Yes, you can sync 2 Mac computers and an iPhone to a single user MobileMe account? Yes, it’s possible and extremely simple – just follow this tutorial!
The trick is pulling all of the information (contacts, mail accounts, Safari bookmarks, etc.) from the MobileMe cloud and overwriting the data on your 2nd Mac. In fact, it’s the exact same syncing process for any Mac that’s never been synced to MobileMe – Which I already wrote a tutorial about. However, I’ll give you all the details here too.
To limit confusion, I’ll be talking about the 3 machines synced with my MobileMe account:
- iMac
- iPhone
- Hackintosh (a 9” Dell netbook running OSX 10.5.7)
I’ve already setup MobileMe on my iMac and iPhone and it’s been working great for over a year. For this example, I’m adding the Hackintosh (device #3) to my MobileMe account. The Hackintosh has never been synced to any MobileMe account… Here goes…
Start with the Mac you’re adding to MobileMe (the Mac that has NOT been synced with Mobile Me yet). In my case, it’s the Hackintosh. Now follow along:
System Preferences
1. In the Dock, click on System Preferences
2. then click the MobileMe icon
MobileMe SignIn
Enter your MobileMe member name and password & click Sign In
Mobile Me Account Information
You should see your MobileMe account information (date of renewal, free space, account type, etc). Click on Sync tab at the top
Advanced Settings
Click Advanced in the bottom right corner
New Mac
Click the new Mac you’d like to sync (the Hackintosh in my example)
Mobile Me Data
Click Reset Sync Data (don’t worry, it doesn’t sync yet)
Push MobileMe Data
Click the Left arrow (under the computer icon). Now the orange arrow should be moving from MobileMe to the computer. THIS IS CRITICAL because you want the data from MobileMe to be sent to your Mac. Make double sure it’s correct! (if the orange arrow is moving towards the MobileMe icon, you could risk losing your data on MobileMe – and that doesn’t sound like fun.
Replace Mac Data
If you’re sure the orange arrow is moving from right to left (MobileMe to the mac), then click Replace
Are You Sure?
You should see this warning “Are you sure you want to replace data on this computer with data from MobileMe?” Click OK if you’re sure.
Sync, Sync Baby
The sync should start immediately. You’ll see the animated dashes next to the data that MobileMe is downloading to your computer.
Finished Sync
When the sync has finished, open Address Book. Everyone who’s saved in your MobileMe account should now be saved on your Mac.
Mail Passwords
Now open up Mail. You’ll have to enter your email passwords.
Almost Done!
You’ve just synced a 2nd Mac to MobileMe! … Sorta…
Have a Heart Attack
Go back to Mac #1 (the iMac for me) and open Mail. You may notice all of your email accounts have disappeared! I had a heart attack too. No worries – the accounts are still there, but they’ve been set to “inactive”. Why? I don’t know. But here’s how to make them active again.
More Preferences
(Mac #1 – iMac) Go to Mail, then Preferences.
Enable Mail Accounts
(Mac #1 – iMac)
1. Click “Accounts” at the top.
2. Click on your email account on the left.
3. Click the check box next to “Enable this account”.
Save!
(Mac #1 – iMac) Close the preferences window. Click “save”.
Party Like it’s 1999
Do a backflip, pat yourself on the back, smoke a cigar or celebrate in your own way because you’ve just synced 2 Macs & an iPhone to your MobileMe account. Nice job.
You might be able to sync more than 2 computers. I don’t know if Apple allows more than 2 computers – if you can get 3 to sync, please let me know!
Tony, you seem to be a mobileme expert
. In iCall I have several calendars synced (1 Entourage, and 3 Googlecalendars, for myself, my spouse and my daughter). In mobileme, only the entourage calendar appears, not the Google ones. Whereas I expected an exact copy of the iCall calendars. By consequence, the google calendars do not sync to my iPhone (I use the Google app now for this, not handy having two calendars on my iPhone). Do you know what to do?
Hi Frans – You’ve got a lot going on there. Short answer: No, I don’t know how to merge multiple Google and Entourage Calendars into iCal. I don’t use Google (for anything) or Entourage. I can’t find anything helpful at the Apple Support site – other than how to sync Entourage. Sorry Frans, but I’m not much help.
Hi mate, ta for the source and info … What if it won’t allow me to select “Reset Sync Data”?
Hello Yani – Unfortunately, I don’t know what the problem is. But, I did find this: “If Reset Sync Data is dimmed, click the Sync tab and make sure categories to be synced are checked, then go back to Advanced.” You can read the Apple Support document here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1497
Didn’t work for me the sync failed. I used to sync auto, but for some reason it is now never been synced
Hi Todd – Can you give any more details?
Hello!
I tried this but it didn’t work. My iPhone has the most up-to-date information and most of the time this seems to sync well with MobileMe. However recently I have begun to get multiple entries on both iPhone and iCal. I have 2 macs , iPhone and a PC laptop!
Hi Eliza – A couple of things to try. First, make sure your Mac is syncing everything correctly. Go to Preferences, MobileMe then Sync. Make sure you check the box next to “Synchronize with MobileMe”. Then select “Automatically” from the drop down. The second idea check the settings in iTunes. Plug your iPhone into your Mac and open iTunes. In iTunes, click on your iPhone, then go to the “Info” tab. Scroll down to the heading “Sync iCal Calendars.” Do NOT check box next to “Sync iCal Calendars.” Hopefully, you’ll see the message (in small type) “Your calendars are being synced with MobileMe over the air. You can also choose to sync calendars with this computer.” Try this and let us know what happens!
Hi Tony, spent 3 hours with Apple and AT&T over mobileme not syncing calenders…
Everytime I delete my old computer from the drop down menu in moblileme, it is back
there the next time I realize it is not syncing……………I am giving up hope?
Hi Linda – sounds like you want to stop a computer from syncing. That’s easy. You need to change a setting on that computer: Open System Preferences and click MobileMe. Click the Sync tab. Now uncheck the box next to “synchronize with MobileMe”. That will stop the computer from syncing. Now you can create calendar events or add new contacts to test if it’s working correctly. If you still have issues, stop the sync on your iPhone, iPad, etc to see which device is causing the problem. Let me know what happens!
Hi Tony,
thanks for this! I have a somewhat roundabout question
I have mobileme synced with my mac and my iphone. I would like to have the calendar synced with my partner’s iphone (who doesn’t have mobileme) as well, so that we can see each others calendars and stop doublebooking 
I think this should be really easy, but my brain does not want to cooperate – can you help?
cheers
k
Hi Kat,
You can share the account and the setup is easy. All you have to do is login to MobileMe on your partner’s iPhone. (Settings, Mail…). However, your partner will have access to your email, contacts, iDisk, photo gallery, etc – basically, everything. I’ll let you decide if that’s a good or bad idea. I don’t think there’s a way to share ONLY the calendar with another person.
I have a Macbook, my husband has a mac min and we have two iphones. We just recently changed over one of our email accounts to Exchange 2007. Don’t know if that has anything to do with the problem. When I receive emails on my computer for my husband I delete them from my computer, he’s finding they are deleting from him Mac mini. When he pulls them out of the trash on his Mini and puts them in his inbox, they reappear in my inbox on my computer. All of this same chaos is happening with the iphone mail when deleting emails, it affects emails on our computers. How do we stop this? It’s not just happening on the Exchange email, it’s also happening on our basic me.com email account as well.
Hi Bridgette – I believe Exchange and MobileMe email accounts are setup to work just like you said. It’s a way to stop duplicate emails from showing up on all of your devices. It sounds like you and your husband are sharing a MobileMe account. My suggestion is to get separate accounts – that way you won’t see each other’s email at all.
Hi Tony,
Thanks for this. Just one problem. I’ve already synched my second mac as if it was the imac and it keeps mucking up my ical and contacts. So, when I tried to follow your turorial here, it won’t let me reset synch data. can you help? hope this makes sense.
Hi Matt – When you get to the the Reset Sync Data step (see image), make sure you click one of the Macs in the list… Then see if you can click Reset Sync Data.
When I do that, there’s a box on the same line of the image where it says never synched which says “stop synching this computer”. The reset button won’t work and when you click on “stop synching this computer” a box comes up offering to unregister. Any ideas?
Matt – I don’t know what the problem is. You could unregister the Mac, but only if all of your contacts & calendars are correct on MobileMe. That way you *could* setup MobileMe again on your Mac to see if that fixes the problem. However, you may want to call Apple or take your mac to a local Apple Store. Also, I searched the Apple Support website, but couldn’t find anything on this problem. Sorry Matt!
I’m synched wIth Moblie Me to iPhone, and Desktop Mac, and Laptop Mac.
HOW/WHERE DO I SET SYNCHING TO DELETE AN EMAIL FROM ONE LOCATION SO THAT IT’S ERASED ON ALL?
(Can this be done to delete on all from each source?; and if so, is there a DELAY before the deletions takes place?)
Hi David – Typically, there is a couple second delay, but it’s very fast. If you’re using a MobileMe email address, you should be able to delete a message just once from any device – it’s setup that way by default. But, you must be using your @mac.com or @me.com email address for it to work.
(If you’re using a work email address, you have to make sure it’s setup as IMAP on your Macs & iPhone.)
Hi, Tony. MobileMe was my best friend until a couple of weeks ago
(
Now, it is slowing down my second computer so much I’ve just signed out (the wheel spins and the whole computer slows down to a snail’s pace) AND it is now duplicating calendars in iCal daily on my primary Mac. If I make a calendar entry in my iPhone, it’s syncing with MobileMe and then my iCal shows the appointment with a whole new calendar, instead of the one it’s meant to be using. Any ideas?
Thanks a bunch,
Janna
Hi Janna – Are you sure MobileMe is the reason your Mac is running slow? Have you installed any other software lately? I noticed my older iMac is running slower too. I think the new iTunes may have something to do with that, but I don’t know for sure
More bad news… I don’t know how to solve the duplicate calendar problem. Sorry!
I have 3 computers (work PC w/ exchange, home PC w/ Outlook, MacBook Pro) that I would like to syncronize calendar and large contact info using Mobile Me and a new iPhone. Can this be done? I’ve read that Exchange and Mobile Me cannot work together so the Work PC seems to be the problem. Any ideas?
Hi Kev -I haven’t used Exchange & MobileMe, but it looks like you’re right – Exchange & MobileMe don’t mix: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2483. You can try using Google Calendar instead of MobileMe. It should work on all your PCs and iPhone. But that doesn’t solve the contacts problem. Google might have another product to manage contacts that works with Exchange, but I’m not a Google expert.
Thanks Tony-
What about this idea for the Exchange-MM incompatiblity problem? Could I sync an iPhone via USB /iTunes on the Work PC with Exchange, and then have the iPhone syncronize with Mobile Me to my other computers from there? If so, I guess the other problem would be when I’m not connected to the Work PC, I would then have to solve any inconsistency issues when I reconnect phone back to work PC each day (i.e. Phone vs. Work PC data). Seems like that might work…what am I missing?
Hi Tony. If I enter an event in iCal on my MacBook, it goes automatically to MobileMe and to my iPhone. But if I enter an event using my iPhone, it automatically goes to MobileMe (cloud) but never makes it to the MacBook. However, contacts & emails are working just fine. I tried to sync everything by myself, and spent 2 hours with the Genius Bar today. No luck. At this point, I now have nothing in my MacBook calendar, even after telling the cloud to put it back (resetting the data.) I’m afraid to reset my iPhone because I’ll lose all my Groupons. Do you think it’s a phone malfunction, MacBook problem, or MobileMe server issue? Any suggestions? In case it matters, it’s a 3G phone.
Thanks!
Kev - I thought iPhone syncs with Exchange over the air, so there’s no need to connect to iTunes (don’t know for sure, never used Exchange). Even if that does work, there could be a problem if you sync your iPhone with any of your home computers. Pretty sure the iPhone wants to always be connected to the same computer/iTunes. If you’re brave, have backed up all your data recently and can afford to wipe your phone, you could try your suggestion. Keep in mind you could loose all your data. Or you could talk to an Apple store employee to get another opinion.
Hi Carol – You spent 2 hours with an Apple Genius, they couldn’t fix it, and now you’re asking me? That’s a lot of pressure! I’ll give it a shot. WARNING: I’m not an Apple Genius. Following these steps could erase your calendar or contacts! *IF* you decide to follow these steps, backup your iPhone and your MacBook FIRST! Ok, enough of that crap…
My guess is your MacBook is not talking to MobileMe. You can try changing your MobileMe settings on your MacBook –> Open System Preferences, then click the MobileMe icon. Click the “Sync” tab, check the box next to “Synchronize with MobileMe.” Now select “Automatically” from the drop down menu. Last, click the box next to “Calendars” (and anything else you want to sync). To test this, create a new event in your iPhone. Restart your MacBook and open iCal. Hopefully, this will work.
Maybe the Genius already tried this. If so, I’m sorry to say that I can’t help you.
MobleMe has not synced for two weeks now. ALSO, it is slowing down my second computer so much I’ve just signed out of MobleMe and then the computer has NO problems with speed. Only when MobleMe is syncing is when the whole computer slows down to a snail’s pace. I noted Jana having the same issue. Please help.
Hi Eric - I don’t know why MobileMe sync is slowing down your Mac. If it’s working when you’re signed out, then you should keep it that way. Or go into System Preferences > MobileMe > Sync Tab and change the sync dropdown to Daily or Manually. That might speed it up.
Please help. I can’t sync iCal to MobileMe. No problem with syncing my iPhone 4 to MobileMe but it seems like my iMac is in a world of its own. What should I do???
Hi Liz - To to Settings > MobileMe > Sync Tab. Make sure to check the box next to Synchronize with MobileMe. Then select “Automatically” from the dropdown. Next, make sure to check the box next to Calendars (and any other items you want to sync).
If you’ve done all that, and your Mac still doesn’t sync with MobileMe… Then you should bring your Mac to your local Apple Store.
It took me 10min to figure this out – problem with syncing iphones calendar with macs one. Apparently its a software bug on mac side syncing in backgriund doesnt make any changes in ical you have to right click in a types of calendar (home/work) subwindow in ical and refresh it should your mobile account appear there and every time you need to do it to be up to date with an iphone’s one
regards
I have an iphone, ipad and imac. Everything is syncing, but on the imac only, I am getting two copies of every email. When I erase one they both go away. I don’t have this problem on any of my other devices. What can I do?
Hi Carol – Sounds like your email settings are mixed up on the Mac. If you don’t want any duplicates, then make sure your email account on the Mac is setup as an IMAP account. To find out if it’s IMAP, open your preferences in Mail. Click “Accounts” at the top. Then click the email account from the left column. You should see info regarding that email address – and at the top it will show the account type as either IMAP or POP. If it shows POP, that’s the problem. You’ll have to recreate that email account in Mail, but this time, use IMAP. That should do it.