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moving 2 iPhones from old imac (2009, lion) to new imac (2014 5k, yosemite)

rsdotscot

rsdotscot

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 10, 2006
205
89
Scotland
Hi folks,

I've got 2 iPhone 6 Plus handsets which currently sync with my old 2009 24" iMac and I'd like to move them across to my new 2014 5K iMac. I've already moved all of my iTunes content across (music, movies, podcasts etc).

Any ideas how I'd go about this? All of the guides I'm finding on the web are assuming my iTunes content is stored in the default location (it isn't) or involve a bunch of weird steps involving adding fake calendar events or messing around with plist files.

Any advice would be magic.


Cheers,
Rab
 
wxman2003 said:
Have you tried using migration assistant?

http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT4889
Click to expand...

I avoided it because the old Mac was a bit of a mess in terms of old applications (and their data being strewn about the place) which hadn't been removed, sometimes it's much less of a headache to start fresh. The phones are really the only remaining thing to come across, and now migration assistant looks a bit overkill.
 
Rab Simpson said:
I avoided it because the old Mac was a bit of a mess in terms of old applications (and their data being strewn about the place) which hadn't been removed, sometimes it's much less of a headache to start fresh. The phones are really the only remaining thing to come across, and now migration assistant looks a bit overkill.
Click to expand...

That makes sense. Better to start fresh if you can. Congrats on the new iMac. That's a beautiful display!
 
When I transferred my content from my old Macbook to my iMac, I simply saved my iTunes folder (/username/Music/iTunes/) from my old Macbook and replaced the one on my iMac with it.

I believe it is the iTunes Library.itl file that allows your device to be remembered on a specific computer but, don't quote me on that I may be wrong.

Hopefully all goes well :)
 
wxman2003 said:
That makes sense. Better to start fresh if you can. Congrats on the new iMac. That's a beautiful display!
Click to expand...

I still can't get over how detailed it is, they've pulled a blinder with it :D

----------
SimonQQ said:
When I transferred my content from my old Macbook to my iMac, I simply saved my iTunes folder (/username/Music/iTunes/) from my old Macbook and replaced the one on my iMac with it.

I believe it is the iTunes Library.itl file that allows your device to be remembered on a specific computer but, don't quote me on that I may be wrong.

Hopefully all goes well :)
Click to expand...

Damn :( if I replace the itl it'll mess up the current library (containing all of my media etc).
 
I guess I'm not clear on what you're trying to accomplish. Why can't you plug in the iP6s to the new computer? Do that, start a new series of phone backups.
 
geekguy123 said:
I guess I'm not clear on what you're trying to accomplish. Why can't you plug in the iP6s to the new computer? Do that, start a new series of phone backups.
Click to expand...

same here. if you have successfully moved your music, movies, etc. what else do you need to move.

you can just plug in your phone(s) to the new IMac and do a backup.....
 
make sure you're backing up and not "syncing"

1. Go to iTunes first without plugging the phone.
2. Go to preferences
3. Go to "Devices"
4. Make sure to put a Check on the option "prevent iPods/IPhones/Ipads from syncing automatically"
 
Rab Simpson said:
I avoided it because the old Mac was a bit of a mess in terms of old applications (and their data being strewn about the place) which hadn't been removed, sometimes it's much less of a headache to start fresh. The phones are really the only remaining thing to come across, and now migration assistant looks a bit overkill.
Click to expand...

I think it would have been easier for you to migrate over, and just do a cleanup.

I have moved from Macbook Pro 15 (Non-Retina) 2011 - Macbook Air 13 2011- Macbook Pro 13 Retina 2013 - Macbook Pro 15 Retina 2014

Always did the migration assistant and never had issues since early 2011.

I also use "Clean My Mac 2" application which does recover lots of space and when I delete applications, I use it to delete them as well as it goes further and cleans up any/all files left behind.

What you can do is, authorize your new mac on your iTunes / icloud account(s) that you use to download apps on your iPhones with.

Then go to File -- Devices -- Transfer Purchases with the iPhone plugged in (Do not "Sync" before this)

The do a Backup

Then Sync, since you already have all your media on this computer, it should not remove anything despite warning you that it is.

I have done this before BUT I manually mange my music on my iPhone though, so depending on how you manage it, the result may be slightly different.
 
goknicks said:
make sure you're backing up and not "syncing"

1. Go to iTunes first without plugging the phone.
2. Go to preferences
3. Go to "Devices"
4. Make sure to put a Check on the option "prevent iPods/IPhones/Ipads from syncing automatically"
Click to expand...

I bit the bullet and this worked, although I was a bit nervous about the resyncing part after I had them set up the way they were on my old Mac, so I made sure I'd taken backups on the old one just in case, but everything went fine :)
 
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