Member Avatar for cproger

Hello,

I just bought osx Mountain Lion on my MacBook Air. The apple store guy said that if you buy a software with an apple ID that someone else is using, that person can get it for free. But when I bought my Mountain Lion on my MacBook Air my mother couldn't get for free.

Please Help me

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Dani AI

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Quick clarification for : and are essentially right — the Mac App Store ties a purchase to the Apple ID that bought it. A few practical points and safe steps to avoid confusion or accidental account mixing.

If the installer you bought doesn’t appear on your mom’s Mac, the usual causes are (a) she’s signed into the App Store with a different Apple ID, or (b) the purchase was done under a different Apple ID than you expect. Check the email receipt from Apple for which Apple ID was charged, and look in the App Store app on your Mac under the Purchases tab (signed in with your Apple ID) to confirm the installer is in your library. If you can’t find a receipt or the purchase, contact Apple Support with proof of purchase.

If you want to install on your mom’s Mac without leaving your Apple ID signed in on her machine, use the installer you downloaded to make a bootable USB stick (8 GB+) and use that to install. That keeps her Mac signed into her own Apple ID afterward and avoids iCloud or purchase history showing up under your account. Conversely, signing into her Mac with your Apple ID to download will work, but be sure to sign out afterward because it can leave your purchases associated with her Mac.

One final note: licensing and sharing practices have changed over the years (Apple later added Family Sharing for many purchases). If this thread is being read well after the original posts, check Apple’s current support pages for the official policy on OS installation rights and Family Sharing.

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Member Avatar for CimmerianX

None of this is correct. Whichever account you use to purchase Mountain Lion will have it.

You can certainly sign into your mom's mac app store with your ID (if you purchased it), DL and load the OS if you want.

Member Avatar for dmelillo

Yes, agreed and what I would do is make a USB key installer. CimmerianX is correct, as long as you made a purchase with your Apple ID. You can download and install to any laptop that can support the new OS X.

Member Avatar for cproger

Oh ok, because I got it free for OSX Lion.

Member Avatar for CimmerianX

Sooo..... you good then?

Member Avatar for cproger

yeah thx

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