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Do I need to purchase Lion multiple times for Macs in the same household?

I

InfiniteLoopy

Cancelled
Original poster
Dec 14, 2010
366
5
I'm not interested in breaking the EULA, so want to be sure this is OK:

One household, several Macs, all with different Apple IDs.
I've burned my downloaded copy of Lion onto a DVD and would like to know whether I am allowed to load Lion onto each Mac with the DVD and register it with each Mac's Apple ID?

Do Apple allow this?

If not, is the only "approved" way to login to each Mac with my own ID, download and install it, and then logout again?

To be honest, I can't really see what's wrong with doing the first option as Apple seem to allow users to install one copy on all their household Macs, except that it means Apple gets less downloads for their stats (if they even measure that).

Does anyone know?
 
Thanks.

Just to make sure I've understood:

Apple allow multiple users who live in the same household to download anything from the Mac App Store once, and share it between them. That's correct, right? In my case, I "administer" all the Macs anyway.
However, Apple want all users to share the same Apple ID, but in practice, it doesn't really matter as what counts really is that they are all in the same household. So basically, Apple wouldn't mind what I proposed. :eek:
 
InfiniteLoopy said:
Thanks.

Just to make sure I've understood:

Apple allow multiple users who live in the same household to download anything from the Mac App Store once, and share it between them. That's correct, right? In my case, I "administer" all the Macs anyway.
However, Apple want all users to share the same Apple ID, but in practice, it doesn't really matter as what counts really is that they are all in the same household. So basically, Apple wouldn't mind what I proposed. :eek:
Click to expand...

No you did not understand. It is not permitted but the poster was saying Apple will never find out. If you truly believe that and want to hang your hat on that then go right ahead.

Unless you purchase something that has a multi-license attached to it the EULA assumes you understand (because it states it) that you can only install on one machine. You can do it, it's possible but it is breaking the rules. Will the Po Po come get you? Not likely. Why not get the family pack or whatever the equivalent is?
 
I believe that, as Lord Appleseed said, it's possible. However, I believe if you only administer all the Mac's and they aren't actually yours, you would technically be violating the EULA. I'm not at my Mac right now and don't have the EULA in front of me, but that's my general understanding.
 
Well lets say you have 3 Macs at home:
Mom's, Dad's, and little Jimmy's.
Every one has also their own Apple Account.

One day Dad decides to download Lion.

Theoretically he should not simply share lion with the other two Mac's that are running different Accounts.
But since it's the same household I don't really think it's a Problem. And as I said, Apple will not find out. However keep in mind that the recovery partition will not work with the other Accounts.
 
jessica. said:
No you did not understand. It is not permitted but the poster was saying Apple will never find out. If you truly believe that and want to hang your hat on that then go right ahead.

Unless you purchase something that has a multi-license attached to it the EULA assumes you understand (because it states it) that you can only install on one machine. You can do it, it's possible but it is breaking the rules. Will the Po Po come get you? Not likely. Why not get the family pack or whatever the equivalent is?
Click to expand...

A few things:
- If there was a family pack, I would buy that if it's what Apple intended. Fact is, there is no family pack so before paying n*$30, I just want to make sure whether Apple will allow me to install them on all the Macs in my household.
- Also, no need to be so aggressive, I was just asking a question.
- Jason Snell seems to indicate that I can do what I have been saying:
http://www.macworld.com/article/161026/2011/07/osx_lion_review.html?lsrc=top_1:
The good news is that, once you’ve got a Lion installer, you can copy it freely to all the Macs in your house (so long as they’re running the latest version of Snow Leopard) and upgrade them to Lion. Not only is that convenient, but it’s legal: The Lion download license covers all of the Macs in your household, making that $30 an even greater deal. If you’re planning on updating multiple Macs to Lion, though, be warned: the Lion installation app self-destructs after use. After you download it, move a copy somewhere else before installing, or you’ll have to re-download the installer from the App Store before using it on another Mac.
Click to expand...
Now this is MacWorld, so I'm going to guess they know ...

As I said, I'm not trying to steal, I just want to make sure what my options are.
 
Lord Appleseed said:
Well lets say you have 3 Macs at home:
Mom's, Dad's, and little Jimmy's.
Every one has also their own Apple Account.

One day Dad decides to download Lion.

Theoretically he should not simply share lion with the other two Mac's that are running different Accounts.
But since it's the same household I don't really think it's a Problem. And as I said, Apple will not find out. However keep in mind that the recovery partition will not work with the other Accounts.
Click to expand...

Thanks. What's the "recovery partition"?
I was actually wondering whether once one of the other Macs had Lion loaded onto it via the DVD method, signing into the AppStore with that Mac's login wouldn't mark Lion as purchased. It seems to be this case for older Apple products that were first sold via DVD and then became part of the AppStore.
 
As far as i understood from apple's keynote, one lion is purchased you can install it on all your computers. Basically what they said as far as i can remember is that lion is now what SL family pack was before.
 
InfiniteLoopy said:
Thanks. What's the "recovery partition"?
Click to expand...
The Lion Installation creates a Recovery Partition on your HDD that can be accessed on Startup in case you need to recover. However it checks back with Apple to find out if you have the rights to install Lion. If that's not the case it will not allow you to recover. In hat case you'd have to reinstall Lion via your burned disc.
 
Lord Appleseed said:
The Lion Installation creates a Recovery Partition on your HDD that can be accessed on Startup in case you need to recover. However it checks back with Apple to find out if you have the rights to install Lion. If that's not the case it will not allow you to recover. In hat case you'd have to reinstall Lion via your burned disc.
Click to expand...

OK thanks. So would I be better off using the same Apple ID on them all so as to have this recovery partition, even if it means that I need to download it on all? I wonder how this will affect those buying the USB key coming out next month ...

I found the EULA:

"License from Mac App Store. If you obtained a license for the Apple Software from the Mac App Store, then subject to the terms and conditions of this License and as permitted by the Mac App Store Usage Rules set forth in the App Store Terms and Conditions (http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/ww/) (“Usage Rules”), you are granted a limited, non-transferable, non-exclusive license:
(i) to download, install, use and run for personal, non-commercial use, one (1) copy of the Apple Software directly on each Apple-branded computer running Mac OS X Snow Leopard or Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server (“Mac Computer”) that you own or control;
(ii) If you are a commercial enterprise or educational institution, to download, install, use and run one (1) copy of the Apple Software for use either: (a) by a single individual on each of the Mac Computer(s) that you own or control, or (b) by multiple individuals on a single shared Mac Computer that you own or control. For example, a single employee may use the Apple Software on both the employee’s desktop Mac Computer and laptop Mac Computer, or multiple students may serially use the Apple Software on a single Mac Computer located at a resource center or library; an

(iii) to install, use and run up to two (2) additional copies or instances of the Apple Software within virtual operating system environments on each Mac Computer you own or control that is already running the Apple Software."
Click to expand...
I'm no lawyer but understand the (i) as I can install one copy of Lion on each Mac I control (though don't necessarily use).
 
InfiniteLoopy said:
OK thanks. So would I be better off using the same Apple ID on them all so as to have this recovery partition, even if it means that I need to download it on all? I wonder how this will affect those buying the USB key coming out next month ...
Click to expand...
Then you have to let the other machines run on that Account 24/7. Just switching for the installation wont help.


InfiniteLoopy said:
I found the EULA:

I'm no lawyer but understand the (i) as I can install one copy of Lion on each Mac I control (though don't necessarily use).
Click to expand...

"you are granted a limited, non-transferable, non-exclusive license:
(i) to download, install, use and run for personal, non-commercial use, one (1) copy of the Apple Software directly on each Apple-branded computer running Mac OS X Snow Leopard or Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server (“Mac Computer”) that you own or control;"

Mean's depending on your role in the household you can very well install your copy on all the Mac's if you are Father or Mother of the Family, since you control the computers then. It wouldn't work for shared living though.
 
Lord Appleseed said:
Then you have to let the other machines run on that Account 24/7. Just switching for the installation wont help.




"you are granted a limited, non-transferable, non-exclusive license:
(i) to download, install, use and run for personal, non-commercial use, one (1) copy of the Apple Software directly on each Apple-branded computer running Mac OS X Snow Leopard or Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server (“Mac Computer”) that you own or control;"

Mean's depending on your role in the household you can very well install your copy on all the Mac's if you are Father or Mother of the Family, since you control the computers then. It wouldn't work for shared living though.
Click to expand...

No, it's a family situation, not shared living. But what I still don't fully understand is how Apple meant for users in such a situation to share the one file. I don't think they ever mention the same Apple ID in the EULA, so apart from using the DVD technique, which isn't exactly officially approved by Apple, I don't see how they envisaged such a scenario... Anyway ...
 
I'm kinda in the same boat and wondering what to do.
I havent gotten home from work yet to buy Lion, but when I do, I'm wondering if I can put it on both of my own macs, and on my girls. She has her own Apple ID, so I'm wondering if I will need to login to mine from her computer or if I am supposed to burn this to a DVD. Also, my work computer is my own, so can I put it on there too?

This is so new to everyone. When I bought snow leopard, I used it for all of the things i'm asking about here....I just want to do the same thing and wondering how to go about it.
 
Lord Appleseed said:
Then you have to let the other machines run on that Account 24/7. Just switching for the installation wont help.
Click to expand...

I seriously doubt they have to run on that account 24/7. I've downloaded media from iTunes and apps from the the Mac App store (free and paid) using my own Apple ID account and my wife's. Never been a problem before.
 
My plan is to install Lion on my MBP through the App store, then make a bootable disc and install it on my iMac without booting from the disc, just installing it from the desktop.

My question is
1. Will this work?
2. Are OSX updates going to be pushed through software update or the app store?
 
ECUpirate44 said:
My plan is to install Lion on my MBP through the App store, then make a bootable disc and install it on my iMac without booting from the disc, just installing it from the desktop.

My question is
1. Will this work?
2. Are OSX updates going to be pushed through software update or the app store?
Click to expand...

It will appear in your purchase history, so why not just download it to your iMac after you've installed it on your MBP?
 
If I purchase Lion on my mac, can I also install it on my dad's and my brothers mac?

How would I go about doing this? Just copy the download to a DVD before I install?

Are there instructions on how to burn to a DVD or is it really simple? I've never done this before.
 
sou1 so1di3r said:
If I purchase Lion on my mac, can I also install it on my dad's and my brothers mac?

How would I go about doing this? Just copy the download to a DVD before I install?

Are there instructions on how to burn to a DVD or is it really simple? I've never done this before.
Click to expand...

Are those machines in the same house and linked with the same Apple ID? If so, yes.
 
Why can't Apple discover multiple users of the same software? Microsoft has been doing that for years. I specifically remember an update allowing them to check to be sure all the software on your computer was authorized.
 
gangof4 said:
Why can't Apple discover multiple users of the same software? Microsoft has been doing that for years. I specifically remember an update allowing them to check to be sure all the software on your computer was authorized.
Click to expand...

They could, easily. Same way they could easily put license numbers for each OS. They just choose not to. Belief in the honor system? More important things to care about? Who knows.
 
baummer said:
When you go to purchase, it asks you to login. Just login with whichever account you used to purchase Lion initially. That's what I did.
Click to expand...

Can I then remove that Apple id once lion is installed or do I need to keep it associated with the iMac to get updates?
 
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