Sync'ing multiple iphones to multiple computers

[jfremani]

Why can't I just add a ringtone from my desktop to my iphone without it deleting the other ringtones I have on the iphone?

My macbook recently crashed and my gf lost the ringtones she had on it. She made some new ones and wanted to sync them to my iphone, but the iphone wants to delete her old ringtones because they are no longer on my computer. This seems sort strange. If microsoft did this, they would be called Nazis.

Also, I originally sync'd my phone up to my macbook, but later hooked it up to my desktop to try and delete some apps.. lo and behold, it deleted a few apps, rearranged my icons, and deleted some critical info from my calendar.

I had never had problems using Windows software, but maybe I am missing something or is this extremely un-intuitive?

What are the basic ways to do this without losing things on the iphone?

 

[strike1555]

Unfortunately, iTunes is a very chuggy, primitive piece of software. It is very delete-happy and not well designed enough for what you want.

Your best bet is to just transfer them onto your own computer.

 

[jfremani]

Unfortunately, iTunes is a very chuggy, primitive piece of software. It is very delete-happy and not well designed enough for what you want.

Your best bet is to just transfer them onto your own computer.

My lady is still fuming angry over having lost info in her apps and is trying to convince me to switch to blackberries. I am trying to find out as much as possible as to avoid this again in the future.

 

[dhungdo]

First off I would disable automatic syncing when you connect your iPhone, that way you don't lose any information when you are trying to sync with multiple computers.

For musics/videos you can try enabling "Manually Managed Music/Videos" this will allow you to drag and drop additional music/videos from multiple computers, without removing them on your iPhone.

Before syncing, always do a "Transfer Purchase" that way it will add any additional Apps you bought on your iPhone to the computer you are trying to sync with.

Just a precaution, you can "Reset Warnings" that way you will get any conflicts warning when it is trying to sync. Your contacts and calendars, should normally ask you to either Merge/Replace the info when syncing to its appropriate applications on the computer (if there are more then 5% changes made), most of the time it should sync the data both ways. If you're unsure, just reset the warnings before you try to sync.

 

[-aggie-]

First off I would disable automatic syncing when you connect your iPhone, that way you don't lose any information when you are trying to sync with multiple computers.

For musics/videos you can try enabling "Manually Managed Music/Videos" this will allow you to drag and drop additional music/videos from multiple computers, without removing them on your iPhone.

Before syncing, always do a "Transfer Purchase" that way it will add any additional Apps you bought on your iPhone to the computer you are trying to sync with.

Just a precaution, you can "Reset Warnings" that way you will get any conflicts warning when it is trying to sync. Your contacts and calendars, should normally ask you to either Merge/Replace the info when syncing to its appropriate applications on the computer (if there are more then 5% changes made), most of the time it should sync the data both ways. If you're unsure, just reset the warnings before you try to sync.

+1. You can also drag your ringtones over manually. There's just no better way to manage files from iTunes than to do it manually. Leaving iTunes in auto only invites disaster. Another thing I always suggest is to make a backup copy of the iPhone backup in iTunes and put it somewhere safe so that if anything happens to your computer you have it.