Are appleids for iCloud, App Store, and iTunes the same?

Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
Here's the problem I'm juggling. Difficult to explain. Bear with me.



I just installed 10.7.2 yesterday (October 12, 2011). We'll be buying iPads shortly (iOS5, of course).



The goal: it is necessary that one appleid be used for all purchases, so that no product (app, iTunes content) need be purchased twice. This would be true for either the two MBPs or the two iPads. Fair enough?



It is necessary that one appleid be used between one MBP and its iPad, and one appleid be used between the *other* MBP and its iPad, to enable syncing of e.g., Safari Bookmarks.



The bookmarks (and Contacts and other information to be shared between one iPad and one MBP) are different for the two pairs. One pair is for me and the other pair is for mi esposa. Okay? But if those are set up as different appleids, and if an app or iTunes content is purchased, that would entail use of a shared appleid. Seems it would entail logging out of iCloud, which in turn leads to loss of some files.



Is all this clear? And is there a solution?



[off topic: It was a true disappointment to me that Apple made syncing Contacts with iCloud mutually exclusive with syncing Contacts with Gmail. grrr]

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 3
    bbwibbwi Posts: 812member
    Apple can't control what Google does with their contacts so how can they ensure that Google contacts will always sync with iCloud? They can't, hence, they don't.



    Start the manual process of consolidating all your data into one shared Apple ID and enjoy sharing your digital life. Separate your esposas stuff with things like folders or other logical organization tools
  • Reply 2 of 3
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4895



    Go there and read.



    You can do what you want... one Apple ID for purchases from iTunes, then you each could have a separate AppleID for iCloud services. All phones and Macs can use the common iTunes/Apple ID for purchases and apps. Each persons device(s) can use the individualized/new AppleID's for cloud services.



    That link spells out pretty clearly how to accomplish this.
  • Reply 3 of 3
    As you may deduce from what I wrote, I made the mistake of setting up everything with iCloud = same appleid as AppStore/iTunes. I'm now backing off to different appleid for iCloud. However, it should be noted, when backing off, iCloud eats calendar contents: be sure to export calendars to ics files before cutting off iCloud account. (It appears all my other iCloud-connected files survived the operation.) Reloading calendars was grievous and time-consuming.



    Thanks for your advice, friends.
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