iPhone: The Missing Manual, 2nd Edition

One Computer, Multiple iPhones

It's perfectly OK to sync multiple iPhones with a single computer, too. iTunes cheerfully fills each one up, and backs each one up, as they come. In fact, if you open the iTunes Preferences dialog box (in the iTunes menu on the Mac, the Edit menu on Windows), you can click the Syncing tab to see a list of all the iPhones (and iPods) that iTunes is tracking.

If you use Windows, however, here's a note of warning: You have to use the same sync settings for everyone's phones.

If, for example, you try to switch your Contacts syncing from Google to Outlook Express, an iTunes dialog box informs you that your changes will affect everyone else syncing iPods and iPhones on the PC. (If you really want every family member happy, have each person sign in with his own Windows user account and copy of iTunes.)

Tip

How's this for an undocumented secret? You can use the iPhone to combine several different address books—Outlook on a PC and Address Book on a Mac, for example. All your contacts wind up on all machines—iPhone, Mac, and PC—and without having to pay $100 for a MobileMe account.

Suppose you've synced the iPhone with Computer #1. When you plug it into Computer #2, click the iPhone icon and then the Info tab. Select the additional program you want to sync from—Outlook, Yahoo, whatever. Click Apply.

When iTunes asks if you want to Merge Info or Replace Info, click Merge ...