the same Apple ID. I want to stop this, but need thoughts on multiple IDs as Findmyphone works well as same ID?!

We have multiple devices in the family, including now 4 iphones, all who share the same Apple ID. I want to stop this, but need thoughts on multiple IDs as Findmyphone works well as same ID?!

I don't know if I'm asking this all in a way that can be understood? Thanks ED3K, however that part I do understand (in the link you provided!)
What I need to know is "how" I can separate or rather create another Apple ID for my son-who is currently using "my Apple ID?" If there is a way to let him keep "all" his info on his phone (eg-contacts, music, app's, etc.) without doing a "reset?') Somehow I need to go into his phone's setting-create a new Apple ID and possibly a new password so he can still use our combined iCloud & Itunes account?
Also then letting me take back my Apple ID & password, but again allowing us (my son and I) to use the same iCloud & Itunes account? Does that make more sense??? I'm sincerely trying to get this cleared up once and for all----just need guidance from someone who has a true understanding of the whole Apple iCloud/Itunes system!
Thanks again for "anyone" that can help me!!!

Managing multiple devices on 1 computer

We recently purchased ipod shuffles for each of our kids. I have a ipod nano that i've had for years. How do I manage multiple devices through iTunes?

Hi, welcome to Apple Discussions.
*How to use multiple iPods with one computer*
The Apple support document How to use multiple iPods with one computer suggests a number of ways. I use method two (Sync with selected playlists) with a slight twist. Rather than regular playlists I set the grouping field to indicate which users should receive which tracks and create smart playlists based on the content of this field.
e.g.
"Alice's Tracks" is "Grouping contains Alice" + "Kind contains audio"
"Bob's Videos" is "Grouping contains Bob" + "Kind does not contain audio"
Tracks that both Alice & Bob want on their iPods have the grouping set to "Alice/Bob"
etc.
I currently manage our family's five iPods using this system, each getting a different selection to suit their tastes and the capacity of their iPod. An advantage of using the grouping field is that it is stored in file tags (for non-wav audio files anyway) so that it is relatively easy to recreate the playlists should the iTunes library get trashed. Also useful if you move files about manually as playlist membership is preserved when you delete & re-import the tracks.
tt2

I have multiple devices in my family. Each of us has an iPhone and an iPad. Is there a way for each of us to have our own Apple ID but one account so we can all get the same music, movies, books, etc. I can't see paying twice for something in the same fam

I have multiple devices in my family. Each of us has an iPhone and an iPad. Is there a way for each of us to have our own Apple ID but one account so we can all get the same music, movies, books, etc. I can't see paying twice for something in the same family.

Welcome to the world of digital media. Your can't really transfer it. I don't know what the rules are about transferring to your spouse but I do know that in some cases when you die, your heirs cannot inherit your digital media. This is why there is still an advantage to buying the CD since the usage rights belong to whomever holds the physical media.
A possible workaround is to burn the songs to a music CD with yout account (tracks only without song titles) and then having your wife upload it as a regular music CD onto her account. It's been a while since i've done this so I'm not sure if it would work now.
Please note that I'm not advocating copyright and/or TOS violations. I'm only suggesting ways to copy music for your own personal use which has traditonally been permitted. I only did this because I wanted to convert iTunes songs to mp3 files so I could burn them onto a data CD for use in my car. It would make sense that since married couples are a joint entity, this would be personal use.
Also, I'm not a lawyer so don't take this as legal advice.

How can I manage multiple devices in iCloud?

I have 30 devices that I need to manage. I want all devices to be managed under a single iTunes account. Attempting to have a separate itunes account for every device would be a huge headach, and serious time-waster.
I do not care one whit about iTunes on a computer, so please don't point me to the article on using multiple iDevices on a single computer. These devices are not synchronized to computers, unless individual users decide to sync their phone to load up music, photos or whatever. Further, when the phones come into IT I do not care at all for the data stored on the phones. These are business phones. So if a user chooses to put anything on the phone, that user is responsible for backing it up / reloading if we have to wipe it.
So, with those criteria -- HOW do I manage all of these devices on a single iCloud account? Most specifically, I am trying to get "Find My iPhone" to work, but it says that all devices are off-line. I have my assigned phone in my hand, turned on, and using the internet.
In truth, I actually don't care about anything except the Find My iPhone functionality -- we do not sync our phones with iCloud.

The following link has instructions: Manage your iCloud storage - Apple Support

I have multiple devices within my family but each device receives texts, game requests and notifications meant for me. How do I stop this?

I have multiple devices among several different family members. I have one iCloud account, I guess that seems to send messages, notifications, game requests meant to me but each device receives it. How can I fix this?
jimmie57

jimmie57 wrote:
I have multiple devices among several different family members....
http://macmost.com/setting-up-multiple-ios-devices-for-messages-and-facetime.htm l

Methods to managing multiple devices and accounts.

My wife just got a new iPhone. this is added to my iPhone and a few iPod touches for the kids. Between cloud accounts, apple accounts, itunes accounts, . . . What is the best way to manages multiple accounts and what is the differentiation between the different accounts? I am not even sure what accounts are available. Is my Apple account different from my iTunes account? Apple ID seems to be everywhere. So I need my wife to have her own Apple ID, this I believe to be true. But what about syncing to the general iTunes account. We have one iMac with all our music on it. How can she sync with her Mac Book for contacts or what ever and sync to the family iTunes account for music. I am so confused? Help.
Thank you,
Doug

Have a read
http://www.macstories.net/stories/ios-5-icloud-tips-sharing-an-apple-id-with-you r-family/

How to handle Multiple devices in our family,

Hi all, I need help. I do not know what to do now that I have many I devices in our family. I have three iPhones, an iPod, iPad, Apple TV
and iMac. Right now, all the devices are set up on one Apple ID, except for a new iPhone that has not been set up yet.
What is the best way to deal with this situation? I would like to be able to use the Find IPhone on any device to find the other. I would also like each device to be able to use face time and iChat independently. Is it possible?
I was told to set up separate ICloud accounts, but since the devices are assigned to an apple ID already? Is that possible? Sorry about being so naive.
Thanks for any advice or insight you can offer!

You're welcome. And you are correct, an iCloud account is an Apple ID; but you can still migrate your devices to their own account even if they are currently sharing a single account.
One person's device(s) can keep the current account. Decide who will be migrating to a new account. On their devices, go to Settings>iCloud, scroll to the bottom and tap Delete Account. (This will only delete the account from the device, not from iCloud. The device[s] that will be keeping the account will not be effected by this.) When prompted about what to do with the iCloud data, be sure to select Keep On My [iDevice]. Next, set up a new iCloud account using a different Apple ID (if you don't have one, tap Get a Free Apple ID at the bottom)*. Then turn iCloud data syncing for contacts, etc. back to On, and when prompted about merging with iCloud, choose Merge. This will upload the data to the new account.
When you're done, if you have any data in the accounts that you don't want you will then have to go to icloud.com on your computer and sign into each iCloud account separately and manually delete it from each account.
* Each Apple ID will need a separate non-Apple email address. If you don't have these you can get free email accounts from gmail. Apple will send a verification email to the account you provide. You will have to click on the Verify Now link to verify the account and ID, after which you can use it to set up the iCloud account.
Finally, if you are sharing the same ID for iMessage, on these other devices go to Settings>Messages>Send & Receive, tap the ID, sign out, then sign back in with their new ID (so each persons device[s] are using a separate ID). For FaceTime, do the same thing in Settings>FaceTime.

HT1206 Help on multiple devices within a family and 1 itunes account for music

Help I have multiple devices, Iphone, Ipod, Itouch, Ipad, Nano. Some used by our kids and some used by use. How do I set the accounts so my contacts on my ipad dont go to my sons Iphone? We use one Itune music account for the family music but my ipad has a seperate account for downloads.

I had this problem last night as well. Only my daughter upgraded to iOS7 and she had an old phone of mine. When she upgraded, the phone asked for my apple ID and then continued as normal. However, after the upgrade, any text message that I recieved, she also recieved. I am pretty sure my wife thought I was hammered when she started texting me and my daughter began answering her not having any clue what she was texting about. Anyway, this only occurred with texts from other family members, not from texts I received from friends who are obviously not on our account (we have Verizon BTW). To resolve this issue, and it isn't a short resolution.... there are two options... One, simply erase everyting on the phone.... I don't like iTunes 11, so we were unable to back up her phone. I made her go through her 600 photos, delete the ones she didn't want and email the ones she wanted to herself, and then we wiped the phone clean and rebooted it... go into Settings, General, Reset, Erase All Content and Settings. The second option, if you have iTunes 11 is to back up the phones one at a time, and then go into Settings, General, Reset, Erase All Content and Settings. Either of these options wipes the phone clean of all information, text contacts pictures etc and then you have to re-enter all of your individual information. When you do that, make sure that no one is on the same iTunes account. Theoretically, after you do this, you plug back into your computer and SYNC your phone from the last back-up. This resolved the problem for us. I don't know if there is an easier solution, be we tried logging in and out of our iTunes Accounts, turning the power on and off, and nothing changed. So, we had to go the more difficult route to avoid mass confusion with family texting.

What is the best way to manage multiple devices with one iMac - different users with seperate itunes accounts or one mac user with different itune logons and libraries?

Hello
I have just purchased an imac which I am very happy with. In our household we also have two iphones (one mine and one husbands) and one ipod (my sons). We all have individual itunes accounts set up on our previous computer (not a mac). We have sepereate apps and music, although there may be the odd occasion where we would like to share a song (if this is possible) across devices.
I am just wondering the best way to manage these devices using the new imac. Should I create individual accounts to logon to the imac, then from within these launch our own itunes accounts and sync our devices with these. Or should I be using one version of itunes, logging on to this with our different itunes usernames and storing things in libraries.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

I am presuming that we cannot share downloaded apps and music between accounts because of the copyright issue,
Though I'm no copyright lawyer, as long as it's within a household, you can share content among users. Such sharing is, absent specific language preventing it not present in the iTunes Store terms of use, generally considered to be "personal use". So you can share apps and music amongst your users on your computer and with their devices. You just can't give any of that content to friends or relatives who don't live with you.
What I am not clear on, it making sure that this appears in each itunes account - is it easy to find the file storage folders that match the itunes accounts and what would these be?
The iTunes library and files are by default in a user's Home/Music folder. But you don't have to find the folder; in fact putting a file into the folder yourself won't add the file to iTunes. Just drag the file into the iTunes window. iTunes will copy it to the correct location.
Regards.

Can multiple devices with the same apple id use airdrop

Can I use Airdrop between multiple devices sharing the same Apple ID?

I don't know but somebody will reply if you bump this message.

Managing multiple devices in a family - iCloud better using Mac or PC?

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