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TvOS 13 - how to use Multiple Users?

S

se99jmk

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 11, 2012
105
16
Got tvOS 13 installed, figured out how to sign in with a second account, and how to open Control Center for account switching.

On the user setup screen it includes:
- User management (switch, account settings, add new)
- iCloud
- Game Center
- Home Sharing

I had assumed that when switching users, it would also switch to THEIR iCloud etc?

I love seeing Photos for example; but when we switch to my wife’s account I expect to see her photos

It looks though like for iCloud / Game Center / Home Sharing you can only be logged in to one account, whereas user switching only applies to:

- Videos (Movies & TV shows?)
- Music
- Up Next
- Purchases
 
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Yeah, really hoping it was going to be like Account Switching on OS X - your own apps, your own logins, your own layout... like a complete change

Unfortunately looks like it's a limited change for Videos and Music

Interestingly on launching Amazon Prime Video on the second account, I was prompted to agree to personalisation... so it's looking like anything that appears in TV, would also be personalised... (Shame Netflix isn't in there!!)
 
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I guess that I can appreciate this. It's just iCloud etc streaming. I suppose if your entire family's apps appeared, it would fill the Apple TV especially if you've only got the 32GB one (I'm thinking teenagers with games).

We all in our house buy iTunes film on our Apple I.D's so this quick switching feature is super handy :)
 
BODYBUILDERPAUL said:
I guess that I can appreciate this. It's just iCloud etc streaming. I suppose if your entire family's apps appeared, it would fill the Apple TV especially if you've only got the 32GB one (I'm thinking teenagers with games).

We all in our house buy iTunes film on our Apple I.D's so this quick switching feature is super handy :)
Click to expand...

I'm not thinking ALL of your apps appearing (they're not all supported on ATV anyway), but when switching between Users on ATV I want to see _my_ app layout, and my wife can see _her_ app layout -

e.g. I like Arcade at the top and Netflix, she wants a Yoga app at the top...

And when looking at Photos, I want to see mine, and when switching, should be showing hers...?

Unfortunately seems to be limited to videos (and music) currently, but maybe that'll improve!!
 
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se99jmk said:
I'm not thinking ALL of your apps appearing (they're not all supported on ATV anyway), but when switching between Users on ATV I want to see _my_ app layout, and my wife can see _her_ app layout -

e.g. I like Arcade at the top and Netflix, she wants a Yoga app at the top...

And when looking at Photos, I want to see mine, and when switching, should be showing hers...?

Unfortunately seems to be limited to videos (and music) currently, but maybe that'll improve!!
Click to expand...

I meant all of the Apple TV apps that each user has :)
Definitely worrying for photos if a person puts their photos on iCloud. I would never do that as I prefer to keep them all on my MacBook and sync the albums that I love onto my iPhone and then AirPlay or Apple HomeShare. Photos to me are personal and I would not want anyone else looking at my photos.
 
BODYBUILDERPAUL said:
I meant all of the Apple TV apps that each user has :)
Definitely worrying for photos if a person puts their photos on iCloud. I would never do that as I prefer to keep them all on my MacBook and sync the albums that I love onto my iPhone and then AirPlay or Apple HomeShare. Photos to me are personal and I would not want anyone else looking at my photos.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know what you mean about Photos - the TV is quite a 'public' screen, so definitely not something everyone would want to be sharing! Personally I'm happy with sharing, so when switching to my wife's User on ATV, would expect it to show her photos (or not, depending if she wants to share her photos) - currently Photos are always mine, irrelevant or User selected
 
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I’m good with this implementation. We use my sister-in-laws login for all of the kids movies but that means I can’t login to my account when I want to. This will fix that and make it more convenient.

I know Apple did not implement this for my scenario as I’m sure they don’t like it, but it still helps!
 
Then this really isn't "multiple users" support. Very disappointed. Basically it sounds like it is just a shortcut to switch the iTunes account and nothing else. You could already switch between 2 different iTunes accounts, which applied to videos, music and purchases, but it was buried in the settings menu. So, Apple's idea of "Multiple Users" is to just add a shortcut to a feature that already existed. Stupid.

Come on Apple, true multiple users means everything changes; custom home screen for each user, custom icloud, game center and home sharing accounts. Other things like YouTube TV would default to my wife's account under her login and default to mine under my login (you know, more like how PC logins work). If Apple really wants to start competing with Xbox and PlayStation then they can't force everyone on an Apple TV to use 1 GameCenter account. MS and Sony would never dream of forcing you to use 1 XBL or PSN account on a console.

Seems like the only change is that each person gets their own "Up Next" which doesn't happen in tvOS 12 when switching iTunes accounts. Still, this doesn't go far enough IMO.

I hope things improve in future beta updates but, so far this is a huge swing and miss by Apple.


nrvna76 said:
I’m good with this implementation. We use my sister-in-laws login for all of the kids movies but that means I can’t login to my account when I want to. This will fix that and make it more convenient.

I know Apple did not implement this for my scenario as I’m sure they don’t like it, but it still helps!
Click to expand...

Like I said, you could actually already have 2 iTunes accounts logged in on tvOS 12. You just had to go to settings, accounts, iTunes, to switch. This is just a shortcut to that setting and now includes personalized Up Next. I was hoping for more though.
 
Last edited:
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Hmm...I can’t get it to work on either of my 4K or non-4K models with tvOS 13. I’ve added a second account, but it never shows up via the list in the menu. Only my main account is listed. I click on the button to add one, input the Apple ID, input the password and submit. It seems like it worked, but then it isn’t listed. Not sure what’s wrong...

Note: It’s a brand new Apple ID I created for my kids, specifically to use this feature on my Apple TV’s.
 
I don't know what Keynote anyone else here viewed, but my understanding of what this feature was announced to deliver is exactly in line with what people are describing as the actual behavior. The complaints have to do with hoped-for or assumed behavior that is not in line with the announcement.

What we have here is much closer to what Netflix does with a membership - multiple user profiles, so that each person sharing a single account gets to see his/her selected media preferences, viewing history, etc.

For a media consumption device, I believe this is as it should be. Sharing the purchases and resources of a single account is much simpler for most users to manage than switching between user accounts in order to access items purchased with a particular Apple ID. Apple's solution for media sharing is Family Sharing - no need to logout/login to access the purchases of other family members.

But yes, unique login accounts are better for user privacy. If you don't want your family to see some of your photos, you don't want to keep them in a family-accessible iCloud Photos library. For Apple TVs in family-shared spaces like kitchens and family rooms, I think Apple might suggest that you create a unique Apple ID specifically for family usage, and use Family Sharing to access content purchased on individual family members' iTunes Store accounts. If there are photos on your account that you want to share with the entire family, put them into the shared Family Album.

The premise behind Family Sharing is that each person's data needs to be isolated (separate Apple IDs/user accounts), but media purchases are generally less personal in nature, and so can be (optionally) shared across accounts.

People at MacRumors seem to want every computing device to have all the capabilities of a general-purpose computer. We're relatively sophisticated users with relatively sophisticated desires. However, mass-market products like an Apple TV can't cater to sophisticated users - simplicity is a virtue when it comes to mass-market adoption.
 
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Anyone else have a problem of not being able select users or even move the cursor at all within the control center on an Apple TV 4 with tvOS 13 beta 2?
 
Solver said:
Anyone else have a problem of not being able select users or even move the cursor at all within the control center on an Apple TV 4 with tvOS 13 beta 2?
Click to expand...

Annoyingly yes, multiple times - restart Apple TV fixes it (temporarily)
 
dugbug said:
Does it integrate with profiles in Hulu or other streaming services that integrate with the tv app?
Click to expand...

Seems to, yes. Anything that updates TV app seems to be affected by profiles (damn you Netflix)

So if I switch to a profile, it suggests recent shows I watched, like the next episode - and same for my wife

Works great as long as:
- you remember to use profiles
- you use services linked in with the TV app
 
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I was surprised that, even without adding any new profiles, I already had two: one for my iCloud account (used for Photos, etc.) and one for iTunes purchases (apps, movies). I know I am not alone in having two Apple IDs, BECAUSE APPLE WON'T LET YOU MERGE APPLE IDS because ... I have no idea why not.

I know I'm not alone in having this setup; anyone have any ideas on the best way to deal with this in tvOS 13?
 
Soo.. for our Appletv we use a family members Appleid because they have a lot of kids movies, but we don’t want to have to contact them just to rent a movie.

Are you guys saying we can already switch between Appleid’s and not mess this up?
 
I realize this question may seem sketchy to some, but I'm really trying to help someone out, and curious if this would work:

Suppose you have two people. Neither wants to do Apple Family Sharing, but both would like to have access to each other's purchased movies and TV shows. With tvOS 13, one could easily add a profile for the other person, but then that would also switch the "Up Next" and viewing history of the individuals.

Could each person create an iCloud account and link that person's iTunes Store account to it, and then add that account as a user profile to tvOS 13?


Yes, I'm well aware that you can simply go into Settings and change the iTunes Store used. I know some couples share an Apple ID, but use different iCloud accounts, and was curious if this would be doable, since it's easier for the two people involved.
 
Alan Gordon said:
I realize this question may seem sketchy to some, but I'm really trying to help someone out, and curious if this would work:

Suppose you have two people. Neither wants to do Apple Family Sharing, but both would like to have access to each other's purchased movies and TV shows. With tvOS 13, one could easily add a profile for the other person, but then that would also switch the "Up Next" and viewing history of the individuals.

Could each person create an iCloud account and link that person's iTunes Store account to it, and then add that account as a user profile to tvOS 13?


Yes, I'm well aware that you can simply go into Settings and change the iTunes Store used. I know some couples share an Apple ID, but use different iCloud accounts, and was curious if this would be doable, since it's easier for the two people involved.
Click to expand...

Family Sharing achieves this now - why not do it?
- each have their own Apple ID with their own purchase history (and recommendations)
- all purchases are done using one card
- when looking at “purchased” content (movies, tv shows, music, apps), you can select another family member to see and access their purchased content
- when changing profiles, you’ll see “Watch Next” based on that persons viewing history and purchased, but other family members can access their purchased content.

Sounds like it achieves exactly what you want?
 
se99jmk said:
Family Sharing achieves this now - why not do it?
- each have their own Apple ID with their own purchase history (and recommendations)
- all purchases are done using one card
- when looking at “purchased” content (movies, tv shows, music, apps), you can select another family member to see and access their purchased content
- when changing profiles, you’ll see “Watch Next” based on that persons viewing history and purchased, but other family members can access their purchased content.

Sounds like it achieves exactly what you want?
Click to expand...

I'm already in a Family Share with some family. I'm well aware of the benefits of doing that.

This person does not want to do Family Sharing, so I'm curious if the above is possible or not.
 
Alan Gordon said:
I realize this question may seem sketchy to some, but I'm really trying to help someone out, and curious if this would work:

Suppose you have two people. Neither wants to do Apple Family Sharing, but both would like to have access to each other's purchased movies and TV shows. With tvOS 13, one could easily add a profile for the other person, but then that would also switch the "Up Next" and viewing history of the individuals.

Could each person create an iCloud account and link that person's iTunes Store account to it, and then add that account as a user profile to tvOS 13?


Yes, I'm well aware that you can simply go into Settings and change the iTunes Store used. I know some couples share an Apple ID, but use different iCloud accounts, and was curious if this would be doable, since it's easier for the two people involved.
Click to expand...


I'm wondering if this is a bug, but I noticed the other day that you cannot change the iTunes Store account on tvOS 13 without changing the user as well.
 
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