# IOTA Train at Home: Miner ID vs payout coldkey

Use a public hotkey to monitor a device and a coldkey for official payouts; organize Macs that share a payout address.

- Canonical: https://iotahome.site/en/learn/iota-miner-id-vs-payout-address
- Publisher: IOTA Watch
- Published: 2026-10-03
- Updated: 2026-10-03

## At a glance

IOTA Watch monitors each Train at Home device’s public Miner ID (hotkey), not the payout coldkey. The official FAQ allows a shared payout address while requiring distinct device hotkeys. Repeating one ID does not monitor several machines.

## Copy the device ID from each Mac

Copy the complete public Miner ID from each official app’s Miner screen and name it for that machine. Do not replace it with a payout address or use a label to guess ownership. See [finding a Miner ID](https://iotahome.site/en/learn/find-miner-id).

## A shared payout address is not a shared device ID

Manage payouts in the official app using the [official FAQ](https://docs.macrocosmos.ai/product-and-services/tah/faqs). Google accounts here synchronize IOTA device lists, not payout settings. They cannot merge wallets or replace official payment records.

## Check device coverage before totaling

After saving distinct correct IDs, confirm reward-source success for each. Missing rewards are not zero; a partial total covers readable devices only. See [account synchronization](https://iotahome.site/en/learn/google-account-device-list) for local and signed-in list limits.

Open [My devices](https://iotahome.site/en/app) for the IOTA list. XID and Quantus use reward-address monitoring; their addresses are not IOTA Miner IDs. See the [three-project comparison](https://iotahome.site/en/learn/iota-xid-quantus-compared).

## Common questions

### Can two Macs use the same payout coldkey?

The official FAQ permits the same payout address but requires distinct device hotkeys.

### Does website sign-in change official payout settings?

No. Sign-in synchronizes the list; payouts are configured in the official app.

## Sources and implementation

- [Macrocosmos · Train at Home FAQ](https://docs.macrocosmos.ai/product-and-services/tah/faqs)
- [Macrocosmos · Train at Home user guide](https://docs.macrocosmos.ai/product-and-services/tah/tah-user-guide)
- [IOTA Watch · source and data rules](https://github.com/molimao/iota)