Update my iPhone's software on another computer?

[ero87]

Hey friends,

I'm home from school on winter break for another week, and my iMac is still at school, but I'd like to update my iPhone to the latest software on my brother's mac mini. Is that possible? I don't want to erase my iPhone or anything, I just wanna get the latest software.

Thanks!

 

[Sean9689]

Hey friends,

I'm home from school on winter break for another week, and my iMac is still at school, but I'd like to update my iPhone to the latest software on my brother's mac mini. Is that possible? I don't want to erase my iPhone or anything, I just wanna get the latest software.

Thanks!

Nevermind. Just tried it...you can update without syncing, my mistake.

 

[Thirteenva]

Yes you can. I just did this on my G5 at work, and my mac mini is the source of my itunes library. The only thing you can't sync across computers is the itunes libraries (music, movies, tv shows).

I use the phone to sync my contacts, calendar and bookmarks between three computers all the time.

 

[NotoriousBOG]

You can absolutely upgrade your phone's software via another machine without syncing.

 

[somnolentsurfer]

Hi. Have been looking for an answer to this question online, but everything seems quite unspecific. I notice this question dates from January, so want to check that it still applies to the most recent updates.

I've been away from home for four months, and have not had the opportuity to update. I'm finally in an internet cafe where I could do it, if it won't erase my music, contacts and photos.

I'm running 2.0 on the first generation iPhone right now. Is it safe to go to 2.2?

 

[somnolentsurfer]

So, I decided to go ahead and try it. My verdict: don't risk it. Broke my personal rule of not using internet cafes to do anything at all important. The update failed for some reason, and bricked my phone. Attempting a restore gave unknown error 13. After rebooting and plugging the iPhone into the USB port on the back rather than the front of the PC the restore worked, and (thankfully) retrieved my notes, messages and current camera roll from the backup it made before attempting the update. I now have no access to my music or apps until I get back home in about three months time. I guess I can at least no download podcasts.

What are the chances Apple will let me re-download all the music I had bought from the wi-fi store since I left home four months ago?