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AnrBjotk

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 4, 2010
132
3
After getting a new MacBook I'm not able to delete songs off my iphone in itunes. I hit delete and nothing happens. Google says "select preferences/general/swipe to delete" but no such option appears when I open preferences...
 
Not sure. I manage my iPhone music through iTunes (mostly playlists). To get stuff off my iPhone (or iPods), I fiddle with the playlists or iTunes checkboxes (genre, album, artist, etc.).

It seems like you've found some incorrect instructions online via Google. Not surprising, a lot of stuff on the Internet is wrong.

You should post a link to the article/source in question rather than just say "I read online that..." so people here can comment on the specific advice that you are following.

The lack of responses may be due to the vague nature of this advice, plus the fact that you have given no detail about A.) what Mac and what version of the operating system you are running, B.) what iPhone and what version of the operating system you are running, and C.) what version of iTunes you are running and whether or not you elected iTunes on the Mac to manage your iPhone's music.

I'm not sure how much the MacBook has to do with it unless you were previously managing music on your iPhone, then let the MacBook start managing it when you plugged it into the new system. iTunes will prompt you the first time you connect an iDevice to a Mac with iTunes.

You probably would have had more interested eyeballs on this post had you put it in the iPhone section because the problem is with your phone, not with your MacBook.

Good luck.
 
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Not sure. I manage my iPhone music through iTunes (mostly playlists). To get stuff off my iPhone (or iPods), I fiddle with the playlists or iTunes checkboxes (genre, album, artist, etc.).

It seems like you've found some incorrect instructions online via Google. Not surprising, a lot of stuff on the Internet is wrong.

You should post a link to the article/source in question rather than just say "I read online that..." so people here can comment on the specific advice that you are following.

The lack of responses may be due to the vague nature of this advice, plus the fact that you have given no detail about A.) what Mac and what version of the operating system you are running, B.) what iPhone and what version of the operating system you are running, and C.) what version of iTunes you are running and whether or not you elected iTunes on the Mac to manage your iPhone's music.

I'm not sure how much the MacBook has to do with it unless you were previously managing music on your iPhone, then let the MacBook start managing it when you plugged it into the new system. iTunes will prompt you the first time you connect an iDevice to a Mac with iTunes.

You probably would have had more interested eyeballs on this post had you put it in the iPhone section because the problem is with your phone, not with your MacBook.

Good luck.

How can the problem be with my iphone when deleting songs off it on my old mac wasn't an issue?

If it helps it's MacBook Retina 12" 2017, it's Sierra, it's iPhone 4 and it's itunes 12.7.14.

Some speak in hushed tones of playlist and managing them. I have no idea what that means. I add my music to my iphone song by song, artist by artist, call me an old mc fuddy duddy, but there you go. No playlist enters the equation.
Besides, I'm more concerned with getting rid of used up podcast, making room for new ones...
But the buggers wont budge.

Now I've spilled the beans, sang like a canary, unloaded, giving you the deets, the low-down, full story, the whole shebang.

Ball's in your court. Match serve etc.
 
Good for you for finally providing some details.

Sorry I can't help you out.

I manage my entire media library via iTunes on my Mac and have done so since the 3rd generation iPod (scroll wheel, circa 2003), long before there was any iPhone or other iOS device. Playlists aren't some ultra-secret hack or undocumented feature. They've been around way longer than the iPhone.

If I recall correctly, the original iPhone did not have a built-in music store. It could only play music that was synced from your computer's iTunes library.

If anyone here is a fuddy duddy, it's me, not you.

My Mac's iTunes manages the media library for my iPhone, an iPad, an iPod touch, and an iPod classic. This includes podcasts (another media category that precedes the iPhone).

Anyhow someone else will need to chime in, but now that you provided some pertinent useful details, you might get some more valid responses.

Since I manage my media content in a manner that is totally different than the way you handle yours, I hereby bow out of this discussion.

Best of luck and thank you.

P.S., The iPhone 4 is not officially supported on iOS 11. Note that this phantom Google source that you are quoting may be referring to instructions for a version of iOS that your iPhone 4 is not capable of running. You should mention what version of iOS your iPhone 4 is running. That might also help.
 
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Good for you for finally providing some details.

Sorry I can't help you out.

I manage my entire media library via iTunes on my Mac and have done so since the 3rd generation iPod (scroll wheel, circa 2003), long before there was any iPhone or other iOS device. Playlists aren't some ultra-secret hack or undocumented feature. They've been around way longer than the iPhone.

If I recall correctly, the original iPhone did not have a built-in music store. It could only play music that was synced from your computer's iTunes library.

If anyone here is a fuddy duddy, it's me, not you.

My Mac's iTunes manages ... etc

I might as well add the disputed thread, perhaps shedding some light:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2576029?tstart=0
 

Like Bart Kela, I seriously doubt this has anything to with the MacBook per se. If you could do it with your old Mac then the difference will be caused by some setting or version difference between the old Mac and MacBook, not because not it is a MacBook.

As Bart Kela said, you are more likely to get responses in the iPhone section, or possibly the appropriate iOS version section.
 
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What version did you have on iTunes before the MacBook? My guess is that it has something to do with the iTunes version then the MacBook.

I guess why you get so few answers is because the iPhone 4 is so old that alot of us here do not longer have that old phone or that version of the iOS. As other say try the iPhone forum as I guess the problem is a new version of iTunes and an old phone. The handling of the Music app on the phone differs alot from the old version to new iOS versions.

I hope that your problem will be solved.
 
is iTunes on new Mac set to manually sync music?

mine is and thus can pick what I want one and off the iPod.
 
is iTunes on new Mac set to manually sync music?

mine is and thus can pick what I want one and off the iPod.

Came here to say I solved it myself! And you are right, I had to tick "manage manually" or whatever.

Strange thing, it wiped everything off my iphones-itunes (when viewed on my mac), yet all the songs were still there on my iphone (the phone itself). But that's a minor quibble.

Thanks guys.
 
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