More than one person using the Apple TV? Set up multiple accounts!
Since the new Apple TV is meant for rooms—family rooms, classrooms, meeting rooms—it needs to support more than one person. That means it needs to support more than one Apple ID (iTunes/App Store account) at a time. And it does! It may not be as smooth or as powerful as multiuser on the Mac, but it's more than we've had on any iPhone or iPad to date. Here's how it works!
How to add multiple accounts to Apple TV
Before you can use multiple accounts, you need to log into any and all additional accounts you want available.
- Launch Settings from your Home screen.
- Click on Accounts.
- Click on iTunes and App Store.
- Click on Add new Apple ID.
- Enter the additional Apple ID username.
- Click on Continue.
- Enter the additional Apple ID password.
- Click on Sign In.
How to switch between multiple accounts on Apple TV
While you have multiple accounts you can only use one account at a time. That means switching!
- Launch Settings from your Home screen.
- Click on Accounts.
- Click on iTunes and App Store.
- Click on the account you want to use.
You'll now be able to download or re-download any apps or content available on that account.
Family Sharing
Multiple accounts work with Family Sharing, so kids can switch to their accounts and "ask to buy" just like on iPhone or iPad.
Reader comments
How to set up multiple accounts on your Apple TV
Excellent news and about time...
Looking forward to getting my new Apple TV ( soon... )
With all that it would be nice to be able to delete a users profile on the Apple servers.
Is it possible to use a separate Apple ID on Apple TV for the App Store and Apple Music?
I was really looking forward to this feature. I'm def going to put this on my Xmas list now.
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Reading the next two comments confirms what I was afraid of, this is exactly how it already works on the gen3 AppleTV. Family sharing already alleviates the issue of signing out/in with different accounts, so I only wanted different layouts and parental settings. This is a fail. I will not be purchasing this AppleTV.
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PS- way off topic. I played with one at the Apple Store yesterday. The games look like crap. There's no way those are running at 1920x1080. Plus the racing game I played (Asphalt?) would stutter, and the steering has a huge dead zone. Leave it to Apple to think one device can do everything. Yet it pretty much sucks at everything it attempts to allow us to do.
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Switching App Store/iTunes accounts in settings doesn't seem to change the content on the home screen and change the settings/profile for a child to disable r-rated content.
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I wish it would work like on the Mac, where each account changes app arrangement and other stuff. One step forward, two steps back.
I've just tried to do this on my new ATV4... it does NOT work as suggested in the article... I can go & "Add new Apple ID" quite successfully, and sign in to it... it is an ID from another country (my Wife is Norwegian)... so when I sign in, it throws up a couple of messages, one of which I expected, the other was a surprise... - what I'm used to happening - same as on my previous ATV3 is that it would say "This account is only valid for itunes purchases in Norway. You will be switched to that store".. - no problem with that, that has always hapenned.. now it additionally says "Siri is not available in Norway"... OK, an extra prompt I have to hit "OK" to, but no biggie I suppose... once I go past that, I am indeed logged into the 2nd itunes account, and see that account's purchases, content, etc...
The problem is that it DOES NOT save that account anywhere... so I cannot easily switch between the two... when I go back to the accounts page, I can see the 2nd Apple ID as the currently logged on one, but only MY first original Apple ID is listed under "family accounts"... I can click on it to quickly & easily sign out from the 2nd ID and back into my 1st ID... but when I want to go back to the 2nd (wife's) Apple ID, I can see no way to do it other than go through the whole "Add new Apple ID" process again... - a tedious amount of typing!
This functionality worked seamlessly on my ATV3... I had both our Apple ID's setup, and could click on either of them to sign in with no further interaction...
I *REALLY* want that functionality back!!! - we really do need to be able to switch between a UK and a Norwegian Apple ID, since we are a multi-lingual household, and often only one or other store will have the show/movie etc with the desired language & subtitle options...