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Can only hook iphone up to 1 computer?!!

D

djrobsd

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 2, 2008
824
25
I have my iphone set to manually sync with itunes because I want to be able to hook it up to any one of my computers at home or work and copy stuff to it. Unfortunately, the iphone won't let me do this, it says I'm already syncing with another computer! But yet when I check the other computer, it says it's on manual.

When I try to turn the auto off on my Macbook Pro, the dumb thing says it's going to WIPE my iphone. So, now I can't copy videos or music to the phone from any computer other then my desktop at home.

What to do?!
 
Nothing you can do...its the way it is.

The iPhone is tied to your iTunes account...not the computer. If you have the same iTunes account and each account data base is the same then you can sync on any computer you want but they must mirror each other (obviously pointless). You can maintain your manual sync and sync music/videos from one computer and contacts/calender from another computer with the SAME iTunes account.

Otherwise your out of luck...the iPhone does NOT have the same capabilities as an iPod on Disk mode...There is NO disk mode for the iPhone and that is what you are looking for.

Good Luck
 
SFC Archer said:
Nothing you can do...its the way it is.

The iPhone is tied to your iTunes account...not the computer. If you have the same iTunes account and each account data base is the same then you can sync on any computer you want but they must mirror each other (obviously pointless). You can maintain your manual sync and sync music/videos from one computer and contacts/calender from another computer with the SAME iTunes account.

Otherwise your out of luck...the iPhone does NOT have the same capabilities as an iPod on Disk mode...There is NO disk mode for the iPhone and that is what you are looking for.

Good Luck
Click to expand...

What the heck? I'm not trying to use it as a "disk" i just want to manually sync my library and CHOOSE what songs I want to put on my iphone. I don't get why I can't hook my iphone up to any computer and copy music to it, that is so LAME!!!!!!!!!!! Apple sucks, and the more I hear about the iPhone the more I want to take it back just to make a statement against their restrictive policies.

If I jailbreak my phone then will it work?
 
Apple sucks, and the more I hear about the iPhone the more I want to take it back just to make a statement against their restrictive policies.
Click to expand...

so take it back already because the iphone does not do that dual sync that you want it to do.
 
Yeah, that's probably what I'm going to do, but thanks for pointing out the obvious, Fanboys.
 
djrobsd said:
What the heck? I'm not trying to use it as a "disk" i just want to manually sync my library and CHOOSE what songs I want to put on my iphone. I don't get why I can't hook my iphone up to any computer and copy music to it, that is so LAME!!!!!!!!!!! Apple sucks, and the more I hear about the iPhone the more I want to take it back just to make a statement against their restrictive policies.

If I jailbreak my phone then will it work?
Click to expand...

Obviously I am not a "fan boy" just want to answer your questions based on my experience. I cannot answer the jailbreak question as I stick with things the way they are and do not open my self up to messing up/voiding my stuff. I wish that it could be used as a thumb drive and be able to move from work to home computers...maybe someday but I am not going to hold my breath as it has not happened in a years time.
 
djrobsd said:
What the heck? I'm not trying to use it as a "disk" i just want to manually sync my library and CHOOSE what songs I want to put on my iphone. I don't get why I can't hook my iphone up to any computer and copy music to it, that is so LAME!!!!!!!!!!! Apple sucks, and the more I hear about the iPhone the more I want to take it back just to make a statement against their restrictive policies.

If I jailbreak my phone then will it work?
Click to expand...

:rolleyes: What is the benefit of copying the files you want manually over having iTunes syncing for you? Create a playlist of the songs you want, set iTunes to only sync that playlist. It's so much easier than dealing with files manually ...

Syncing with iTunes is pretty much the only way to put music on your phone. Jailbreaking you phone will let you put SwapTunes which lets you sync it with two iTunes libraries, but there is no way to enable a "disk mode" and manually copy files to the phone.
 
djrobsd said:
What the heck? I'm not trying to use it as a "disk" i just want to manually sync my library and CHOOSE what songs I want to put on my iphone. I don't get why I can't hook my iphone up to any computer and copy music to it, that is so LAME!!!!!!!!!!! Apple sucks, and the more I hear about the iPhone the more I want to take it back just to make a statement against their restrictive policies.

If I jailbreak my phone then will it work?
Click to expand...

Blame the record companies for demanding DRM like this, not Apple.
 
djrobsd said:
What the heck? I'm not trying to use it as a "disk" i just want to manually sync my library and CHOOSE what songs I want to put on my iphone. I don't get why I can't hook my iphone up to any computer and copy music to it, that is so LAME!!!!!!!!!!! Apple sucks, and the more I hear about the iPhone the more I want to take it back just to make a statement against their restrictive policies.
Click to expand...
Looks like the iPhone is not a good fit for you.

You might want to return it and ease your life. There are other options out there that may be a better fit for you.
 
why dont you just get your friend to .rar you up the files and yousendit them to you, or go over their with a laptop and copy them over to your computer. Its a pain, but i understand why apple does it.

Luckely my two computers are on my iTunes account, so i can freely switch info between both of them. I however cannot get my dads stuff on his iTunes, nor can he get mine.

Yesterday he wanted some smashing pumpkins, i plugged his phone in and it would not let me copy over. So i just copied the itunes Smashing Pumpkins folder into his shared folder over our router and all was well. took like 10 seconds haha.
 
whiner

djrobsd said:
What the heck? I'm not trying to use it as a "disk" i just want to manually sync my library and CHOOSE what songs I want to put on my iphone. I don't get why I can't hook my iphone up to any computer and copy music to it, that is so LAME!!!!!!!!!!! Apple sucks, and the more I hear about the iPhone the more I want to take it back just to make a statement against their restrictive policies.

If I jailbreak my phone then will it work?
Click to expand...

Can't stand whiners like you. I bet you're a new iPhone owner, aren't you?

The worst move apple made was to allow AT&T to subsidize the 3G iPhone so people like you could afford them.

Like it has already been said, the iPhone is tied to an iTunes account, not a computer. If you have a problem with it, feel free to purchase an iPhone competitor. I'm sure you'll find plenty that are the same price, features and UI.
 
You know, it always baffles me how people just accept the fact that there are limitations rather then writing Apple and asking them to make a change. I'm not sure if they listen, but I did fill out the feedback form, and I encourage anyone else who wants to be able to sync their iphone with multiple computers to do so as well.

This limitation totally sucks. Sure there are workarounds, but when you're running out the door and need to copy something to your iphones, those workarounds are severely inconvenient and do not allow you to do what you need it to do in the time needed. The iPhone is not supposed to complicate your life, it's supposed to make it easier. For those who work in both a Mac and PC environment, surely you can feel my pain, as it's not always easy to get files from one machine to another, so it would be nice to just hook the iphone up and copy the stuff you want onto your phone.

Hopefully if Apple doesn't listen and fix it, someone else will write a 3rd party app that will allow for it, even if it involves jailbreaking the phone.
 
On a more lighter note, these are the things that do work:

-I can copy photos directly to and from the iphone, there is a "digital camera" that says iphone in Windows Explorer!

-I was able to copy podcasts from my work computer to the iphone

-The apps synced back to my work computer from the phone (backup)

But of course, music, no go, if I check the "sync selected playlists" box, it says "All music on your iphone will be erased"!!!

So it's almost like you can sync everything EXCEPT music to your iPhone on more then 1 computer (provided they are all signed into the same itunes account)!
 
when i sync my iphone i have two computer to sync it to, but itunes will only allow you to sync media(podcasts, movies, apps) on one and info on the other(contacts, mail accounts, pictures,etc.)
 
I think your problem is that you need to consolidate all your music onto one machine. I currently have a macbook and an iMac and two iPods and an iPhone. I keep all my music on my iMac, and sync my devices to it. When listening to music on my Macbook, I use the sharing feature in iTunes. When I need to make a change to something on my iMac, I can also use the screenshare feature built into Leopard to make the change remotely from my Macbook.
 
jobsfnby said:
when i sync my iphone i have two computer to sync it to, but itunes will only allow you to sync media(podcasts, movies, apps) on one and info on the other(contacts, mail accounts, pictures,etc.)
Click to expand...

Exactly. It seems to be unrestrictive with everything except music and videos, which I guess is because Apple bowed down and gave into the almighty MPA and RIAA.

I wonder if the iPod touch performs the same way, or if it works like all the REGULAR ipods do! The regular ipods let you copy from any computer as long as you check the box that says manually manage music/videos.

Maybe they will enable this in future firmware, but I'm not holding my breath. Maybe someone can hack the actual itunes App to allow this, it seems like the restriction would be in the actual app and not the phone itself, but who knows. ;)
 
tkidBOSTON said:
I think your problem is that you need to consolidate all your music onto one machine. I currently have a macbook and an iMac and two iPods and an iPhone. I keep all my music on my iMac, and sync my devices to it. When listening to music on my Macbook, I use the sharing feature in iTunes. When I need to make a change to something on my iMac, I can also use the screenshare feature built into Leopard to make the change remotely from my Macbook.
Click to expand...

That is a great idea, but the problem is when I'm at work and I want to copy something from my work computer to the iPhone, it's not happening. If I was working at home all the time that would be great.

But hey, what about when you're on vacation or traveling for a few and you get bored of the music on your iphone and want to copy some different songs or videos to it? Like you know, i'm about to get on a 12 hour flight, but I can't copy new movies or tv shows to my ipod because it's tethered to my HOME computer, not my laptop? I guess I better just tether it to the laptop and go buy a 300 gig drive for my laptop. ;)

The problem is much deeper then just having an organized library. It's about being on the go and needing to be able to update your iphone from anywhere you see fit.
 
djrobsd said:
But hey, what about when you're on vacation or traveling for a few and you get bored of the music on your iphone and want to copy some different songs or videos to it? Like you know, i'm about to get on a 12 hour flight, but I can't copy new movies or tv shows to my ipod because it's tethered to my HOME computer, not my laptop? I guess I better just tether it to the laptop and go buy a 300 gig drive for my laptop. ;)
Click to expand...
You could always upgrade to a 500GB internal HD.

That is what I am doing.

djrobsd said:
The problem is much deeper then just having an organized library. It's about being on the go and needing to be able to update your iphone from anywhere you see fit.
Click to expand...
You want multiple syncing sources.

Unfortunately, Apple doesn't support this feature. I am sure that the RIAA has something to do with this phenomenon.
 
djrobsd said:
Exactly. It seems to be unrestrictive with everything except music and videos, which I guess is because Apple bowed down and gave into the almighty MPA and RIAA.

I wonder if the iPod touch performs the same way, or if it works like all the REGULAR ipods do! The regular ipods let you copy from any computer as long as you check the box that says manually manage music/videos.

Maybe they will enable this in future firmware, but I'm not holding my breath. Maybe someone can hack the actual itunes App to allow this, it seems like the restriction would be in the actual app and not the phone itself, but who knows. ;)
Click to expand...
That is just one more reason that I don't use the iPod functions of my iPhone (1st gen, bought about 10 months ago) - the functions may be similar, but they ARE NOT AN IPOD!. Apple can say all they want that the iPhone (and now the Touch) is the best iPod ever, but they are sorely mistaken when functionality like this is missing. Yes, iPods let you copy music manually (using iTunes) from any computer, as long as they are all tied to the same iTunes account. Unfortunately, in Apple's infinite wisdom (NOT!), they decided to cripple that functionality on the iPhone. I don't understand it either.
 
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