Copyright laws and digital rights management regulations put strict limits on how many devices you can use to access digital products you've purchased with a single account. Apple products are no exception. iTunes allows you to share your account with up to 5 different computers. But maybe you've used up all 5 slots and need to deauthorize your older, unused computers. Perhaps you're selling your old equipment and want to deauthorize all the stuff on your account. Here's how.
Deauthorizing one computer
First, it's important to deauthorize any computer on which you have authorized iTunes before doing any upgrades on RAM, hard drives, or other system hardware. You should also deauthorize prior to reinstalling or upgrading Windows. If you don't, iTunes may see the upgraded system as a new computer; when this happens, the computer will actually take up 2 of your 5 computer allotments. There have been many, many criticisms of this poor iTunes functionality, but the behavior remains.
To deauthorize a single computer, open iTunes on that computer. From the menu bar, select Store and then Deauthorize Computer. Enter your Apple ID and password in order to complete the process; you'll see a confirmation message indicating your computer has been deauthorized. If you don't get this message, close iTunes and re-open it to confirm whether or not the deauthorization is complete.
Deauthorizing all your computers
If you hit the maximum of 5 computers authorized with iTunes, another option becomes available that allows you to deauthorize all the computers on your account at once. This can be done from any computer that is associated with the account, allowing you to reset the authorizations completely and start over.
The process is similar to deauthorizing a single computer. Open iTunes on any computer attached to your Apple account. From the menu, select Store. If you're not logged in, you'll be asked to do so. Click on Account, and you'll be prompted for your Apple ID and password again. Next, select the option from the menu to View Account. In the Account Information popup window, you will see the option to Deauthorize All. Simply click on this button and wait for the confirmation.
Limitations and cautions
The option to deauthorize all computers will only appear if you've reached the maximum limit of 5 computers on your account. (No, we don't know why Apple insists that you have to run up against the 5-computer limit before you can reset to zero, either.) What's more, you are only allowed to do this once every 12 months. Deauthorizing all your computers will prevent this option from appearing in your menu for the next 12 months.
Remember to deauthorize any computer you plan to upgrade or sell beforehand, along with any computers you don't use. Then you can keep tabs on which computers are authorized and add new computers without having to clear off older ones cluttering up your iTunes account.
Post by Michael Arcand
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