Sync iPhone with two Macs or change main sync computer

Hi there,
I have only been using my iMac to sync my iPhone with over the last 4 years. However, recently I have been away from home a lot and have my Macbook Air with me. I've connected my iPhone to the Macbook and been able to backup my phone to it. My iTunes account is authorised to this computer too. However, when I download the latest updates to my apps on my Macbook and hit sync, it won't sync the apps onto the phone. It says sync complete but nothing happens.
Is it possible to sync with two machines? FYI, I don't sync any music or movies, just apps. I also have a few photos on my iPhone which were transferred from my desktop.
If I can only sync with one machine, how do I make my Macbook the main machine without losing anything from my phone?
Many thanks.

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Sync iphone between two macs

How do I sync my iphone between two macs. An imac at home and a macbook pro. I want them to work equally if possible
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I want to be able to sync my iphone to both the imac and the macbook pro. Everything equally. Apps, music, photos etc.
When I updated to ios, using the macbook pro, it wiped everything out. I had to go to my imac and do a restore from a previous version to get things back. I want both macs to be equal when I synch with them.
Can I do this?
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How do i sync iphone with multiple macs? and few questions

Hi
I would appreciate if anyone would help me.
1. I would like to know how to sync my iphone with different macs. I have a macbook 13 and a macbook 15 and would like to use BOTH to be able to transfer data without losing them. (address, apps, photos and music)
would like to use this feature if I were to be suddenly on a trip and a friend would like to share some of his files (audio, apps, photos..etc)
2. is it possible to use internet tethering on multiple macs or example a "spontanious" mac? (ex. if I were suddenly to use internet through usb on a friends mac while we were on a trip but it were programmed on my mac at home)
3. my internet tethering is only working on one mac which I usually use to sync everything... i tried just using tethering through usb on the other mac wihtout any sync but somehow it didnt work... usually i just plug and play and start using firefox... by automatic detection...
4. is there also a way to copy files from iphone onto a mac which would not be one of my libraries?
5. why cant i use iphone like the ipod as a disk use?
I am aware that these things are somewhat possible because i have read quiet a few artivles but they are sadly enough not so current... any help appreciated.

#1: As has been said, you can't get around it. An iPhone cannot be synched to more than one computer for any media content (it can be for contacts and calendar information, I believe).
#4: You can transfer items purchased from the iTunes Store to another computer but only if you disallow synchronization and authorize that computer to your iTunes Store account. There are third-party utilities that can transfer non-iTunes Store content.
#5: there is no disk mode in an iPhone and no way to enable one, at least not in the sense of disk mode in earlier iPods. There are third-party apps that allow some file transfer to and from an iPhone.
I can't help with tethering questions.

Issues syncing iPhone with old Mac

Hi, I recently acquired an iPhone but I am unable to sync it with my Mac. My Mac is on the 10.4.11 OS X system and it cannot support the newest version of iTunes, which the iPhone apparently only works on. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can sync my phone?

You can't. You need at least Leopard...Snow Leopard is your best choice...if your computer meets the specs:
http://support.apple.com/kb/SP575
$29 from Apple.

Syncing iPhone with Two Computers: Mac and PC

I have a Macbook running 10.7.1 at home and a PC at work running Windows 7 and Outlook 2010. I sync my iPhone (music, photos, contacts, calendars, photos) with my Macbook at home. I have set up MobileMe syncing on my MacBook and iPhone.
If I install iTunes on my work PC, set up MobileMe syncing with Outlook, etc., can I then connect my iPhone to my work PC without problems? Or, upon syncing my iPhone with my work PC, will everything be erased?
I am trying to sync calendars and contacts through MobileMe to my iPhone while continuing to sync all of my music, apps, etc. to my Macbook at home.
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Let me try to explain. I want my sync my work calendar and contacts from my work PC to my iPhone while maintaining everything else (music, apps, pictures, etc.) on my MacBook.
Can I sync my work PC Outlook calendar and contacts through the air using MobileMe and connect my iPhone only to my MacBook?
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How to sync iPhone with new Mac without losing all my iTunes?

I have recently got a new MacBook after my old one crashed... but I have been told that anything not bought would be lost when I sync my iPhone with my new Mac... I have already transferred the bought songs etc... is there a way (cheap or free if possible!) to transfer my music and videos to my iTunes library on my Mac?
Thank you very much!

Hi,
Option 1:
     If you have purchased a new Mac from an Local Apple store, I'd advise you to bring in your old computer along with your new one in, and have them assist you on transferring. (Assuming your computer doesn't not even power up)
Option 2:
     If your computer can be powered up (seeing the Apple Logo), and your hard drive is fine, then you can connect the two computers by using a Firewire cable, and then transfer the music files by drag and drop.
     http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1661
Option 3:
     There are 3rd party software that you may purchase used to extract music from your iPhone, but it will have to be done at your own risk. You may Google for extracting music from iPhone for a start.
-cwdlin

Syncing iPhone with one Mac but not another

I have a home Mac and a work Mac.
I want the iPhone 3GS to sync with my home Mac, and it does so perfectly.
Sometimes I'm at work and I need to charge the phone, so I plug it into the work Mac, and it launches iTunes and attempts to sync with it (which, if I let it continue, would erase all my loaded stuff). I always stop it manually.
I see the option in iTunes checked for "Always sync the iPhone to this Mac" (or something like that). If I uncheck it, it fixes this, but next time I go home, the iPhone doesn't sync with the home phone because this option unchecks itself at home too!
So how do I make sure it syncs to the home Mac, but does not erase itself when plugged into the work Mac?

From the user guide, page 16, http://manuals.info.apple.com/enUS/iPhone_UserGuide.pdf
You may want to prevent iPhone from syncing automatically when you connect iPhone to a computer other than the one you usually sync with.
1. Turn off automatic syncing for iPhone: Connect iPhone to your computer. In iTunes, select iPhone in the sidebar, then click the Summary tab. Deselect “Automatically sync when this iPhone is connected.” You can always sync by clicking the Sync button.
2. Prevent automatic syncing for all iPhones and iPods: In iTunes choose iTunes > Preferences (on a Mac) or Edit > Preferences (on a PC), click Devices, and select “Disable automatic syncing for all iPhones and iPods. If this checkbox is selected, iPhone won’t sync automatically, even if “Automatically sync when this iPhone is connected” is selected in the Summary pane.
3. Prevent automatic syncing one time, without changing settings: Open iTunes. Then, as you connect iPhone to your computer, press and hold Command-Option (on a Mac) or Shift-Control (on a PC) until you see iPhone appear in the sidebar."
I use option 3 without any problems.

Upgrading from old Mac to new- how to sync iPhone with new Mac?

Hi all,
My dad is upgrading from an old iBook to a nice new iMac. He has spent quite a few days tweaking his new iMac and importing old files and folders. The one thing we haven't yet done, though, is iTunes. He has an iBook G3 that he syncs his iPhone with, and he wants to be able to "move" his whole iTunes setup to the new iMac so that it picks up right where the iBook left off, without needing to reset the iPhone.
One thing to keep in mind is that the iBook had a tiny hard drive and thus the music files are actually on an external hard drive. I was wondering how to go about this feat. I read that using Migration Assistant deletes everything off the new Mac, so that's not an option at this point. Thanks for the help!

If you had use Migration Assistant to start with it would have been easier.
See if this article helps - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449?viewlocale=en_US
MJ

Syncing iPhone with empty mac?

Hi all,
My hard drive crashed on my macbook, and I'm trying to sync my iphone with my new imac, which has none of my contacts etc on it. Is it possible to push all my content on my iphone onto my new (empty) mac?
Help - I really worried that syncing will wipe my phone, and I can't seem to back up that content anywhere. I have mobile me but that too doesn't seem to be able to sync from phone to empty mac.
Thanks

Yes, it will wipe your phone unless you do the following:
1. Make sure auto sync is NOT CHECKED when this device is connected.
2. For contacts, set up a least one contact in your address book & make sure you select merge contacts from the list.
3. When you first connect your phone, go up to file, & select transfer purchases from this ipod to this computer. This will put purchased content on your new computer, including any purchased apps.
4. After you've transferred purchases, put a least one contact in your address book & selected merge contacts, you can then sync.
5. Music you may have riped on your own, will be deleted unless you have a backup to put back on your computer.
You can also use third party software, there are many out there, use google to look. An example is:
http://ipodrip.com/
Message was edited by: wjosten

2 problem when syncing iphone with my mac.

On the last days whenever I connect my iPhone (2G 3.0) to my Mac (10.6.1) I get a message "applemobiledevicehelper quit unexpectedly". All I need to do is just click 'ignore' and then everything works fine with iTunes (9.0.1).
The problem is iPhoto (8.2), I cant see my iphone there. iPhoto isn't recognizing my iPhone.
This problem is also right with Image Capture.
Please any assistance.

Before you upgrade beyond 10.6.8 as in Michael Allbrittons post you need to have 10.6.8 on your computer.
Get more information about your computer. Go to the Apple in the upper left corner of any window, then "About This Mac". Write down what it says about "version"and report that here. Now continue to "More Info..." Copy and paste the information here, but omit the serial number and Hardware UUID (if present).
If you have a PPC Mac you cannot sync your idevice without a newer computer. See the end of this post for options.
If it says you have an Intel Mac you can upgrade to Snow Leopard, but check system requirements first:
Snow Leopard 10.6 Technical Requirements - http://support.apple.com/kb/SP575
You can buy Snow Leopard at:
Snow Leopard disc source - http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard
After installing run the updater to 10.6.8, then upgrade iTunes.
Jan. 2014 post by Kappy on doing all this: https://discussions.apple.com/message/24599931
Options if you cannot upgrade: iTunes Store purchases can already be downloaded directly. Use iTunes Match to put non-Store music in iCloud, then download to your device from there. Backup your device directly to iCloud over a wireless connection. Photos can be downloaded from the Camera Roll using iPhoto or Image Capture.
Incidentally, the post referenced by Michael Allbritton is two years old. If you can install Snow Leopard and your computer is new enough you also have the option to go straight to the latest OSX, Mavericks, for free, but that's another topic.

Syncing iphone with my mac (OS X 10.5.8)

I cannot download itunes 11.1 to my mac. (OS X 10.5.8) I've tried to update my computer's operating system first, but I don't know how to. If i dont do so, I cannot update my itunes, and thus, cannot sync my computer to my iphone. Help! Thanks

Before you upgrade beyond 10.6.8 as in Michael Allbrittons post you need to have 10.6.8 on your computer.
Get more information about your computer. Go to the Apple in the upper left corner of any window, then "About This Mac". Write down what it says about "version"and report that here. Now continue to "More Info..." Copy and paste the information here, but omit the serial number and Hardware UUID (if present).
If you have a PPC Mac you cannot sync your idevice without a newer computer. See the end of this post for options.
If it says you have an Intel Mac you can upgrade to Snow Leopard, but check system requirements first:
Snow Leopard 10.6 Technical Requirements - http://support.apple.com/kb/SP575
You can buy Snow Leopard at:
Snow Leopard disc source - http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard
After installing run the updater to 10.6.8, then upgrade iTunes.
Jan. 2014 post by Kappy on doing all this: https://discussions.apple.com/message/24599931
Options if you cannot upgrade: iTunes Store purchases can already be downloaded directly. Use iTunes Match to put non-Store music in iCloud, then download to your device from there. Backup your device directly to iCloud over a wireless connection. Photos can be downloaded from the Camera Roll using iPhoto or Image Capture.
Incidentally, the post referenced by Michael Allbritton is two years old. If you can install Snow Leopard and your computer is new enough you also have the option to go straight to the latest OSX, Mavericks, for free, but that's another topic.

I cant access control on syncing iphone with mac air to get contact via outlook to change on phone

I cant access control on syncing iphone with mac air to get contacts via outlook to change on phone. Worked fine on old itunes.

Hi Steve, Thanks for that. When I conect the phone it comes up with iphoto and starts to sync and then when that is finnished the itunes window shows my phone syncing at the top of the screen. The only button that says iphone which is on top right only asks if I want to eject and then disapears when sync finnishes. I can not see any other way of showing a side bar view and i can not access any way of controling the sycn service. It seems to be syncing calander but not my contacts. Have I missed something?

Hi, we have two iphones with two accounts. The apple tv automatically syncs with one account to play music from the iphone to apple tv. How can I use my iphone to do the same?

Hi, we have two iphones with two accounts. The apple tv automatically syncs with one account to play music from the iphone to apple tv. How can I use my iphone to do the same?

Our experience is a little different, we have different iTunes accounts for different family members, each family member has their own iTunes library on their own mac, each mac uses my Apple ID for homesharing and we are able to play purchased content from each library on the Apple TV.

Is there an option of synching Iphone with two itunes on different mac books ?

is there an option of synching Iphone with two itunes on different mac books ?

You can't sync it to two computers.
But you can plug it into a second computer and add things or take things out of apps (under the app tab, scroll down).
Also you can take photos off on a second computer.
There are a few things you can do on a second computer.
But not a sync.

How do I sync one iPhone with two laptops using iTunes (not iCloud)?

I just got a new iPhone 4S and want to sync it with two separate laptops (using the simple cable procedure, not iCloud) -- my old(er) MacBook Pro2.2 15", with Intel Core 2 Duo running System 10.5.8, and my new MacBook Pro with Intel Core i7 running Lion.
I tried this once before and got chaos -- syncing on the second laptop gave me multiple entries in my calendar and address book. I don't want to go through this again until I know the right procedure, if there is one.

When you get your new laptop repaired, transfer your iTunes library & other important data to your new computer. When you first sync your phone to this computer, all iTunes content will be erased from your phone. However since you've copied your iTunes library to your new computer, just sync the content back to your phone.

Sync iPhone with two Macs or change main sync computer

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