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2 iPhones and only 1 iTunes account...advisable or otherwise?

D

daniirwan

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 28, 2010
37
0
Hello all. I currently have an iPhone 3GS that is linked to my iTunes account (under my name and credit card info). It is synced to my desktop PC. Soon, I want to get an iPhone 4 for my wife. She's a housewife and doesn't have a credit card, so will I be able to register her iPhone 4 to my iTunes account and have it bill my credit card when she makes any app purchases? Or is it more adviseable to create a new iTunes account for her? But if I do make a new iTunes account for her, will I also be able to set it so that it will bill my credit card for any app purchases?

Secondly, will we have to sync both our iPhones to only one computer (my desktop) for the above to work or can we both use different computers? She has a laptop on which she can install iTunes on.

Also, will I be able to transfer all the apps (especially the paid ones) from my 3GS to her iPhone 4? If yes, how do I do it?

Will appreciate any feedback/help..thanks in advance!
 
no problems with that. I have an iphone 4, original iPhone, and iPad all linked to the same itunes account and synced on the same Mac, along with an iPod classic, iPod nano 1G and an original iPod Shuffle.
 
daniirwan said:
Hello all. I currently have an iPhone 3GS that is linked to my iTunes account (under my name and credit card info). It is synced to my desktop PC. Soon, I want to get an iPhone 4 for my wife. She's a housewife and doesn't have a credit card, so will I be able to register her iPhone 4 to my iTunes account and have it bill my credit card when she makes any app purchases? Or is it more adviseable to create a new iTunes account for her? But if I do make a new iTunes account for her, will I also be able to set it so that it will bill my credit card for any app purchases?

Secondly, will we have to sync both our iPhones to only one computer (my desktop) for the above to work or can we both use different computers? She has a laptop on which she can install iTunes on.

Also, will I be able to transfer all the apps (especially the paid ones) from my 3GS to her iPhone 4? If yes, how do I do it?

Will appreciate any feedback/help..thanks in advance!
Click to expand...


It is best to have a single account that way all the iPhones you have can share what is purchased and you don't have to pay for apps twice. I have 3 iPhones on my account and we all share what is purchased. I think you can have up to 5 iDevices share the same account and apps.

When setting up gamecenter you may want to create a second account on the phone just for that but I only setup 1 of my 3 iphones with gamecenter and didn't know if I would be able to have all 3 using gamecenter using the same apple account.
 
himni said:
It is best to have a single account that way all the iPhones you have can share what is purchased and you don't have to pay for apps twice. I have 3 iPhones on my account and we all share what is purchased. I think you can have up to 5 iDevices share the same account and apps.

When setting up gamecenter you may want to create a second account on the phone just for that but I only setup 1 of my 3 iphones with gamecenter and didn't know if I would be able to have all 3 using gamecenter using the same apple account.
Click to expand...

I did not know that......
 
-aggie- said:
"She's a housewife and doesn't have a credit card??"

Are you kidding? Let your wife have a credit card.
Click to expand...

OP Aggie is one of the best on this site as far as advice. but whatever you do dont listen to him. DO NOT GIVE YOUR WIFE A CREDIT CARD!!! been married 24 years so I am the expert here!! lol
 
Millar & Himni: thanks so much for the info, you're very helpful. That's good to know. But how do I do that, i.e use my apple itunes account on her iphone4 on her itunes which is installed on her laptop? Can anyone give me a step by step walkthru on what i need to do? I'm a klutz when it comes to itunes and i read that one has to do all sorts of stuff, e.g authorize computer, transfer purchases, etc etc which i havent the foggiest idea about! Hoping someone can help me.

Also, if her iP4 is synced to my itunes account and my itunes on my pc, does it mean that ALL the apps on my itunes will be on her ip4? Cuz there's a few that she wouldn't want. And will her app icons be arranged in the same way (folders, paging) as on my 3gs?

Chargit: lol, thanks! My thoughts exactly.
 
daniirwan said:
Also, if her iP4 is synced to my itunes account and my itunes on my pc, does it mean that ALL the apps on my itunes will be on her ip4? Cuz there's a few that she wouldn't want. And will her app icons be arranged in the same way (folders, paging) as on my 3gs?
Click to expand...
You should be able to just login with your account on her iPhone when you go to make a purchase. It will ask you to confirm your credit card information when you use a new device. I think you just have to put in the 3 or 4 digit security code from the card.
I've never quite under quite understood exactly how this works as far as which apps go on which phone. When I got my second phone it synced all the apps that the first phone had, and put them in alphabetical order. When I got my iPad it did not sync all my existing apps. One thing you can do is create a second user account on the computer, and you can then have completely separate options for syncing.
 
daniirwan said:
Millar & Himni: thanks so much for the info, you're very helpful. That's good to know. But how do I do that, i.e use my apple itunes account on her iphone4 on her itunes which is installed on her laptop? Can anyone give me a step by step walkthru on what i need to do? I'm a klutz when it comes to itunes and i read that one has to do all sorts of stuff, e.g authorize computer, transfer purchases, etc etc which i havent the foggiest idea about! Hoping someone can help me.

Also, if her iP4 is synced to my itunes account and my itunes on my pc, does it mean that ALL the apps on my itunes will be on her ip4? Cuz there's a few that she wouldn't want. And will her app icons be arranged in the same way (folders, paging) as on my 3gs?

Chargit: lol, thanks! My thoughts exactly.
Click to expand...



You should sync both devices with the same computer to keep things simple. If there are apps that she doesn't want you can just delete them off the phone and they won't resync or you can unselect them on the apps tab in iTunes for that devices when it is connected to your computer. You can do the same thing if she downloads apps you don't want on your phone. The app icons will not be arranged the same way she will have to arrange them the way she likes. Also make sure you select to set the new iPhone up as a new phone when you connect and activate it not restore it from your backups. You should also name the phone after you activate it by double clicking on it on the left toolbar that way you can tell the 2 apart.
 
I wouldn't even give my wife an iphone....
All she needs is the food to make dinner and a nice pair of pantyhose. :p
 
-aggie- said:
My wife wanted me to ask if your wife has a burka. :)
Click to expand...

What? Whose wife? Now what the heck does that have to do with what I'm asking here?

dave420 said:
You should be able to just login with your account on her iPhone when you go to make a purchase. It will ask you to confirm your credit card information when you use a new device. I think you just have to put in the 3 or 4 digit security code from the card.
I've never quite under quite understood exactly how this works as far as which apps go on which phone. When I got my second phone it synced all the apps that the first phone had, and put them in alphabetical order. When I got my iPad it did not sync all my existing apps. One thing you can do is create a second user account on the computer, and you can then have completely separate options for syncing.
Click to expand...

Ok, makes sense, thanks Dave. Got her the iP4 today, will sync it soon.

himni said:
You should sync both devices with the same computer to keep things simple. If there are apps that she doesn't want you can just delete them off the phone and they won't resync or you can unselect them on the apps tab in iTunes for that devices when it is connected to your computer. You can do the same thing if she downloads apps you don't want on your phone. The app icons will not be arranged the same way she will have to arrange them the way she likes. Also make sure you select to set the new iPhone up as a new phone when you connect and activate it not restore it from your backups. You should also name the phone after you activate it by double clicking on it on the left toolbar that way you can tell the 2 apart.
Click to expand...

Thank you! May I know what's the function (and difference) of setting the iPhone as 'new' and not 'restoring from backup'? When does one use the latter?
 
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