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Family sharing screwed up

D

deviant

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 27, 2007
1,187
275
So me and my fiancé have family sharing. iPhone plus to iphone plus worked like a charm, she can see my purchases and download them. On her iPad air though if she goes to purchased and chooses my name she sees all the apps but all the apps have "free" instead of a little cloud. She can download them but while launching it stops and says this item is no longer shared with you, download it from App Store. Funny thing is even free apps do this, and if she tries to download them from the store and not from purchases they download, but white launching it still says it's not longer shared so bla bla bla. I, on the other hand can still download and use hers. I read somewhere a complete restore can help but I don't wanna do it..
Anybody ever had the same problem?.
 
Last edited:
Cmon guys help me out, it's getting frustrating she can't download and use ANY app, free or paid IF I already bought it
 
I found family sharing is very broken. Always has been. I have seen the same.
 
Marli said:
I found family sharing is very broken. Always has been. I have seen the same.
Click to expand...

I loved it when we got the pluses and it worked ok. She uses the iPad less so I tried it yesterday and found this bug. Ugh.
 
deviant said:
So me and my fiancé have family sharing. iPhone plus to iphone plus worked like a charm, she can see my purchases and download them. On her iPad air though if she goes to purchased and chooses my name she sees all the apps but all the apps have "free" instead of a little cloud. She can download them but while launching it stops and says this item is no longer shared with you, download it from App Store. Funny thing is even free apps do this, and if she tries to download them from the store and not from purchases they download, but white launching it still says it's not longer shared so bla bla bla. I, on the other hand can still download and use hers. I read somewhere a complete restore can help but I don't wanna do it..
Anybody ever had the same problem?.
Click to expand...

Better idea. Turn off family sharing. Instead, both of you share one Apple ID for app store and iTunes purchases. (But use separate Icloud apple IDs). I would create a new AppleID with a new email address for this purpose.

So on each device: boygirl@email.com use this ID for iTunes/appstore on your device and her device.

boy@email.com (use this for icloud on your device)

girl@email.com (use this for icloud on her device)

My family does this -- works like a charm. No need to use family sharing.
 
caesarp said:
Better idea. Turn off family sharing. Instead, both of you share one Apple ID for app store and iTunes purchases. (But use separate Icloud apple IDs). I would create a new AppleID with a new email address for this purpose.

So on each device: boygirl@email.com use this ID for iTunes/appstore on your device and her device.

boy@email.com (use this for icloud on your device)

girl@email.com (use this for icloud on her device)

My family does this -- works like a charm. No need to use family sharing.
Click to expand...

Family sharing comprehends a lot more than app purchases :) Anyway, i just called apple to buy applecare+ for the new iPhone and mentioned this problem and the guy told me to try to reset settings (without deleting data) and try again.Maybe i'll try it tonight.. The thing is .. she doesn't seem to care a lot like me so i don't know if she'll allow me to perform a surgery on her beloved iPad :D
 
Wish I could help, because right now I'm using the same ID for 3 phones and was considering Family sharing as well. From what I'm reading, it just seems too cumbersome/screwed up to even attempt.

By the way, Apple's response always seems to be reset setting or re-install your software. Not saying that won't solve the issue, but it's usually suggested more out of the tech's incompetency than anything else. Apple tech support and their troubleshooting in(abilities) leaves a lot to be desired.
 
reckless2k2 said:
caesarp has the right idea as that's how I'm setup but I also have family share setup more for Find My iOS Device.

itunes/app store:
buyingaccount@email.com

icloud:
uniqueoneachdevice@email.com

Family Share
buyingaccount@email.com (organizer)
unique1@email.com (adult)
unique2@email.com (adult)
unique3@email.com (kid)
etc....
etc....
Click to expand...

If you know each others icloud ID, than you can just log in as the other person to find that device. Since find my device is likely rarely used, its not a bad solution.
 
caesarp said:
If you know each others icloud ID, than you can just log in as the other person to find that device. Since find my device is likely rarely used, its not a bad solution.
Click to expand...

I've got 3 kids to track. It's easier than logging in each time with their credentials. Hahahaha.

And it allows me to continue to track and monitor their purchases.
 
reckless2k2 said:
I've got 3 kids to track. It's easier than logging in each time with their credentials. Hahahaha.

And it allows me to continue to track and monitor their purchases.
Click to expand...

I just set up "restrictions" on my son's device. So he needs to ask me to enter the password to purchase or download anything. He's 10 (if you have older kids, I can see how Family Sharing may be better). And I don't want to track his whereabouts (I only use find my device if its lost or stolen -- and that's never happened).
 
reckless2k2 said:
caesarp has the right idea as that's how I'm setup but I also have family share setup more for Find My iOS Device.

itunes/app store:
buyingaccount@email.com

icloud:
uniqueoneachdevice@email.com

Family Share
buyingaccount@email.com (organizer)
unique1@email.com (adult)
unique2@email.com (adult)
unique3@email.com (kid)
etc....
etc....
Click to expand...

So you have it set up the "old" sharing way, as well as the "new" way? No hiccups? I've been hesitant to jump given all the problems everyone seems to be having. All I really want is the find my iphone and the ability to approve purchases form my phone without having to type in my password on the kids device everytime they want something.
 
caesarp said:
What else do you need it for, other than sharing apps, music and movies?
Click to expand...

apps, Calendar, Reminders, ability to see her position in the messages app easily. Stuff like that. I agree, it's not what it could've been but hey, at least it's a start. it works like a charm between the two iPhones, it's the iPad the problematic one
 
caesarp said:
Better idea. Turn off family sharing. Instead, both of you share one Apple ID for app store and iTunes purchases. (But use separate Icloud apple IDs). I would create a new AppleID with a new email address for this purpose.

So on each device: boygirl@email.com use this ID for iTunes/appstore on your device and her device.

boy@email.com (use this for icloud on your device)

girl@email.com (use this for icloud on her device)

My family does this -- works like a charm. No need to use family sharing.
Click to expand...

We use this system as well. I see absolutely no benefit to the Family Sharing functionality over this method....and from all the posts it seems like it causes more problems than it solves.
 
kirsch92 said:
So you have it set up the "old" sharing way, as well as the "new" way? No hiccups? I've been hesitant to jump given all the problems everyone seems to be having. All I really want is the find my iphone and the ability to approve purchases form my phone without having to type in my password on the kids device everytime they want something.
Click to expand...

The purchase piece is a pain since it's tied to the "master" pay account and I don't want them to know that password. Essentially, I have to go to their devices and type in the password since it's the master account for iTunes. The setup I'm using though preserves iTunes Match and consistency across devices. Ultimately for me, the only reason I really wanted Family Share is for Find my iDevice for everyone. Then I lock down things with restrictions so they can't unlock or delete certain things (accounts, Find my Device, Location Services, Restricted Sites, Content, etc.).

It all seems like a bunch of work-arounds but it works for me. Some find the old fine and some the new. I do a little of both. Hahaha.
 
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