How to manage multiple Apple ID's in multiple iOS devices in iOS 6

[olidpass8]

Background:
Before iOS 6, I had one family Apple ID for iTunes and App Stores and for Mobile Me so I can track all my devices in the family. Now that Mobile Me has been shut down, and with iOS 6 update, I'm facing the scenario of having to create separate Apple ID's for each users in my family our iOS devices to use with iCloud.

This is what I've done:
Apple ID#1 for iTunes/App Stores. (This is great, because we are still using only one account for our purchases).
Individual Apple ID's for each user for iCloud, iMessage, FaceTime.

Problem #1:
Even though I turned on Automatic Downloads on my iOS devices using the same Apple ID in iTunes and App Stores, previous purchases are not automatically downloaded. Do I have to do that manually on all the devices?

Problem #2:
Since upgrading to iOS 6, I can no longer view anything in App Store|Updates|Purchased. The App Store app would crash or I would be looking at a white screen without any info. So the only solution would be to manually sync the app through iTunes like before.

Problem #3:
Because each user needs his/her own Apple ID for iCloud, iMessage, FaceTime, I can no longer use Find My iPhone to track all the devices with the same Apple ID that's in iCloud, because now everyone has to had their own iCloud Apple ID for iCloud to work.

If I were to use the same Apple ID in all devices for iCloud, the Mail, Contacts, Calendars, Reminders, Safari bookmarks, notes, Photo Stream, Documents & Data WILL ALL BE MIXED TOGETHER AND SYNCED ON ALL THE DEVICES. This is that what I want and would create a big mess.

Any good and useful advise would be welcomed.

 

[MozMan68]

You're right....


Not sure what else to say. It does seem that iTunes stuff should be easily shared across devices as always, but personal info/synching should be able to be set by device.

I don't like the idea of one of my kids being able to go into settings and suddenly check my email or phone number so they can see my texts.

When iCloud first came out, my wife was wondering why she had all of these bookmarks already listed on Safari...so she deleted them all...as well as deleted them on all of my devices.

Now I have iCloud stuff turned on only on my devices...everyone else has to have them off...they either use iTunes Match still or manually download songs as needed.

With iMessage, I know my wife doesn't know enough to go into settings and add my info to her devices. I set her up so she has her number/email on her phone and iPad only and mine are checked on mine.

 

[olidpass8]

My thinking is that for every user at home he/she may have more than one iOS devices so they would need their own Apple ID for iCloud across their devices.

Say user #1 has iphone, iPad, and a MacBook Air. So user #1 should use an unique Apple ID for iCloud to work across his/her devices.

So the only solution is to use Find My Friends and invite each iCloud Apple ID to be tracked. (You can only do this in a family because who would want to be tracked by someone else all the time.)

 

[MozMan68]

The problem with that is music may now not be shared...

And apps as well...

The great thing about having the same account for the four iPads and two iPhones in our house is that I only have to buy songs and apps once for everyone to use. Real important when kids are using Pages, Keynote and others that cost more than 99 cents.

 

[wmitch]

We have always had 1 Apple ID. We share a Macbook and share an Ipad and now will each have our own iPhones.

Would love to hear how other people are managing this. I really don't want to have to get additional Apple IDs because of all the music and other purchases that would be lost.

thanks!

 

[olidpass8]

The problem with that is music may now not be shared...

And apps as well...

The great thing about having the same account for the four iPads and two iPhones in our house is that I only have to buy songs and apps once for everyone to use. Real important when kids are using Pages, Keynote and others that cost more than 99 cents.

I agree. I have one Apple ID for my purchases from iTunes/App Store. However, I didn't want to use the same Apple ID on all the devices in the iCloud account because then every device will end up sharing the same contacts, Safari bookmarks. and documents and data because that's device specific.

 

[pdqgp]

The problem with that is music may now not be shared...And apps as well...

The great thing about having the same account for the four iPads and two iPhones in our house is that I only have to buy songs and apps once for everyone to use. Real important when kids are using Pages, Keynote and others that cost more than 99 cents.

I suppose you could share passwords though.

My wife has had her own login and password for a while and somehow I ended up with two very similar ones likely by mistake at some point. Anyway, in terms of apps her and I know each others passwords so if in the event my phone has an app on it under one account that I'm not logged in under it will prompt me to enter that password, so I do. Not a big deal.

We don't have a problem with music as I never purchase through iTunes and when she does I strip their DRM copyright BS from them with software so we can move it around and share it as we please.

 

[ThisIsNotMe]

---

 

[KeepCalmPeople]

Background:
Problem #3:
Because each user needs his/her own Apple ID for iCloud, iMessage, FaceTime, I can no longer use Find My iPhone to track all the devices with the same Apple ID that's in iCloud, because now everyone has to had their own iCloud Apple ID for iCloud to work.

There is a pretty easy workaround for this, which I use with my family's devices.

As you have already realised, the best way forward is for each family member to have his/her own Apple ID. Each person then gets 5GB of iCloud space for backups etc. In the device settings, the one iCloud account is the user's Apple ID. You can still log into the App store and iTunes on each device using the family Apple ID that has historically been used for purchasing content and apps.

Next, add a second iCloud account to each device, after the user's iCloud account. This second account logs in with your 'monitoring' Apple ID and has all syncing options turned off - the only thing turned ON in 'Find My Phone'. When you do this, 'Find My Phone' will be turned off in the user's iCloud account.

Now you can log into 'Find My Phone' on any computer or device using the 'monitoring' Apple ID and you will see a list of all the devices in your family.

That's how I've done it.

 

[haoledoc]

If you just want to be able to see where everyone in the family is, find my friends will do a much better job of this than find my iPhone. Find my iPhone is really more for lost devices than everyday tracking. The new version of find my friends in iOS 6 even has vey convenient geofencing features. Now my wife and I can easily notify each other when leaving work without having to wake up the phone or send a text. It's really useful.

 

[olidpass8]

There is a pretty easy workaround for this, which I use with my family's devices.

As you have already realised, the best way forward is for each family member to have his/her own Apple ID. Each person then gets 5GB of iCloud space for backups etc. In the device settings, the one iCloud account is the user's Apple ID. You can still log into the App store and iTunes on each device using the family Apple ID that has historically been used for purchasing content and apps.

Next, add a second iCloud account to each device, after the user's iCloud account. This second account logs in with your 'monitoring' Apple ID and has all syncing options turned off - the only thing turned ON in 'Find My Phone'. When you do this, 'Find My Phone' will be turned off in the user's iCloud account.

Now you can log into 'Find My Phone' on any computer or device using the 'monitoring' Apple ID and you will see a list of all the devices in your family.

That's how I've done it.

Thank you. I'll try that! I didn't know you can have more than one iCloud account turned on at the same time for each device.

----------

If you just want to be able to see where everyone in the family is, find my friends will do a much better job of this than find my iPhone. Find my iPhone is really more for lost devices than everyday tracking. The new version of find my friends in iOS 6 even has vey convenient geofencing features. Now my wife and I can easily notify each other when leaving work without having to wake up the phone or send a text. It's really useful.

Thanks