Share Apps between iPhones
Posted on Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 at 9:19 pm under Mac Geekery.Tags: iphone
The fact that my wife and I both have iPhones is a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because well… we both have iPhones. But it’s also a curse. It has become another gadget to upgrade, to pimp up and gulp- to depreciate quickly . We were both going to get the 2nd generation iPhones but after weighting in the fact that the original ones are upgradable via software, it became hard to justify the cost of a whole new phone. Sorry, 2 new phones. So we opted for the software update, which gave us in a lot of ways a new phone. The upgrade was free, but the mostly inexpensive apps add up. This got me thinking about Fairplay, Apple’s DRM technology used throughout the iTunes store for music and now applications as well. Fairplay allows you to register up to 5 computers and unlimited iPods/iPhones synced to those computers. So… it should be easy for my wife and I to share iPhone apps with each other as long as both our iTunes are authorized to use them. All we need to do is authorize both accounts in both computers and re-download the apps. This could work in Windows, but why would I right?
Here’s a step by step tutorial on how to do it.
Scenario
I have 2 Macs, 2 iPhones, 2 iTunes accounts.
I used one account to buy a game, and another account to buy another one. The goal is to have both games playable on both phones legally with no hacks.
Solution
Have each computer be authorized for both accounts. Re-download apps on 2nd computer with 1st computer iTunes account.
Step 1: Authorize Computers
I step into my wife’s mac, launch iTunes, log out of her iTunes Store account and log in with mine.
Step 1: Log Out and In
Still inside iTunes, I go to the app store and click the Buy App button on the application I had bought in my computer.
- Step 2: re-download
iTunes knows I already paid for this and just let’s be re-download it without charging me again.
Step 2: Confirm
The app then begins to download.
- Step 2: downloading
Once the download is complete, it now shows in the Applications section of iTunes.
- Step 2: downloaded
I can now log out of my iTunes Store account and log her’s back in.
Step 1: Log out and in
Step 3: Sync & Play
I can plug her phone in now and sync.
Step 3: sync
The app should transfer without any fuss.
Step 3: syncing
Once synced, it shows on her phone ready for playing.
Step 3: play
And now both our kids can take over our phones and drain those batteries out.
Step 3: playing
Enjoy.
Jul 23rd, 2008 at 7:02 am
for some reason, the apps store section on my itunes is not working properly. i can’t back-up or store the apps i’ve purchased on itunes. (i’ve had to buy them always through my iphone. any idea?)
i had upgraded to 2.0 the day before the iphone released.
Jul 23rd, 2008 at 7:06 am
actually i CAN download via my mac itunes. but i can’t back up apps i downloaded first on my iphone.
Jul 23rd, 2008 at 8:03 am
Isn’t this stealing?
Jul 23rd, 2008 at 8:42 am
Nah it isn’t stealing. That’s like saying you buy a Mac and if you let your wife use it she has stolen from Apple..
Jul 23rd, 2008 at 8:52 am
That would be like saying it’s stealing to lend a book to your wife to read. Or that it’s stealing to let both your kids play with a video game (instead of buying a separate copy for each child). Both of which would be ridiculous (because neither of those things can possibly be considered stealing).
Jul 23rd, 2008 at 8:54 am
no because its built to allow authorization of 5 computers per account. me and my wife do the same thing with music and games now apps
Jul 23rd, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Maybe I’m missing something, but why not just go to ~/Music/iTunes/Mobile Applications and copy the applications to the other computer?
As long as you log in with the correct iTunes account info, you should be able to copy the applications to the additional iPhone.
IMO, why not just share the iTunes account - I’m married and we share everything else…
Jul 23rd, 2008 at 3:15 pm
I’ve had problems with my iphone and had to reinstall apps purchased via either iTunes or the iPhone and when I redownload them it KNOWS that I have purchased it and can download it for free….
That’s great that Apple’s letting me do that because I’ve had to download CroMag ralley three times…and only was charged the first time.
Jul 23rd, 2008 at 3:42 pm
For GW - You can back up apps you purchased through your iPhone. Hook up your iPhone and start up iTunes. Then in the File menu in the menu bar, choose ‘Transfer Purchases from iPod’. Your apps can now be backup in iTunes. Also, if you don’t see your ‘Applications’ under ‘Library’ in iTunes, go to iTunes preferences and in the ‘General’ pane, put a check in the box next to ‘Applications’ in the ‘Show:’ section. Hopefully this info is helpful. I was confused about it first, too.
Jul 23rd, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Keep in mind that Apple could change the limits on downloaded apps on a whim…
Jul 23rd, 2008 at 4:30 pm
so you can’t just copy the game file from one mac to the other and then type in you account data when prompted?
Jul 23rd, 2008 at 5:17 pm
It seems to have a step missing - at least for mine, I had to “authorize computer” before it would copy the apps back to my iPhone.
Jul 23rd, 2008 at 5:35 pm
The problem with copying the actual file form the Mobile applications folder is that iTunes is keeping all version upgraded in that folder. This was my original method but I got an error when syncing because it could not find the file. So I opted for re-downloading instead.
Jul 23rd, 2008 at 11:40 pm
There is another solution that i found earlier, sync your iPhone with your wifes account and then when you sync back to your machine, it will say your machine is not authroized to transfer the app from the iPhone to the your machine.
It then gives you a popup to enter your wifes iTunes account on your computer to authorize it, do that and its all done. Your machine is now registered for your wifes apps
Obviously you do the same for her phone on your machine.
Jul 24th, 2008 at 3:53 am
[...] op maximaal vijf computers kunt synchroniseren. Ontwikkelaar Melvin Rivera heeft op zijn website meer informatie [...]
Jul 24th, 2008 at 4:35 am
[...] AA, AB, BB Wer mit Account A an Rechner A im App Store einkauft, kann sich mit Account A in Rechner B einloggen und dort die Software kostenfrei erneut herunterladen. Loggt man sich dann mit Account B in Rechner B wieder ein, lässt sich die Anwendung auf auf ein anderes iPhone übertragen. Info: All Forces [...]
Jul 24th, 2008 at 7:54 am
ok. i tried this, and the app store is bringing up the warning that this app is 9.99 and your card will be charged immmediately. i’m logged into itunes through my account on my wifes computer. funny thing is, i checked it through my account on my computer, and it says the same thing. is it really gonna charge me twice?
Jul 25th, 2008 at 5:25 am
[...] http://allforces.com/2008/07/22/share-apps-between-iphones/ Author Comments [...]
Jul 25th, 2008 at 10:19 am
[...] Melvin, being the intelligent man that he is, realized that he shouldn’t have to purchase two copies of Super Monkey Ball: one for his wife’s iPhone and another for his. FairPlay makes it clear that those apps should be able to run on multiple iPhones, so after some poking around Melvin got it to work. Check out his blog for the blow by blow account. [...]
Jul 25th, 2008 at 10:26 am
[...] Melvin, being the clever man that he is, realized that he shouldn’t have to purchase two copies of Super Monkey Ball: one for his wife’s iPhone and another for his. FairPlay makes it clear that those apps should be able to run on multiple iPhones, so after some poking around Melvin got it to work. Check out his blog for the blow by blow account. [...]
Jul 25th, 2008 at 10:49 am
[...] Melvin, being the clever man that he is, realized that he shouldn’t have to purchase two copies of Super Monkey Ball: one for his wife’s iPhone and another for his. FairPlay makes it clear that those apps should be able to run on multiple iPhones, so after some poking around Melvin got it to work. Check out his blog for the blow by blow account. [...]
Jul 25th, 2008 at 11:00 am
[...] Melvin, being the clever man that he is, realized that he shouldn’t have to purchase two copies of Super Monkey Ball: one for his wife’s iPhone and another for his. FairPlay makes it clear that those apps should be able to run on multiple iPhones, so after some poking around Melvin got it to work. Check out his blog for the blow by blow account. [...]
Jul 25th, 2008 at 11:12 am
We just have 1 iTunes account, and therefore have both of our computers and now both of our iPhones authorized on that account.
That way, it’s simple and easy for us to share all of our music, apps, etc. And that is legal and within the bounds of the DRM.
So, if I’ve downloaded an app to my iPhone (either through iTunes or through the AppStore client on the iPhone), and then decide to install it on hers, I just go to the AppStore (again, via iTunes or the iPhone) and download it again. It just tells me - “you’ve already purchased this, would you like to re-download it” and I click yes. Done.
Jul 25th, 2008 at 11:19 am
To dangersdad:
It says that it will charge you twice, but it won’t. After you clikc purchase and buy a message appears saying you already downloaded it and you can download it again for free. Hope that helps!
Jul 25th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Of couurse what you have done is burned two of the five auths available in iTunes for both your wife and you.
Jul 25th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Interesting question. So far as I can tell, iPhone Applications are governed by the same license agreement as other purchases from the iTunes store (excepting those applications that require purchasers to agree to a supplemental license). That agreement is located here:
http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/us/service.html
Section 9(b) of the agreement contains “Usage Rules” for content purchased from the iTunes Store, and its relevant provisions are as follows:
…
(iii) You shall be authorized to use the Products on five Apple-authorized devices at any time, except in the case of Movie Rentals, as described below.
(iv) You shall be able to store Products from up to five different Accounts on certain devices, such as an iPod or iPhone, and Apple TV at a time;
…
This seems to indicate that use on up to 5 devices is kosher. And indeed, for those of us who have multiple iPhones sync’d to the same account, the applications are shared automatically, as is other content from the iTunes Store. This is some evidence that Apple believes its license allows for use on multiple devices.
But this license may not apply to all applications. Developers, when they distribute their materials through the store, adopt the default license for their products unless they provide a supplementary license, as others commenting have indicated developers are able to do. Thus, if a developer disagrees with the default terms provided by Apple, he or she can, it seems, provide additional terms that supersede these, such as (perhaps) limiting or increasing the number of devices an application may be used on.
This leaves several open questions, among them:
1. Will Apple’s FairPlay DRM enforce developers’ alternative license schemes?
2. Does Apple limit what developers may put into their licenses?
3. Can a developer enforce its license in other ways, such as by having its applications “phone home”?
Jul 25th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
dunno if anyone else pointed this out, didn’t read the comments so far…
the applications are stored on your computers as .ipa files, you can copy them back and forth and you don’t have to log out/log in and all that.
Jul 25th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Hey Melvin,
Always fun to see an old Mosaic friend out there on the interwebs. I discovered this solution myself a couple of weeks ago when we activated my old iPhone for my wife.
But now you’re getting linked from tuaw and all famous and stuff. Good luck.
-Dave
Jul 25th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
It’s a lot easier to just buy it once on one computer and then copy it over to the other computer and then load it into the applications folder of the other computer.
Jul 25th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
FYI you can sell your old iPhone for more than the cost of the new 3G iPhone. I sold my 8 GB, 11 day out of warranty phone for $300 within 1 hour of posting it on Craigslist, and replaced it with a 16 GB. YMMV.
Jul 25th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
For those who care, you can definitely sell your old iPhone unlocked for more than the current ones are selling for. I sold both me and my wives phone for $400 each, unlocked.
Jul 25th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
[...] The apps on an iPhone use Fairplay DRM which allow five machines to be authorized. So here is how to get two iPhones in your family works. Hat tip to TUAW for this note from allforces [...]
Jul 26th, 2008 at 12:06 am
I had a similar problem with the apps on my phone not showing up in iTunes. A few days later apps on the phone wouldn’t launch. I did a software restore and synced the phone with iTunes as a new phone. Then synced the phone with my desktop apps.
Only data that syncs with a desktop app like iTunes, iCal, iPhoto will be retained when you sync. You will lose data like: Home screen icon position, phone favorites, notes, startup picture/wallpaper, database inside OmniFocus (unless you have desktop version synced)
Works great now.
Jul 26th, 2008 at 6:24 am
So simple..
I feel so stupid.
Jul 26th, 2008 at 7:25 am
[...] Melvin Rivera has a great step by step set up, so if you are a multiple iPhone family then you may want to head on over and check it out, of nothing else it will help cut some costs with not having to purchase two copies of every app. [...]
Jul 26th, 2008 at 7:31 am
You know, that by publishing that workaround it will be “fixed” in the next iphone software update (just like Apple did when the original itunes music sharing ap allowed users on other computers to download songs from the your music library)
Jul 26th, 2008 at 7:51 am
[...] Melvin, being the clever man that he is, realized that he shouldn’t have to purchase two copies of Super Monkey Ball: one for his wife’s iPhone and another for his. FairPlay makes it clear that those apps should be able to run on multiple iPhones, so after some poking around Melvin got it to work. Check out his blog for the blow by blow account. [...]
Jul 26th, 2008 at 9:36 am
[...] Credit to Melvin Rivera for posting the method. [...]
Jul 26th, 2008 at 9:42 am
It’s easier than that with the same Mac. Just copy the app from my iTunes folder and drop it in my wife’s iTunes folder, then drag it to her iTunes library and it’s there. Good to go.
Family members listen to each others CDs, watch each others DVDs, and play each others PS2 games - so we also listen to each others digital music, watch each others downloaded Movies and play each others iTunes games.
Jul 26th, 2008 at 11:43 am
[...] pagadas una vez entre varios iphone que tengamos en casa, el tutorial en ingles lo podéis ver AQUI os lo traduzco al español para el que no se le de bien el idioma pero es muy sencillo de [...]
Jul 26th, 2008 at 11:48 am
[...] on over to allforces.com to get the full, pictorial-aided tutorial on how to share iPhone applications with multiple [...]
Jul 26th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
[...] on over to allforces.com to get the full, pictorial-aided tutorial on how to share iPhone applications with multiple [...]
Jul 26th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
[...] on over to allforces.com to get the full, pictorial-aided tutorial on how to share iPhone applications with multiple [...]
Jul 26th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
[...] Drüben bei allforces.com findet sich ein interessanten Beitrag: Dabei geht es um die Nutzung kostenpflichtiger iPhone-Apps, die einmal gekauft und dann auf mehrere Geräte transferiert werden. [...]
Jul 26th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
[...] Melvin, being the clever man that he is, realized that he shouldn’t have to purchase two copies of Super Monkey Ball: one for his wife’s iPhone and another for his. FairPlay makes it clear that those apps should be able to run on multiple iPhones, so after some poking around Melvin got it to work. Check out his blog for the blow by blow account. [...]
Jul 26th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
[...] Credit to Melvin Rivera for posting the method. [...]
Jul 26th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
[...] Melvin, being the clever man that he is, realized that he shouldn’t have to purchase two copies of Super Monkey Ball: one for his wife’s iPhone and another for his. FairPlay makes it clear that those apps should be able to run on multiple iPhones, so after some poking around Melvin got it to work. Check out his blog for the blow by blow account. [...]
Jul 26th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
[...] on over to allforces.com to get the full, pictorial-aided tutorial on how to share iPhone applications with multiple [...]
Jul 26th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
[...] on over to allforces.com to get the full, pictorial-aided tutorial on how to share iPhone applications with multiple [...]
Jul 27th, 2008 at 4:31 am
[...] hasta en 5 computadoras diferentes ya han surgido soluciones para compartir las aplicaciones. En All Forces tienen un tutorial (en Inglés) que se basa en andar logueandote y deslogueandote de iTunes en [...]
Jul 27th, 2008 at 9:33 am
My wife and I share the same itunes account. So after she’s bought an app, I can just browse to the app store and buy it again on my phone. The phone is smart enough to offer to let me download it for free as I’ve already bought it. Very simple. Then it backs up the app to my own mac when I sync again.
Jul 28th, 2008 at 3:35 am
[...] Kjøper du musikk over Apples iTunes Store så er lydsporene (med unntak av iTunes Plus-spor) kopibeskyttet med Apples proprietære DRM-teknologi. Men du kan som familiefar/-mor autorisere opp til fem maskiner til å få tilgang til nevnte kjøp, og dermed spille av lydspor på en i teorien ubegrenset antall iPod’er og iPhone’er. Nå er det sikkert gjenstand for juridisk fortolkning, men kan man analogt si at dette også gjelder programmer som er kjøpt fra iTunes AppStore? Eller har disse sluttbruker-lisenser som overstyrer iTunes-lisensen? Melvin Rivera mener ihvertfall at han har rett til dette, og gir deg en trinn-for-trinn bruksanvisning for dette. PS: På eget ansvar! Via Allforces.com [...]
Jul 29th, 2008 at 2:40 am
[...] di un’applicazione è limitata all’uso su un unico iPhone. Ma sembra esserci un trucco per superare questo limite piuttosto fastidioso (e potenzialmente [...]
Jul 29th, 2008 at 2:51 am
[...] l’acquisto di un’applicazione è limitata all’uso su un unico iPhone. Ma sembra esserci un trucco per superare questo limite piuttosto fastidioso (e potenzialmente [...]
Jul 29th, 2008 at 11:01 am
wow, mac people came out of the woodworks for this post. Post more Mr. Melvin.
Jul 29th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
[...] Filed under: 智能手机一如过去在 iTunes Store 下载的音乐、部份影片，App Store 下载受 FairPlay DRM 机制保护的软件应用，也已经被精明的网友们轻解罗衫，同时也可以跟其它人分享了。不过要把软件的 DRM 给拿掉，一方面必须要先将您的 iPhone jailbreak，另一方面还得把 SSH 给打通，之后还有一些杂七杂八的事情要弄，总之省下的钱值不值得您付出的时间，这一切就很难说了！话说如果您是要安全一点的来分享 iPhone 软件，倒是有人发现了另一个善良一点的漏洞；大家还记得凡是从 iTunes Store 下载下来的多媒体档案，用单一账号可以分享给五台计算机的烂机制吧！不过一直以来 iPod / iPhone 并不在此限，也就是说 iPod / iPhone 并不会认 Apple ID，因此可以无限同步到其它台 iPod / iPhone 里头。至于要分享的方式很简单，只要在另一台电脑上，先以一个已经下载过特定软件的账号登入，然后授权该台电脑，再以原账号重新下载该软件（因为已经购买过了，所以再次下载并不需要收费），下载完毕后，以另一个账号登入，将另一台 iPhone 拿过来同步，接着就可以在另一台 iPhone 上面玩。（换电脑的原因是在不同 iPhone 跟的数据库不同，不换会被洗掉，这大家应该都明白才是）最后一则跟 DRM 有关的问题，就是目前假使有人在 App Store 上发布的软件应用，当中含有受 GPL 授权条款保护的程序代码，作者本身恐怕会有不少麻烦。GPL 本身就是完全开放、公开程序代码的机制，但 iPhone SDK 弄出来、随后丢上 App Store 的软件，本身又会被 FairPlay DRM 给禁锢，两者间的冲突，恐怕是众多开发者必须要小心的地方。另外一点，如果今天发展者最后连一点受 GPL 保护的程序代码都没用上，他们将来也必须注意，用 iPhone SDK 写出来的软件，也不能拿去申请 GPL 授权，因为这样一来就违反了 SDK 的保密条款。不过也不是每个小孩都这么乖，Wordpress 目前已经把将来要放在 App Store 上的软件，先丢到 GPL 的保护伞之下，一旦上传到 App Store，势必会逼苹果有所动作；唯今最好的解决方案，除了苹果把保密条款修一下，让部份软件不受 FairPlay DRM 限制（你都让人家免费的，干么还要限制人家怎样发布软件呢？）。参考阅读Read - 如何分享 iPhone 应用Read - Super Monkey Ball DRM 遭破解Read - Wordpress 程序代码纳入 GPL 保护伞之下Permalink | Email this | Comments [...]
Jul 30th, 2008 at 11:05 am
[...] Melvin, being the clever man that he is, realized that he shouldn’t have to purchase two copies of Super Monkey Ball: one for his wife’s iPhone and another for his. FairPlay makes it clear that those apps should be able to run on multiple iPhones, so after some poking around Melvin got it to work. Check out his blog for the blow by blow account. [...]
Aug 1st, 2008 at 6:20 am
[...] iTunes on the user’s computer you wish to share with, and download the apps. Here is a more detailed description. Another little tip I found useful if you find your iPhone crashing a lot when running certain [...]
Aug 1st, 2008 at 6:26 pm
[...] Melvin, being the clever man that he is, realized that he shouldn’t have to purchase two copies of Super Monkey Ball: one for his wife’s iPhone and another for his. FairPlay makes it clear that those apps should be able to run on multiple iPhones, so after some poking around Melvin got it to work. Check out his blog for the blow by blow account. [...]
Aug 3rd, 2008 at 2:56 pm
how would you do this for an app such as NetShare that’s been pulled from the US app store? I have it on one computer, but how to I move it to another, authorized computer?
Aug 3rd, 2008 at 4:46 pm
This no longer works, i think apple updated itunes. :(
Aug 4th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Just upgraded to the new firmware (2.0.1) and this doesn’t seem to work. Are they related? Do you have to be logged in to the purchasing account in order to sync the apps?
Aug 10th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Hey Melvin, this is a great tip. I’m wondering if you and your wife share music this way? My wife and I both have iPhones, and I’m working on a solution for that.
We have a pretty large music collection (140ish GB) which I keep all connected to my machine so as to only manage one iTunes library. Previously (when we just used iPods) I just manually managed all of the music on her iPod - unfortunately we haven’t figured out how do do this with our new iPhones since my wife’s iPhone doesn’t want to connect to my iTunes w/out being synced to my machine.
Have you (or anyone else) figured out a solution for this?
Aug 14th, 2008 at 12:09 am
[...] Enjoy! More screenshots of How to Share Applications between iPhones are available from here. [...]
Aug 17th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Still works — here’s what I did — all the apps are one account, so I just synced the second phone to that account (turned off all syncing except apps). Once the second phone went to it;s home computer, it synced the apps back to the computer. All on 7.7.1, 2.0.1 versions.
Aug 21st, 2008 at 11:12 am
hey i went to do this right now but when i log onto itunes on another computer with the account that i paid for the app with and click buy app it says are you sure you want to buy this app? i say yes…then another confirmation comes up saying that my credit card will be charged! (as the second confirmation)
where is the screen that says you have already bought it ?????????
Sep 1st, 2008 at 9:29 am
Yes the original method no longer works but I was still able to make this happen. Here’s how I did it:
Copy the .ipa files to be shared (usually stored under your Music/iTunes folder) from their original purchase location to a USB stick. Put the USB stick into the computer that the second phone syncs to. Open iTunes and open the “Applications” library. Drag the .ipa files into the Applications window. Sign in to this copy of iTunes as the original purchaser of the application(s) (I’m not sure if this step is necessary or not but I did it). Authorize this copy of iTunes as the original purchaser of the applications under Store->Authorize computer (this step definitely required). Now sync the second phone as usual and the shared apps should transfer to the phone.
Worked for me as of 10 mins ago. Thanks for the tips everybody!
Sep 6th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
worked great.
Oct 14th, 2008 at 6:02 am
[...] iTunes store의 내용을 그대로 유지하려면 다시 컴퓨터를 인증받으면 된다. 이 글 을 [...]