iphone and itunes don't like each other. help!

June 6, 2010 4:05 AM

iphone and itunes don't like each other. help!

I recently did a clean install of my mac and thought I had correctly backed up itunes but apparently didn't. now I have a new itunes library and my iphone is inaccessible - I can't add songs to it or pull them down. I would like to be able to access my iphone through itunes again but authorizing the computer has not helped.

is there a way to get this back to working condition without having to flatten the whole iphone and reinstalling all the apps, copying all the playlists, etc? (that's possible, it's just such a pain in the ass that I'm trying to avoid it.)

posted by krautland to computers & internet (5 answers total)

Do you have your phone set to automatically sync songs and playlists? If so, you can check the box that says "manually manage songs and playlists" and it will allow you to add new music and/or remove it from your ipod.
posted by Hiker at 4:43 AM on June 6, 2010

no, it's set to manual. it won't allow me to drag songs or playlists either way.
posted by krautland at 4:53 AM on June 6, 2010

[ex-Apple tech support] Unfortunately, if you have done a clean install and do not have a backup of the itunes library, there is no (official) way to restore playlists and other music data from an iPhone or iPod touch; only other data like contacts and photos will sync from phone to computer.

Whilst I was working there I became aware that there was an unofficial method for reverse-copying music and playlist data from other types of iPod, but I never encountered one that covered the iPhone/Touch. I suspect because of the iPhone OS's rigid control over what files are normally user accessible, it may not be possible to copy from an iPhone without jailbreaking it.
posted by fearnothing at 9:46 AM on June 6, 2010

There are a few options.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 12:19 PM on June 6, 2010

yes, you're going to have to run senuti or something similar to get the audio/playlists off the phone into your "new" itunes and then sync that way. unfortunately, you cannot manually add songs directly to the iphone like you could with the ipods when Hiker's suggested checkbox is ticked. so you're going to have to pull everything off first.
posted by brianwhitman at 4:47 PM on June 6, 2010