Kelly's TechFix Review: De-authorizing iTunes

Hello and welcome to the first Kelly's TechFix Review post. Let me begin by briefly introducing myself. My name is Kelly Brewster, and I am Cody's research associate and "technologist." In my capacities as such I spend a lot of time researching technology and troubleshooting problems therewith. This has been especially true as we complete the move into our new office space in SoHo. A ton of tech-related issues have come up in the process of setting up the office, and Cody thought this would be a great time to detail some of the tech tasks that he has asked me to solve recently. Today's TechFix Review regards "de-authorizing iTunes."

Apple's iTunes software uses a unique DRM (Digital Rights Management) system to protect music that has been downloaded from the iTunes Music Store. Whenever one of these DRM-protected songs is played in iTunes, the iTunes software checks the computer to see if it has been "authorized" to play the music downloaded by the particular user.

Unfortunately, Apple only allows five computers to be authorized at a time. If you have more than five computers, but have access to them all, it is easy to de-authorize one or more of the computers so that you can choose which five to use. But what if you have sold the computers or given them away and don't have access to de-authorize them?

You have to perform a deauthorization of all computers associated with your account, and then add your current computers back individually. Begin by opening iTunes and going to the Music Store. On the main page, click the heading of the second section in the left column, titled "Account."

This will bring you to the account information screen. If you have 5 computers authorized on your account, a button labeled "Deauthorize All" will be visible. Click this button and iTunes will deauthorize any computer associated with your account. You are now ready to begin authorizing your current computers as needed. The first time you select a DRM-protected song for playback on any of your computers, you will be prompted for the password on your Apple account. Simply enter the password, and the computer will be authorized. Repeat this process for any current computer you want to authorize...up to five of course.