Manually managing music on iPhone from multiple computers

Everything I've read 'claims' this can be but I don't think the people who tell you how to do it even bother to see what happens. This is one of the things that really frustrate me about forums. It's the complete lack of thoroughness of the people who reply to a question without knowing the outcome.
It's a simple task. I want to be able to move music from multitple computers to my iPhone. When I go into iTunes and select the device, in my case it's the iPhone, and check the box to manually manage music and videos then click 'apply' I get a warning that everything is going to be erased from the phone. WTH!?! And no one on ANY forum who suggests this is the proper way manually managing music even has a solution to be able to do this WITHOUT erasing the phone.
C'mon Apple. It's a SIMPLE drag-n-drop implementation. How hard can it be? I'm not the least interested in syncing with some music library on the computer. In fact I don't even sync my phone with the iTunes Library. It's a waste of time because I can't even selectively sync music. It's either all or nothing. STUPID. I simply want to move music on and off the phone. You know, drag into the window to add and drag off to remove. And I want to be able to do it from any computer I want that's running iTunes. I shouldn't have to copy music from a different computer, carry it home and add it from the home system. That completely defeats the concept of portability. And if my home computer happens to go south for some reason then what? Even if I have all my music backed up, I have to wipe out all my music on the phone and start all over because I'm now using a different computer. Who was the genius that came up with that ludicrous idea?
Apple you really need to take a page from Sandisk and allow iPhones to be treated as external drives so we can drag and drop our music onto them. No muss no fuss. Simple and clean with no hair pulling. It's already established the you create some very pretty devices. Now let's work on improving usability. Because the way I see it, it's a bit backwards.

Sync iPod/iPad/iPhone with two computers
Although it isn't possible to sync an Apple device with two different libraries it is possible to sync with the same logical library from multiple computers. Each library has an internal ID and when iTunes connects to your iPod/iPad/iPhone it compares the local ID with the one the device normally syncs with. If they are the same you can go ahead and sync...
I have my library cloned to a small 1Tb USB drive which I can take between home & work. At either location I use SyncToy 2.1 to update the local copy with the external drive. Mac users should be able to find similar tools. I can open either of the local libraries or the one on the external drive and update the media content of my iPhone. The slight exception is Photos which normally connects to a specific folder on a specific machine, although that can easily be remapped to the current library if you create a "Photos" folder inside the iTunes Media folder so that syncing the iTunes folders keeps this up to date as well. I periodically sweep my library for new files & orphans with iTunes Folder Watch just in case I make changes at one location but then overwrite the library with a newer copy from the other. Again Mac users should be able to find similar tools.
As long as your media is organised within an iTunes Music or Tunes Media folder, in turn held inside the main iTunes folder that has your library files (whether or not you let iTunes keep the media folder organised) each library can access items at the same relative path from the library folder so the library can be at different drives/paths on different machines. This solution ensures I always have adequate backups of my library and I can update my devices whenever I can connect to the same build of iTunes.
When working with an iPhone earlier builds of iTunes would remove any file not physically present in the local library, even if there was an entry for it, making manual management practically redundant on the iPhone. This behaviour has been changed but it will still only permit manual management with a library that has the correct internal ID. If you don't want to sync your library between machines on a regular basis just copy the iTunes Library.itl file from the current "home" machine to any other you want to use, then clean out the library entires and import the local content you have on that box.
tt2

Similar Messages

Help with manually managing music on iPhone

I set up my iPhone on my pc and just got a macbook. I want to manually manage music and video so I can use both, but when i set it up to do so on my pc my mac wants to wipe everything. How do i set it up to manually manage music on a mac and a pc?

An iPhone does not support want is called disk mode which is required for this.
An iPhone can be synced with iTunes content on a single computer only, and the same for manually manage music and video. You can sync contact information, calendar events, and bookmarks with multiple computers, but not with iTunes content, and the same for photos transferred from a computer to an iPhone.
If you want to sync iTunes content with your MacBook, you need to transfer your iTunes library from your PC to your MacBook.

Manually Managing Music on iphone 5

How come manually manage music works for ipad and ipod on more than one library but not an iphone? The iphone isnt that much different from an ipod except you can call with it. Iphones shouldn't be exempt from this.

Because this is how Apple chose to design the iphone.

Manually managing music for iPhone

I recently upgraded my OS to Windows 7 and reinstalled iTunes. All my files and music were erased from my library. Is there any way I can manually manage music and videos for the iPhone without losing all the current content? Whenever I select "manually manage" from the summary page and press apply, it wants to sync my iPhone and erase all current files.
If not... I hate iTunes!

Try using mediamonkey to manage it initially and there are apps out there to copy the music back.
There is a thread around here about someone who lost their itunes without a backup and explains alot about this
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2380615&tstart=0
Start looking there is what I would suggest.

ITunes 10.6.1.7 - Manually manage music with iPhone no longer queues selections

I couldn't decide if this was an iTunes or an iPhone related issue so I opted to place it in the iTunes discussions since it's more related to its features than the iPhone.
I just discovered that when you have your iPhone set up to "Manually manage music and videos" it no longer queues your selections as you drag and drop music or playlists. What I mean is in previous iterations of iTunes, I could drag and drop as many playlists on the iPhone in the DEVICES window of iTunes and hundreds of songs would literally queue up showing you the number XX of XXXX in the top window of the program, of which the latter number increasingly got larger the more music you dropped on your iPhone. With this latest revision, iTunes 10.6.1.7, it no longer queues that music, instead it interrupts what was previously queued with a "Preparing to update" message, stops the previously queued music, and then starts with the newer music you dropped on your iPhone device.
Is this intentional? Is everyone else experiencing this rather odd revision of this program's functionality?

iTUNES 10.6.1.7
How do I restore the original iTUNES that recognizes our music libraries and our iPODS?
Thanks for your consideration.
Message was edited by: mrtruffles

How to manage one iTunes folder from multiple computers via a network?

Hi there,
The Setup: I have a macbook air, my partner has a macbook pro, we both have iPhones with our own iCloud accounts. There is an apple TV and an Airport Extreme with an external USB HDD in there too (which could potentially be plugged into the ATV via ethernet if need be).
What I want to be able to do:
     1 - NOT have to store the music on my MBA
     2 - Still be able to add music to/alter playlists and movies in the iTunes library that my MBA uses, from my MBA (ie if I end up with new music or movies on           the MBA I need a way to transfer it easily, -keeping in mind that not all the video will fit on the MBP HDD)
     3 - Use the one iTunes music folder for both the MBA and the MBP (to avoid having to update both)
     4 - Sync my iPhone with my iCloud email and contacts etc...
     5 - Sync my partners iCloud with her own email and contacts etc...
     6 - Sync music from the 'common' iTunes folder to either iPhone
     7 - Use apps from my iTunesstore account on my both iPhones
     8 - Stream video from the 'common' iTunes folder to the ATV in HD
Can someone please tell me how I make ALL of the above possible?
Things i'm not sure of are:
     A- Where do I put my iTunes music folder? -Locally on the MBP, or on the External HDD in the airport Extreme?
     B- Which of the above would iTunes match help with?
     C- Would homesharing be used?
     D- What usernames/accounts do I have to put into the iPhones adn where? (itunes or icloud etc...)
For some reason I just can't get my head around how this setup will work.
Thanks in advance!

I'm sort of in the same boat. We've got an iMac with separate User Accounts set up and are currently sharing the same iTunes and iPhoto libraries along with streaming them to our Apple TV.
Right now I'm the only one with an iPod, however she'll be getting one in a couple of weeks.
We also just picked up a MacBook yesterday and I'd like to be able to sync certain libraries like iTunes and iPhoto so that no content gets duplicated on either the iMac or MacBook and so that we both have access to the current libraries for each program on our iPods and AppleTV.
I have an external hard drive that I back up the iMac on and I assume I could manually keep things current with that but there's got to be an easier way...that's why these are Macs right?
Bill

Cant manually manage music on iphone 3gs

Itunes will no longer let me drag and drop songs on to my iphone.
I've tried everything. Restored my iphone, and reinstalled itunes.
The only way i can put music on my iphone is with the autofill option.
I only sync my iphone on one computer, but i always charge it with my laptop.

First i would see if you have an update for iTunes that could be causing the problem but if that doesnt work i would try reinstalling iTunes using the link provided.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1923

HT1535 my iphone is set to "manually manage music and videos" and it still does not allow me to add music from my other computers.

I have followed the steps in order to manually manage the music on my 3GS iphone. (used the latest version of itunes and my iphone is up to date with iOS5) and it still is not allowing me to add music from another computer.
when i plug it into the second computer, it is asking me to click "manually manage music and videos" again. when i do that, it says it is going to sync with this new library and erase all music that is already there. i dont want this to happen! i only want to add a few select songs from each library. I have waaayy to much to add and erase every time.
both of the computers i am using are PCs and have my itunes id for homesharing... please help me!

Refer to this article
Using iPhone, iPad, or iPod with multiple computers
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1202
Notes:
iPod shuffle and iPhone are intended for use with a single computer. You cannot load music from multiple computers or iTunes libraries onto iPod shuffle and iPhone like you can with other devices.

Why can I copy music to my iPad or iPod touch from multiple computers but from only one computer using my iPhone?

Why can I copy music to my iPad or iPod touch from multiple computers but from only one computer using my iPhone?
IPads and iPod Touches don't seem to have the same media copying restriction that my iPhone has. My main computer is at home. I have music at home and at work and sometimes I like to add it to my iPhone from work. I can do this no problem using my iPad or my iPod touch, but when it comes to my iPhone, I can only copy music to it from my main computer.
Why would the iPhone have this restriction but not the other two devices?
ps. Where's my "add currently playing song to playlist" button? I can't even find a third-party music app with this feature.

Because...!
I've no idea why either.
Although it isn't normally possible to sync an iPod/iPad/iPhone with two computers (or manually manage an iPhone from more than one) it can be achieved if all computers have copies of the self same library. See Re: how do i sync on a second laptop without the data on my iPhone 5 being erased?
tt2

FRUSTRATION - why can't I add music from multiple computers to my iPhone??

I use multiple Mac computers in my life. My home computer has about 30 gigs of music. My work computer has about half that. Therefore syncing in any case is not an option. I have added some music from home to my new iPhone, and I want to do the same from my work computer but cannot! WHY?? I can do this with my 5th gen Video iPod no problem.
Plugged into my work computer now, I try to set the iPhone again to "manually manage music," but it still tells me the iPhone is synced with another computer (it is not, since I immediately disabled the sync feature before adding music). Is this going to be the case if I want to add photos from multiple computers, etc., too?
WHY?? WHY??? WHY?????
SO FRUSTRATING...

You're welcome.
Maybe I'm missing something, but i still struggle to see the connection. Disk mode is the iPods ability to be mounted as a disk on the desktop, allowing the free disk space to be used manually. It exists completely outside the iPods normal, iTunes-driven functions, right? What we are missing on the iPhone is a simple feature from inside iTunes – a feature that all other iPods (as far as i know) have. Strange that the "Amazing iPod" does not.
Disk mode has everything to do with the ability to transfer iTunes content to an iPod from multiple computers. This is not a simple feature from inside iTunes.
Do you have an iPod? If so, are you transferring iTunes content from more than one computer to your iPod? If so, do you have disk mode enabled for your iPod? If yes, turn off disk mode and test if you are still able to transfer iTunes content from more than one computer to your iPod.
Nothing prevents me from admitting when Apple goes wrong or disappoints, but this is not the place for it. This is a user to user help forum for technical support issues and questions only which has a terms of use. Discussing Apple's policies and procedures and ranting is specifically against Apple's terms of use for these discussions.
Since this is a user to user help forum only, no one here knows Apple's reason or reasons why disk mode is not supported with the iPhone. The only answer you will get here or anywhere else for that matter is someone's opinion, unless Apple makes an announcement or information is provided by an exec during an interview. IMO, there must be a valid reason or reasons why disk mode is not supported with an iPhone since it is supported with iPods. Since disk mode is supported with iPods, more than likely there isn't a technical reason why it isn't supported with an iPhone, so I seriously doubt that Apple decided not to support disk mode with the iPhone just for kicks, or for no valid reason or reasons whatsoever on their part.
Until I know Apple's reason or reasons, it is difficult for me to admit Apple has gone wrong in this regard, for it may make Apple right for a reason or reasons we don't know, which can be disagreed on. Once facts are known, just because you believe Apple has gone wrong and/or you are disappointed doesn't mean I believe the same, which may or may not have anything to do with being an Apple fan - maybe we just don't agree.
My brand loyalty goes only so far. I did plenty of research on the iPhone before making the decision to purchase one. Before purchasing an iPhone, I can count on one hand the number of MMS I had exchanged. I have used a number of Palm handhelds for business - before they began selling a Palm cell phone, and I don't recall editing a word or excel document once during all that time. I wasn't interested in doing so with such a small screen, and since I wasn't interested in doing any editing, cut/copy/paste wasn't critical to me either.
If these features were very important to me - features I used on a daily or very regular basis, I would not have purchased an iPhone regardless the other features it includes. I certainly wouldn't purchase one anyway knowing these things, followed by wasting my time at an Apple user to user help forum for technical support issues and questions whining and ranting about it, which is common here by an immature small percentage of users. There is nothing wrong with providing constructive comments here, which constructive being the key word. There are some folks here who don't know what the word constructive means and don't have a clue about how use it.

Manually manage music on two computers with iPhone 4s

For the past few months I have had not issues manually managing my ipod touch on two computers. This is a necessesity as I own a mac laptop but like to listen to audiobooks from my local library which will only download to a PC. With my iPod touch all I had to do was make sure that the manually manage music was turned on and I could put the music from my computer on the device than go and use my friend's pc to put on the audiobooks (WMA Overdrive format). Since getting the iPhone 4S it has been a nightmare to get the same result. I even went so far as to plug it into each computer completely when nothing was on the iphone and turn on manually manage music in each, than put all my music from the mac on it. Only to find that when I opened up itunes in the PC manually manage music was unchecked again. The only way to turn it back on is to sync and erase all my music, thus forcing me to carry around both an ipod and an Iphone, which is more than a little annoying.
Please help!

Unlike the iPods, including the iPod Touch, iPhones will synch with ONLY ONE iTunes library at a time. You will NOT be able to manually manage music from 2 computers with your iPhone.

Can't add music my iPhone from iTunes. When I try to drag a song over to my phone, I get the circle w/ the syncing line through it, but it does not update/load. [Manually manage music and videos] is checked. And, this is the only Mac I have ever used to

Can't add music my iPhone from iTunes.
When I try to drag a song over to my phone, I get the circle w/ the syncing line through it, but it does not update/load.
[Manually manage music and videos] is checked. And, this is the only Mac I have ever used to add music to my phone.
Also, just updated the phone's software today, and iTunes' software is already up to date.

Hi Gregg,
Have you tried resetting the device (nothing will be lost): Hold down the Home and Power buttons at the same time and continue to hold them down until the Apple appears (up to 30 seconds). Once the Home screen redisplays, see if your Music app is behaving normally.
Cheers,
GB

HT1202 My iPod is set to manually manage music. I have tons of different music from different computers on my iPod. Unfortunately my iPod is getting old and I'd like to purchase a new one. Is there any way I can transfer all the music to a new iPod?

My Ipod touch is set to manually manage music. I have put music from my computer and iTunes account onto it, and music from other people's computer and iTunes accounts on it. Unfortunately I dropped my iPod and the screen cracked. It still plays music and everything just fine, but it has problems with it's battery life so I'd like to just get a completely new iPod nano. Is there any way I can transfer all the music from my iPod touch onto a new iPod nano? From what I can tell it won't let me sync any of the music on my iPod touch that is from other people's computers onto my laptop, and so I wouldn't be able to put it on a new iPod nano. Hopefully that makes sense. I'd just really really like to be able to keep all that music and not lose 2/3 of my iPod touch music library because I want to put it on a newer Ipod.

Recovering your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device: Apple Support Communities

HT1202 Manually Manage Music/ Videos with multiple computers

I recently got a new iphone 4s and when it was set up I made sure the manually manage music part was on, I added my music and everything worked fine.
I'm abroad now and wanted to delete and change some of my music but the manually manage box is no longer ticked and I get the warning saying "Your phone is Synced with another iTunes Library do you want to erase this iphone and sync with this itunes libary". How can I get around this I dont want to lose all my music!!!!
Please Help!

Lukek07 wrote:
"Your phone is Synced with another iTunes Library do you want to erase this iphone and sync with this itunes libary".
As the message infers, you can only sync your iDevice to
a single iTunes library. The only way around this, which is
of no real use to you now but for future reference, is to have
your iTunes library (entire iTunes folder) an a separate hard
drive and carry it around where ever you go. Any computer
you have will need to be set up to connect its iTunes to that
library.
The one caveat of this is that is backups of the iDevice.
Each computer will have a different backup file depending on
when you synced to the computers (backups are stored
in ~/Library/Application Support/Mobile Sync/ Backup on
the computer not in iTunes library). Where this is problematic
is if you need to do a restore and you only have a computer
available with an old backup and not the most recent.
The other problem will be if you manage Address Book, Calendars,
etc. different on different computers. Things can get jumbled, lost,
or just plain add duplicates.
As for your current situation, there really isn't much you can do.

How can I back up and restore my manually managed music from an old iphone to a new one?

At present, when I go to restore from a previous back up, my music is never transferred to the new device. I assume this is because I have the manually manage music option selected.
Is there a way to back up and add the same music and playlists etc from old iPhone to new iPhone without selecting the box that transfers everything from itunes?
As I have far more music than my iphone could ever take and I only want a selection. So if there is no way of doing this then I have to do it manually everytime? A very long winded task to go through entire itunes library picking it all out again!?!
Any help would be appriciated!?

Thanks very much!
Although I had to add everything again to the playlist, at least I can just copy it over in future!

Manually managing music on iPhone from multiple computers

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for