Cut the cord?

CosmoPilot · May 26, 2012

Wirelessly posted

Curious, how many still use a wire to sync with a compute?

If you're an old school holdout, what keeps you tethered?

I haven't connected to a computer since movies became a previous purchased download on iOS.

davidg4781 · May 26, 2012

I do about every other week or so to copy my photos to iPhoto, but that's about it.

I just upgraded to Lion and am fully using iCloud. I'm not sure if I can pull the photos from Photo Stream though.

Before Lion, I was doing the same but I knew this was the only way to do so.

scaredpoet · May 26, 2012

I sync my iPhone with my computer via cord, but only because I use my computer (and a spare cable) to charge my phone at night. This lets me keep the charger at work, in case I need it there.

Also: it lets me transfer my images to iPhoto.

The iPad I sync wirelessly though.

Slinkwyde · May 26, 2012

Yesterday I used it to sync my iTunes library after a wipe and restore. I could have used WiFi but USB 2.0 is much faster than 802.11g.

Last month I used it in the university library to copy a document from my MBP into Goodreader on my iPod. I tried Goodreader's WiFi disk mode first, but apparently the school's WiFi hotspot is setup so that machines on the network are isolated from each other. A service like Dropbox would have worked, but I'm uncomfortable with their privacy and security issues.

I don't plug into the computer much anymore, and when I do its usually to charge not to sync.

davidg4781 said:
I do about every other week or so to copy my photos to iPhoto, but that's about it.

I just upgraded to Lion and am fully using iCloud. I'm not sure if I can pull the photos from Photo Stream though.

Before Lion, I was doing the same but I knew this was the only way to do so.

Do you have the latest iPhoto? (iPhoto 2011, aka 9.2.3)

benhollberg · May 26, 2012

I do both Wi-Fi sync and via the USB cord. I prefer the cord because sometimes it doesn't always sync when it is just plugged into power. I keep all my backups on the computer though, don't use iCloud for that.

davidg4781 · May 26, 2012

Slinkwyde said:
Do you have the latest iPhoto? (iPhoto 2011, aka 9.2.3)

Yes. Will this help to keep me from having to sync with the cord? Are the Photo Stream photos full quality and size?

benhollberg said:
I do both Wi-Fi sync and via the USB cord. I prefer the cord because sometimes it doesn't always sync when it is just plugged into power. I keep all my backups on the computer though, don't use iCloud for that.

Any reason why you don't use iCloud for backup? I recently switched to that but is there some reason I should switch back?

Slinkwyde · May 26, 2012

davidg4781 said:
Yes. Will this help to keep me from having to sync with the cord? Are the Photo Stream photos full quality and size?

I can't answer that myself. I don't have Lion or the latest iPhoto and have never used Photostream. What I can do, however, is give you this link: http://help.apple.com/iphoto/index.html#phtac7ec5f4

twigman08 · May 26, 2012

Sadly my Wifi is pretty slow. Only get about 2.75 Mbps download speed. So if I have to sync a video or something like that I will just plug it into the computer.

Also in my house where the computer room is, used to be a garage. So my Wifi doesn't stretch very far at all past that room. Plus it is a pretty big house so I can't even connect to my wifi network in my room. lol.

Slinkwyde · May 26, 2012

twigman08 said:
Sadly my Wifi is pretty slow. Only get about 2.75 Mbps download speed.

Are you sure that's your WiFi and not your Internet connection?

twigman08 · May 26, 2012

Slinkwyde said:
Are you sure that's your WiFi and not your Internet connection?

It is my internet connection. I was just typing really fast and not thinking what I was saying, talking about or anything so I just said WiFi. lol. My internet is terribly slow.

Slinkwyde · May 27, 2012

twigman08 said:
It is my internet connection. I was just typing really fast and not thinking what I was saying, talking about or anything so I just said WiFi. lol. My internet is terribly slow.

Well, that would affect iCloud but it wouldn't affect WiFi sync. WiFi sync happens over the LAN (local area network) and doesn't use the Internet.

Theoretical limits:
USB 2.0: 480Mbps
802.11n (current WiFi standard): 600Mbps
802.11g (previous WiFi standard): 54Mbps

BTW, the same is also true for things like AirPlay and home sharing. They use the LAN.

twigman08 · May 27, 2012

Slinkwyde said:
Well, that would affect iCloud but it wouldn't affect WiFi sync. WiFi sync happens over the LAN (local area network) and doesn't use the Internet.

Theoretical limits:
USB 2.0: 480Mbps
802.11n (current WiFi standard): 600Mbps
802.11g (previous WiFi standard): 54Mbps

BTW, the same is also true for things like AirPlay and home sharing. They use the LAN.

Honestly didn't know that exactly. Hmm, something isn't right then I guess because doing wireless sync it is just flat out slow syncing. It's always been faster for me to sync it via USB. I will be looking into this. Thanks.

Slinkwyde · May 27, 2012

twigman08 said:
Honestly didn't know that exactly. Hmm, something isn't right then I guess because doing wireless sync it is just flat out slow syncing. It's always been faster for me to sync it via USB. I will be looking into this. Thanks.

Let's move this to a separate thread so we don't derail this one. See you there.

tardman91 · May 27, 2012

I sync via the cable to upload my photos to iPhoto and if I have a lot of apps or media to sync. The cable is faster for me because stupid Verizon FIOS doesn't have any N routers. Jerks.

shinobi-81 · May 27, 2012

CosmoPilot said:
Wirelessly posted

Curious, how many still use a wire to sync with a compute?

If you're an old school holdout, what keeps you tethered?

I haven't connected to a computer since movies became a previous purchased download on iOS.

I sometimes do if I'm short of time. It goes quicker that way.

iEvolution · May 27, 2012

The annoyance of switching back to the home screen every time I want to download a app makes me use the computer still. Plus its faster than Wifi (in cases where I have to redownload items that are already on my computer)

Also, using the computer adds another route of backup vs just downloading it through iOS.

lordofthereef · May 27, 2012

I have been syncing to iCloud. I recently updated to iOS 5.1.1 since the JB became available and must say there are some things I DON'T like. Obviously I was aware that I'd have to re-download all of the apps over wifi if I used iCloud as sync. What I don't understand is why I don't have the option to sync to a computer every once and a while without changing settings. I'd love to be able to just hit "sync" in iTunes, rather than have to change settings and then remember to save them back. This would have saved me so much time since I would have backed everything up to iTunes, restored from there, and carried on with iCloud backups from there. Not a huge deal, but it is an unnecessary inconvenience I think.

Jessica Lares · May 27, 2012

The only time I ever plugged my iPhones into a computer was to get the new iOS update and to charge it. I've pretty much always been cord free because I didn't like how Apple wanted you to backup all your useless IPAs.

Daveoc64 · May 27, 2012

benhollberg said:
I do both Wi-Fi sync and via the USB cord. I prefer the cord because sometimes it doesn't always sync when it is just plugged into power. I keep all my backups on the computer though, don't use iCloud for that.

The same here.

Slinkwyde · May 27, 2012

iEvolution said:
The annoyance of switching back to the home screen every time I want to download a app makes me use the computer still. Plus its faster than Wifi (in cases where I have to redownload items that are already on my computer)

Also, using the computer adds another route of backup vs just downloading it through iOS.

You're confusing WiFi sync with iCloud. WiFi sync is about syncing your iOS device with your computer. It does not redownload things from the Internet. It does the same thing as syncing with a USB cable but adds wireless convenience.

Here's how to enable WiFi sync.

iEvolution · May 27, 2012

Slinkwyde said:
You're confusing WiFi sync with iCloud. WiFi sync is about syncing your iOS device with your computer. It does not redownload things from the Internet. It does the same thing as syncing with a USB cable but adds wireless convenience.

Here's how to enable WiFi sync.

Interesting thanks!

Daveoc64 · May 27, 2012

Slinkwyde said:
802.11n (current WiFi standard): 600Mbps

In most implementations, only a speed of up to 150mbps is supported.

300mbps is also common.

In reality, that's moot - most iOS devices struggle with speeds over 30mbps.

CosmoPilot · May 28, 2012

lordofthereef said:
I have been syncing to iCloud. I recently updated to iOS 5.1.1 since the JB became available and must say there are some things I DON'T like. Obviously I was aware that I'd have to re-download all of the apps over wifi if I used iCloud as sync. What I don't understand is why I don't have the option to sync to a computer every once and a while without changing settings. I'd love to be able to just hit "sync" in iTunes, rather than have to change settings and then remember to save them back. This would have saved me so much time since I would have backed everything up to iTunes, restored from there, and carried on with iCloud backups from there. Not a huge deal, but it is an unnecessary inconvenience I think.

Read my post here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1249362/
When you use the iCloud as a backup, it effects how iTunes syncs with your iDevice. To fix your problem, just tell iTunes to backup to the computer. Then make the changes you want to make (for syncing purposes), then sync. After you disconnect, turn back up to the iCloud back on. It took me awhile to stumble across that solution.

Small White Car · May 28, 2012

The wireless auto-sync only seems to work every 2 weeks or so.

So I often plug in just to make sure it's syncing more frequently than that.

Yes, I know I can manually initiate a wireless sync, but frankly, the cord is right here and it's easier to just plug it in than it is to mess with menus.

If auto-sync actually worked I'd probably stop using the cable.

Carlanga · May 28, 2012

I usually do USB whenever I'm transferring huge files or a lot at one time which is usually when I'm restoring as NEW after a new jb. Since my iTunes is in a separate HD connected directly to my router it can sometimes lag behind usb whenever I do syncing in WIFI since it's from iTunes to HD connected to router to iTunes to iPhone from HD.

Cut the cord?

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