Ask an Engineer - Syncing With iTunes

Every month we answer your tech questions in “Ask an Engineer.” If you have a question you’d like answered, write us at bergeronl@alliancetechnologies.net. If your question is selected you’ll be answered in our newsletter!

Kathy Asks, How Do I Sync My iPhone and iPod with iTunes?

Thanks for the question Kathy – you’d be surprised how often we get this one. Apple has made their technology pretty user friendly, but sometimes a little old fashioned engineer know-how is needed, too.

First, open iTunes. Make sure the computer you’d like to sync to is authorized with your iTunes account by navigating to Store/Authorize Computer and entering in your Apple ID and password. If you don’t have one, you can create one by naviaging to Store/Create Account.

Next, plug in your device to the computer with the iPod or iPhone cable. Your device will appear in the left pane under “Devices.” Click on it to highlight it. This will take you to the Device Summary tab.

To sync it automatically from now on, click the “Automatically sync when connected” checkbox in the Options section. Next, navigate to the tabs at the top: Music, Movies, TV Shows, etc. On each tab you can select which folders you’d like to automatically sync. Click the Sync checkbox at the top, then select the folders, files, and playlists you’d like to sync.

Once you’ve selected all the files, click the “Sync” button in the bottom right corner. If you’re syncing a lot of data (several gigs or more) it might take awhile, so grab a snack or surf the web for a few minutes. When you come back, your device will be ready to use.