iPod touch How many apple ID's can I place on a single device

[FiremanMike]

Sorry, I wasn't really sure where to place this.. Mods please move it if necessary..

Upon purchasing my iPhone 5, through pass downs all 5 members of my family now have an idevice. Myself, my wife, and my oldest daughter will have iPhones, and my youngest daughters will have iPod touches.

The problem is that we currently have 2 apple id's with separate purchases (my wife has purchased some songs, I have purchased some apps) but we are now wanting to have each iDevice have it's own apple ID.

So the question is, I know you can authorize an extra apple ID onto a device, as I have some of my wife's songs, and she has some of my apps. If we were to give our daughter's their own apple ID, could we then authorize both my wife and my apple ID on their devices so that they can access our apps and songs?

 

[dchao]

I don't thing apps and songs have DRM restrictions anymore. That means you just have to sign in to your iTunes account to downloading them. But after that, you dont have to Keep signing in any more to play the songs or use the apps.

 

[stiligFox]

I don't thing apps and songs have DRM restrictions anymore. That means you just have to sign in to your iTunes account to downloading them. But after that, you dont have to Keep signing in any more to play the songs or use the apps.

Apps still have DRM.

 

[dchao]

but there is no restriction on the use of iOS apps (I could download an app from one AppleID and run it while I am signing in to another Apple ID). I don't even think there is a way to authorize your iOS devices.

In iOS 6, you are also no longer required to enter a password for the free apps you choose to download.

What's the point of the DRM then?

 

[Night Spring]

but there is no restriction on the use of iOS apps (I could download an app from one AppleID and run it while I am signing in to another Apple ID). I don't even think there is a way to authorize your iOS devices. What's the point of the DRM then?

You need to sign in to update the apps. In the case of of the OP, if he puts apps purchased with his apple ID on his wife or daughter's device, they can just keep using those apps, but when updates are available, they'd be asked to enter the OP's account password if they want to download the update.

 

[dchao]

You need to sign in to update the apps.

But surely, that has nothing to do with the DRM. If the DRM is enforced on a device, your app will only work if the device is authorized to run the app, and as soon as you change your AppleID or sign out, the app will no longer work. But that's not the case with the AppStore.

 

[Night Spring]

But surely, that has nothing to do with the DRM. If the DRM is enforced on a device, your app will only work if the device is authorized to run the app, and as soon as you change your AppleID or sign out, the app will no longer work. But that's not the case with the AppStore.

Well... I think the way it works is that when you log in to an Apple store account on an iDevice, and download an app, then that "authorizes" the device to run that app, and that authorization persists when you sign out of that account. All apps from the app store *are* in fact DRM locked. Try copying an app off your computer and give it to somebody else without letting them have your AppleID and password, and it doesn't work.

 

[Jessica Lares]

You could have a couple of them. Don't worry too much about it.

I use a UK iTunes account, and two US ones I use them all on my iPhone.

As long as iTunes is authorized for the songs, you won't have issues with it, once you load it on your device, there's no issue. It's been like that since the iTunes Music Store first launched.

The apps will have you authorize them when you load them up into the device, but you don't have to be LOGGED in to use them. And you can always just do the updates via iTunes/sync instead of having to log in and out on the device itself.

 

[stiligFox]

But surely, that has nothing to do with the DRM. If the DRM is enforced on a device, your app will only work if the device is authorized to run the app, and as soon as you change your AppleID or sign out, the app will no longer work. But that's not the case with the AppStore.

True true, but, at least this is the way it used to be for me, if you try to sync your iPod to a library that is not authorized for that account, it will automatically (or it might ask, I forget) uninstall the offending app(s).

So you can install an app with whatever account you want, but to continue to sync the device to a computer that account needs to be authorized on iTunes.

(Please correct me if I'm wrong)

 

[Solomani]

I use a UK iTunes account, and two US ones I use them all on my iPhone.

Is music selection better in the UK than the US? Because dang.... some of the great U2 albums I cannot buy from the US iTunes Store. For example, their awesome album called "The Best of 1980-1990 / The B-Sides" is simply not available in US Store. It contains tracks that cannot be had from other albums.

 

[Jessica Lares]

Is music selection better in the UK than the US? Because dang.... some of the great U2 albums I cannot buy from the US iTunes Store. For example, their awesome album called "The Best of 1980-1990 / The B-Sides" is simply not available in US Store. It contains tracks that cannot be had from other albums.

Yeah, that's pretty much why I have the account over there. There is a lot of music I listen to that you can't buy here. Their Christmas giveaway is really cool too. Sadly they can't have that type of promotion here due to legal terms, but I've had no problems with using the apps, shows, and films given out with it.

 

[dchao]

True true, but, at least this is the way it used to be for me, if you try to sync your iPod to a library that is not authorized for that account, it will automatically (or it might ask, I forget) uninstall the offending app(s).

So you can install an app with whatever account you want, but to continue to sync the device to a computer that account needs to be authorized on iTunes.

(Please correct me if I'm wrong)

Thanks for the heads up.

But Apple must be thinking about DRM-free Apps now. As free apps can now be downloaded without signing in (presumably no DRM there) . Also, I don't sync to my iTunes anymore, so authorization is pretty meaningless now.

 

[stiligFox]

Thanks for the heads up.

But Apple must be thinking about DRM-free Apps now. As free apps can now be downloaded without signing in (presumably no DRM there) . Also, I don't sync to my iTunes anymore, so authorization is pretty meaningless now.

Yeah, I rarely sync to iTunes myself.

Free apps still do require the password, at least for me. Redownloading free/paid apps without the password is all that can be done ATM.

 

[KeepCalmPeople]

To answer the OP, each of your children can (and indeed should) have her own Apple ID for backing up to the cloud. This will be the one iCloud account you set up on each iDevice.

On each iDevice you can then log into iTunes and the App Store using your Apple ID to download your content, then log out and log in with your wife's Apple ID to download her content (music and apps).

 

[tonov12]

I was wondering about this myself. I currently only have an Ipad but just purchased my three children Ipod Touchs and plan on getting Iphones when my wife and I are due to upgrade. I'm curious as to the best way to manage the content my children get on their IPTs while also making sure I don't have to make multiple purchases of the same App/song to get it on multiple devices. For example, purchase a song with explicit lyrics only to have it sync to my 10 y.o son's Ipod . I'm sure there is a resource out there that gives a breakdown of all options with pros/cons and such, but I've yet to locate it. TIA

 

[Zmanbaseball2]

If you purchased an app on an apple Id you can login with that Id and re-download the purchased apps for free on all devices you want the app on.
For updating iOS 6 you do not need a password for updating apps too