Before you can download music, apps, and other media from iTunes to your computer, you must authorize your computer and link it to your Apple ID account. Here’s how to authorize a computer in iTunes.
Movies, TV shows etc. Computer authorization is required due to licensing, so you can use your iTunes content on up to five different computers at the same time. So if you get a new computer, you can deauthorize your old computer and authorize your new computer to work with iTunes.
Although DRM (digital rights management) is no longer added to iTunes music, features such as iTunes Match, movies and TV shows, and other content are subject to licensing and DRM.
DRM, a movie, TV show, etc. are lockdown restrictions placed on various media that prevent users who have purchased it from freely sharing it with friends and family without paying for another copy of that media.
For casual users with only one computer they use, reaching the maximum number of computer authorizations should not be a problem, but for those with multiple computers in their home, you will likely need to authorize and deauthorize a large number of times.
Here’s how to authorize a computer in iTunes.
on Mac
Authorizing a computer in iTunes on both Mac and Windows is really easy, but the process is slightly different on each platform.
On Mac, simply open iTunes and click the menu bar in the upper left corner of the screen. A drop-down menu will appear on which you will then click on it.
From there, you’ll enter your Apple ID email address and password and then click to complete it all. At this point, your computer will be authorized in iTunes.
on Windows
Authorizing a computer in Windows is very similar to doing it on a Mac, but with a bit of variation.
Open iTunes on your Windows computer and then click the small menu icon in the upper left corner of the iTunes window. A drop-down menu will appear.
Hover over it and another drop down menu will appear. Scroll and then click on it.
Then you need to enter your Apple ID email address and password, then click . After that, you’ll be good to go.
Deauthorizing Computers
Because Apple gives you a maximum of five computers that you can authorize at the same time, you may encounter a time when you reach the maximum but need to authorize another computer. When this happens, you must first deauthorize a computer.
Fortunately, deauthorizing a computer is really easy. Just open iTunes on your Mac or Windows machine. On a Mac, scroll up in the menu bar, and then click . Enter your Apple ID credentials, then click to confirm.
On Windows, you will click on the small menu icon, hover over it, and then follow the steps above and select .
You can also deauthorize all your computers at once by clicking your name in the iTunes window and selecting . From there, click on it.
Note that you can only do this on your own once a year. If you need to do this more than once, you should. Call Apple customer support and have them do it on their side.
