Difference between revisions of "ITunes"

To connect an iPod to iTunes for syncing, use the cable meant for your specific iPod. If you are using a 1st or 2nd gen iPod classic, use a FireWire cable. If you are using a 3rd gen Classic, use either a FireWire or USB cable to sync (although the 3rd gen will not charge over USB, so make sure it is sufficiently charged). If you are using a 4th gen Classic or later, a Nano (1st-6th gen), or a Touch (1st-4th gen), use a 30Pin to USB Cable. If you are using an iPod nano 7th gen, or an iPod touch 5th gen or later, use a Lightning connector cable. If you are using a Shuffle 1st gen, connect it directly to the computer. If you are using a Shuffle 2nd gen or later, use the included 3.5MM to USB cable.

 

iPod Touch supports WiFi syncing with iTunes due to onboard WLAN capabilities. Once connected to iTunes via a USB Cable, you can tick "Show this iPod when on WiFi" and the iPod will now connect when both it and your Windows/macOS computer are on the same wireless network. You can then enable "Automatically Sync when this iPod is connected" to have the iPod regularly sync it's contents when it is plugged into power, without the need to directly connect the iPod Touch to your computer.

iPod's can be synced to iTunes either automatically or manually. An iPod synced automatically will mirror all content, or selected whichever playlists, artists, genres are selected, whenever the iPod is plugged in to that particular computer. However, with Automatic Syncing enabled, an iPod cannot copy Music, Photo, and Video content from another computer without erasing what is currently stored on the iPod. iPod's synced manually will have to have content manually dragged onto them as apposed to automatically syncing, with the benefit being multiple computers can sync content to a single iPod.  

Note: an iPod does not automatically sync with a computer, but an iTunes/Music library file (see below for more information on library files)

 

iTunes for Windows and MacOS (and the Music/TV apps on MacOS) use Library files. With automatic syncing enabled, an iPod will link itself to this library file. This Library can be copied between computers, and if an iPod has Automatic Syncing enabled, it will continue to sync with that library.

 

On macOS Catalina or later, due to the library files being seperate between applications, an iPod will link itself to that computers library files, regardless of whether that particular type of content is turned on (if an iPod has automatic syncing turned on but is only syncing music, it will also still be linked to that computers Video library despite it being a different file). While you can still copy these library files onto another computer for Automatic Syncing, you cannot use library files that originate from 2 different computers.

Apple Music is a separate service to the iTunes Music Store released in 2015, and as such as very limited service on an iPod. Only DRM-free music within iTunes, or music purchased from the iTunes Store linked to your account indefinitely can be synced to an iPod. This means that the Apple Music catalogue cannot be synced to an iPod. Apple Music can however be used to up-sample music you own to up to 256KBS, as Apple Music will download songs you have uploaded at up to 256KBS quality (this can be useful if you have obtained a lower quality music file and would like to increase the quality of said file using a copy from Apple's servers)

iTunes can also be used as an alternative to iCloud for making backups of an iPod touch. These backups allow you to restore the contents of your iPod Touch at a later point in time should it be reset, or you want to transfer the data to another iPod Touch. Backups can be restored on any device running the same or later version of iOS as the backup was made on (a backup of an iPod Touch 5th generation on iOS 6 can be restored on an iPod Touch 4th Generation running iOS 6, however a backup of an iPod Touch 5th generation running iOS 7 or above cannot be restored on an iPod Touch 4th generation running iOS 6), even if the device is completely different (a Backup of an iPod Touch can be restored on an iPad Pro or iPhone, for instance).

These backups can also be encrypted with a password. This enabled the storing of more sensitive information within the backup (such as HealthKit data and passwords). However, this password is tied to the iPod as well as the backup, so if this password is forgotten, it is impossible to restore backups made using this iPod without resetting the iPod.

To play these games, your iPod must be running a modified version of the official firmware (currently only the 5th gen Video supports this) OR you must have purchased the games on your iTunes account and still have them downloaded to your computer (as there is no way to redownload the games from Apple anymore, however it is possible to modify an existing .ipg file for the game to sign with your appleID if you previously bought the game). If you purchased the games when they were available, then you will still be able to sync them via iTunes, under the "Games" catagory.