Syncing betwixt 2 machines, same data? Possible

October 14, 2011 8:17 AM

Using iPhone/iPad between two computers with roughly the same data. Is this possible? More inside:

I have an iPhone 4 and an iPad 2. I sync them to my main machine at the house and manually manage the music/books/vids/etc that is one them.

However, I'm getting ready for an extended trip and am only taking my smaller travel laptop. The contact info is synced to Outlook but the exact same Outlook file is on my travel machine as well via dropbox.

Is there a way to connect either/both to my travel machine once I'm gone and be able to update them, either in music, apps, vids, whatever and not have to reset them completely? Would it help to copy my apps over as well?

I don't mind some intricate technical workarounds, so long as I don't have to erase the units prior. I'm not so worried about music syncing, but it would be nice to be able to transfer my notes, some new vids and pics whilst traveling.

posted by damiano99 to Computers & Internet (9 answers total)

Have you upgraded them to iOS 5? Synchronizing music, apps, etc is exactly what iCloud is for.
posted by Tomorrowful at 8:21 AM on October 14, 2011

Will you be getting music, etc. from other sources than iTunes? I've been having success with downloading purchases to multiple devices via the iCloud.

Aaaaand... jinx.
posted by Madamina at 8:22 AM on October 14, 2011

Yeah, icloud handles all this stuff now.
posted by empath at 8:42 AM on October 14, 2011

iCloud is probably the easiest answer, at this point. It will cover what you want to synchronize.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:14 AM on October 14, 2011

Maybe he won't have internet access while traveling?
posted by jacalata at 10:35 AM on October 14, 2011

iCloud syncs over the internet, but you don't need to be on the internet after it syncs.
posted by empath at 12:00 PM on October 14, 2011

Response by poster: Exactly, my problem is that I won't have the net where we'll be. (Mountains of India)
posted by damiano99 at 6:57 PM on October 14, 2011

Best answer: The only other option to allow syncing between two machines is jailbreaking the iOS devices, which usually requires erasing the device and installing a bootleg firmware, if one is available. If you plan to go this route, don't upgrade to iOS 5, because you won't be able to go back to a jailbroken 4.x firmware.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:21 AM on October 16, 2011

Yes, you can do it. I did this just yesterday. I think both machines have to be the same OS.

http://www.apple.com/itunes/inside-itunes/2011/02/how-to-move-your-itunes-library-to-another-hard-drive.html

This isn't a long-term dual-syncing type of situation. You'll be able to sync with one computer or another, but not both at the same time. If you'll only need to be doing this sometimes, like when travelling, it may be a good solution for you.

Since iTunes / iOS5 now support WiFi syncing, I moved iTunes to my always-on server instead of my laptop and now my iPhone syncs while I sleep.

iCloud doesn't get you syncing of movies yet, and I'm not sure if iTunes Match (for syncing music) is live yet.
posted by reddot at 7:12 AM on October 16, 2011