IPhone as a computer replacement

A friend of mine is considering purchasing an iPhone. Her desire is to use the iPhone as her only phone AND as a replacement to her computer. Is anyone out there doing anything similar? If so, could you please offer me suggestions, cautions, limitations, etc. that I can pass on to her? I thank all of you in advance for any information you can offer. I use a 16 GB iPhone and love it, but I use mine together with my MacBook.
Mark

Please review the System requirements link below.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1323
The iPhone is intended to be a Multi Media device. Not necessarily a computer replacement. Plus you want to have access to a PC/Mac to perform proper activation, syncing, and backing up of data.
Hope this clears things up

Similar Messages

I can't sync/back up iPhone data to my computer b/c iPhone screen is shattered and i cant unlock it to enter in my passcode. How can I sync my broken iPhone with my computer and back up my data so I can sync and transfer the data to my replacement iPhone?

I can't sync my iPhone and back up my data with my computer because iTunes says to enter the passcode into my iPhone to unlock it, but I am unable to unlock and enter in my passcode on my iPhone because the screen is shattered. I have my replacement iPhone with me and I'm not going to activate it until I can sync/get the data from my broken iPhone. I have the envelope to send my broken iPhone back to the Verizon store or whatever so that's not a problem. I just can't sync my old iPhone with my computer.
Thanks.

No I haven't synced my iPhone with the computer I'm currently using. The computer that I normally sync my iPhone with is being repaired.
I read a nearly identical question to mine (in which you answered) and I found my the answer. Thanks!
Now I have a few more questions: If I mail my broken iPhone to Asurion, will I be able to get my data off of my iPhone once Asurion has it? And what will happen to my old iPhone and the data on it if I activate my replacement iPhone? Will my broken iPhone just become de-activated and will the data be erased or lost or something? Could I still sync it (with the computer ir originally synced with) and back up the data?
Thanks.

I plugged my Iphone into the computer to put my pics on the computer. It went strait to itunes an erased all my contacts and pictures and replaced them with my husbands contacts and photos. Can i get the contacts and photos back?

I plugged my Iphone into the computer to put my pics on the computer. It went strait to itunes an erased all my contacts and pictures and replaced them with my husbands contacts and photos. Can i get the contacts and photos back?

Have you synced your iPhone with iTunes on this computer before? If not, nothing is selected automatically under the various tabs for your iPhone sync preferences with iTunes.
Was this the first time your iPhone was connected to iTunes on any computer? If so, the first time an iPhone is connected to iTunes for the first time that is used to sync with another iPhone or iOS device, you are prompted to transfer the backup for the other iPhone or eyeless device to the iPhone or set up the iPhone as a new iPhone. This is not automatic, it must be manually selected.

TS1474 I have just tried to sync my iphone with my computer. All my purchased songs were replaced with what was on my computer which was nothing. How can i get them back onto my phone or computer?

Hi, I have just tried to sync my iphone with my computer. I must have clicked the wrong thing, now all the songs i purchased through my phone from itunes were replaced with the itunes that was on my computer, which is nothing. Any ideas on how can i get them back onto my phone or computer? I can see them in the itunes store under purchases, but there are no options for me to download them again.

Hi J8on,
Thanks for visiting Apple Support Communities.
You can find the steps to download past iTunes purchases to your computer or iPhone in this article:
Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2519
Regards,
Jeremy

I was updating my iphone, but my computer shut down half way through restoring my old settings. When I turned my computer back on, i tried to continue with the restore but the original backup i was trying to use wasn't there anymore, it had been replaced.

I was updating my iphone, but my computer shut down half way through restoring my old settings. When I turned my computer back on, i tried to continue with the restore but the original backup i was trying to use wasn't there anymore, it had been replaced.

Try resetting the SMC.
MacBook and MacBook Pro with a battery you can remove
Shut down the computer.
Disconnect the MagSafe power adapter from the computer, if it's connected.
Remove the battery.
Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds.
Release the power button.
Reconnect the battery and MagSafe power adapter.
Press the power button to turn on the computer
To reset the SMC on newer Mac portables with a battery you cannot remove
Shut down the computer.
Plug in the MagSafe power adapter to a power source, connecting it to the Mac if its not already connected.
On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time.
Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.
Press the power button to turn on the computer.
Note: The LED on the MagSafe power adapter may change states or temporarily turn off when you reset the SMC.

Is there any way to copy email messages from an iPhone to a computer (pc or mac)?

My pc with my mail database was formatted and the mails lost. I have about 1000 mails on my iPhone that I desperately want to transfer back to my desktop.
My mail was on a POP server and I have no copies anywhere other than on the iphone.
I am not concerned about future email messages - my question is about transferring existing messages from the iphone to a computer.
Any help is much appreciated, in have googled this to death and can't find a solution!!

This might help..
Syncing to a "New" Computer or replacing a "crashed" Hard Drive

Just updated to IOS 7 and two issues: First when I connect my iPhone to my computer I get this error message:itunes was unable to provider data from sync services".

Just updated to IOS 7 and two issues:
First when I connect my iPhone to my computer I get this error message:itunes was unable to provider data from sync services". I'm not sure what this really means...
The second issue is when I try to select "Manually Manage Music"
The iPhone "My iPhone" is synced with another iTunes libary on "MY-PC". Do you want to erase this iPhone and sync with this iTunes library? An iPhone can be synced with only one iTunes library at a time. Erasing and syncing replaces the contents of this iPhone with the contents of this iTunes library."
So... I don't want to do that, but I do what to be able to Manage my music. I'm not sure what it means by being synced to another iTunes unless it means to an older version of itunes?
Anyone have any ideas?

I cannot address the sync services error right now, but the error that you receive when you change from sync to manually manage music is what happens when you change. Once you change to manually manage music, it erases all of the music and will only put the music that you want on the phone, content that you manually drag over to it. See if this support document helps you out. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1535

I have some music from CDs and recent purchases from iTunes on my iPhone 4 that are not synced with my iTunes account on my computer. How can I sync my phone and iTunes on my computer without losing what is on my iPhone? (original computer was stolen)

I have some music from CDs and recent purchases from iTunes on my iPhone 4 that I would like to sync with my iTunes account on my computer. The CDs were on my original laptap also, but it was stolen and I set up the iTunes on my new computer.
When I try to sync I get a message indicating that the iPhone iTunes will be replaced with the computer iTunes.
How can I sync and retain both iTunes?

Music is designed to sync in one way only, and that is from iTunes to the phone. There is the expectation that you would backup the computer to save this data. There are 3rd party solutions to try and recover music from the phone to put back into a blank iTunes library.
See this user generated tip for help https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3141

How to connect iphone to new computer without having the old one? The hard drive on my macbook broke, so I had to install a system from scratch. I now cannot reconnect my iPhone. How can I set the new computer without loosing my data on the iPhone?

Recently the hard drive on my mac book was damaged beyond repair and I had to reinstall the OS.
MY iPhone still has all its original dta.
How can I connect my iPhone to my computer (virtually new) without loosing the data I have on my iPhone?
Obviously I cannot recover any of the old itunes files.
Thanks,

Some of the information below has subsequently appeared in a document by turingtest2: Recovering your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device - https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3991
Your i-device was not designed for unique storage of your media. It is not a backup device and media transfer was planned with you maintaining a master copy of your media on a computer which is itself properly backed up against loss. Syncing is one way, computer to device, updating the device content to the content on the computer, not updating or restoring content on a computer. The exception is iTunes Store purchases which can be transferred to a computer.
iTunes Store: Transferring purchases from your iOS device or iPod to a computer - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1848 - only purchases from iTunes Store
For transferring other items from an i-device to a computer you will have to use third party commercial software. Examples (check the web for others; this is not an exhaustive listing, nor do I have any idea if they are any good):
- Expod (free) - http://www.headlightsoft.com/expod/ - Mac, universal for 104.+ (newer machines try de-Tune)
- deTune (free) - http://www.headlightsoft.com/detune/ - Mac, 10.5+
- Senuti - http://www.fadingred.com/senuti/
- Phoneview - http://www.ecamm.com/mac/phoneview/
- MusicRescue - http://www.kennettnet.co.uk/products/musicrescue/
- Sharepod (free) - http://download.cnet.com/SharePod/3000-2141_4-10794489.html?tag=mncol;2 - Windows
- Snowfox/iMedia - http://www.mac-videoconverter.com/imedia-transfer-mac.html - Mac & PC
- iexplorer (free) - http://www.macroplant.com/iexplorer/ - Mac&PC
- Yamipod (free) - http://www.yamipod.com/main/modules/downloads/ - PC, Linux, Mac [Still updated for use on newer devices? No edits to site since 2010.]
- 2010 Post by Zevoneer: iPod media recovery options - https://discussions.apple.com/message/11624224 - this is an older post and many of the links are also for old posts, so bear this in mind when reading them.
Syncing to a "New" Computer or replacing a "crashed" Hard Drive - https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3141 - dates from 2008 and some outdated information now.
Copying Content from your iPod to your Computer - The Definitive Guide - http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/copying-music-from-ipod-to-co mputer/ - Information about use in disk mode pertains only to older model iPods.
Get Your Music Off of Your iPod - http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Get_Your_Music_Off_of_Your_iPod - I am not sure but this may only work with some models and not newer Touch, iPhone, or iPad.
Additional information here https://discussions.apple.com/message/18324797

Adding another iPhone to a computer that already has one registered

My iphone was recently stolen, and I am getting another one to replace the stolen one. Since I will be registering another phone to a computer that has an iPhone registered to it that no longer exists, will I be able to register another one? Also, I am on a family plan with my parents and siblings, so will I be able to keep the same account and number? Currently, I have suspended service from the stolen ipod.

An iPhone is not registered to a particular computer. You can activate an iPhone with one computer, and sync it with another. You can sync iTunes content and transfer photos from one computer, but you can sync contact information, calendar events, and bookmarks with multiple computers - with two Windows PCs, with two Macs, or with a Mac and a Windows PC.
You will be able to activate and sync your replacement iPhone with at&t with iTunes on the same computer that you activated and synced your iPhone with that was stolen. You will be able to activate your iPhone with the same account and phone number, but if you contacted at&t to report that your iPhone was stolen, you need to contact at&t to inform them that you purchased a new iPhone and you want to activate your new iPhone with the same number before you do the activation process with at&t.
iTunes creates and maintains a backup for each iPhone that is synced with iTunes on the same computer. After activating your iPhone, select Restore instead of syncing, and select from the backup for your iPhone that was stolen. Your settings from your iPhone that was stolen will be restored to your new iPhone before the sync process.

HT3226 My iphone 4s fell down on the floor and a very very small bit on the edge of my iphone were broken. Can I insert a new iphone body panel with replace the old one

My iphone 4s fell down on the floor and a very very small bit on the edge of my iphone were broken. Can I insert a new iphone body panel with replace the old one.. ???

I think I had it on the iCloud, I just changed computers and had part of my old computer backed up, where are the default iTunes info saved like the pictures and I know my contacts were backed up cuz I kept getting updated stuff that I wasn't sure about, but it was contacts where some belonged to my wife's contacts....but anyway, if the cloud backed up contacts, it should have grabbed pictures too? Like I asked before, if they were backed up to the computer, is there a default iTunes folder they are saved to? I had a crap load of pictures on there that I usually could really access if I was connected to wi-fi. I turned off my data stuff as I only have 4GB and between me and my 2 kids, we seemed to use up a lot of it. My son would play music from Pandora during work, and use up all our data til I limited him to only 3GB, my daughter and I barely used 1GB. Anyway, thanks to everybody that is answering. I thought I might have done good finding the dang sim card, but pointless I guess.
Ralph - F.Y.I. I would be happy to back up the iPhone if I could turn it on LOL......I am pretty positive I did, but what about Text messages? ANY of those saved too or not? Sorry guys, I don't know a **** of a lot about cell phones, but I do know about memory cards, but not sim cards that act like memory cards or look like them anyway. What is the purpose of a sim card if I may ask a stupid question since they don't hold any data from my phone stuff. I just hope my stuff comes back on the new replacement phone once I get it up and running. Again, thanks to everybody for the edumucation.

How to put photos that had been copied to iPhone back in computer???

How do I copy photos that I had stored on my iPhone back to my computer?
This is what has happened:
My hard drive recently died.
My TimeMachine iPhoto library was corrupt after the restore and, after I opened an earlier backup, some photos disappeared from my iPhoto library. Luckily I had transfered some of these missing photos to my iPhone.
Only the latest camera roll from my iPhone shows up in the import window in iPhoto.
When I click the sync button for photos in the iTunes window, it warns me that all photos in the iPhone will be wiped and replaced with the new iPhoto library (which is old/incomplete since a recent hard drive failure) but there is no way to merge photos on both devices nor to transfer my photos from my iPhone to my computer...
Anyone know how to get photos from the iPhone to my computer (not just the last roll, which can be imported easily when phone is plugged in)???

There are no options really to get access to the photo files unless you use some 3rd party tool that we cannot help with here.
Also note, when you synced photos over, they got "optimized" for the iPhone (made smaller) so even if you got them off, they will not be the original quality.
One option you can do is go to your photos, when looking at the thumbnail view of them tap the icon in bottom left (arrow looking icon).
Then start tapping all your pics to select them.
Do NOT use the Share option (as that will make even smaller copies to email). Instead when done selecting all the ones you want, choose the Copy command at the bottom.
Then leave and go to Email.
Start a new email to your self.
Paste the images in (will take some time if you picked a lot).
Once it has finished processing, email it.
This will send you the size/quality of the image you have on the phone (as mentioned not the same as original).
Then on computer check email and save out the files.

Sync iphone with 2 computer

I want a tips : how to sync my iphone with 2 computer
1- laptop
2- desktop (home)
Frequently : I sync iphone with my laptop
My problem : When I want to sync with desktop, Itunes want to erase data & restore with itunes (desktop),
How do I make this 2 location itunes with a single data.
TQ & sorry for pour English.

How do I make this 2 location itunes with a single data.
You can't, as this has never been a feature of any iPhone. By design, iPhone syncs or manually manages iTunes content with ONE computer at a time. Any attempt to sync or manually manage iTunes content with a second computer will result in ALL iTunes content being first erased from your phone, to be replaced with the content from the second computer. Pick one computer & stick with that computer.

I am having trouble with syncing my iPhone to another computer and I can't change the settings on the other computer to 'manually manage.....' because the computer is not working!

I am having trouble with syncing my iPhone to another computer because the computer that my iPhone is currently synced with is not working

You can sync/manually mange iphone with one and only one computer. If you sync/manually mange to anther, then it will erase the current content and replace with content from the new computer.
What "trouble" are you having?

Syncing more than one iphone to my computer

Despite my best efforts, when syncing my girlfriend's new iPhone to my computer (which was previously synced with all my own iPhone data), it has done what I dreaded - it has duplicated MY contacts with her contacts, and vice versa. Can I ask;
a) Is it possible to separate our addresses, after they've "joined"?
b) How do I prevent future mixing of our seperate data (contacts, dates, etc)?
Thanks, Tony

The problem is this: By design, an iPhone will sync or manually manage iTunes content with ONE computer at a time. Any attempt to sync or manually manage iTunes content with a second computer will result in ALL iTunes content being first erased from your phone, to be replaced with the content from the second computer. There is no way to override this design feature.

IPhone as a computer replacement

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