Before I begin, I'd like to say that I consider myself to be very capable when it comes to using computers.
I have always 'synced' with iTunes. But ever since iOS 5.0 I have used the cloud to back up all my devices and keep them all in sync.
It's worked perfectly for months. My iPhone and Mac have not seen each other since.
Today, I wanted to add a new ringtone to my iPhone, something that still has to be done on a PC or Mac. So I created this new ringtone, highlighted my iPhone's tab on the left of iTunes, selected sync all ringtones and hit sync.
What happened from this point on has been the most confusing hours of my life.
Itunes, began making copies of all the apps I have installed since I plugged my phone in, fair enough I thought. Kind of makes sense.
It then removed all these new apps from my device and proceeded to stick loads of old apps in their place.
This happened in a completely random way, I can only assume somebody at Apple has spun around 15 times and pointed at the first 30 apps they could see.
I then realised, that it was not only syncing my ringtones, but it was syncing everything, music, video, books, etc.
I cancelled the sync, itself a slow and awkward task. When I lightbulb came on in my head. I unchecked sync apps, sync music, sync video etc, because I now use the cloud I don't need to deal with my PC anymore, what with iTunes match out now.
After unchecking all these options, I hit sync and was ready to experience my phone in all its PC free glory. Not quite yet iTunes informed me...
"Not syncing all your stuff will delete it all from your device, do you want to continue?"
Wait? What? I want to go to the cloud, I don't want to sync with you anymore.... I don't want you to delete all my apps either... I like having my apps and settings how they are! Why do you hate me?
A second lightbulb went off in my head.... I will allow it to delete all my content, and then I will restore from my iCloud back up. And when all that has taken care of itself, my device can stand tall on its own, no link to the PC. I've unchecked all those boxes after all!
I'll be living the dream, I can get out of the house, I can see friends again.... it's all going to be over and I have won!
The iCloud backup goes without a hitch, and I think about how, if I should ever have to restore from the cloud for real, it will be a slick process. So, I now have my phone in my hand, in the same great shape it was this morning.
Next, to get my new ringtone on the device.... It is no longer showing up in my devices over a WiFi connection, so it looks promising. I plug it into the Mac with a USB cable and close my eyes.
The iPhone shows up and all looks well. I check my sync settings, and yep, EVERYTHING is checked, everything. Ringtones, video's books, apps.
It has me in checkmate. Press the sync button my Mac dares me. Just see what happens.
I'm screwed.
I remember when I used to be able to manually manage music and video, but that was before iTunes Match. Now I can only manually manage video.
I hope somebody who is a lot smarter than I am reads this, and can help me.
I'm totally stumped.
I suppose one question is, how can I get my ringtone onto my iPhone without messing everything else up?
An another is, how do I cut all ties with my Mac without messing everything else up?
Thanks.
I have always 'synced' with iTunes. But ever since iOS 5.0 I have used the cloud to back up all my devices and keep them all in sync.
It's worked perfectly for months. My iPhone and Mac have not seen each other since.
Today, I wanted to add a new ringtone to my iPhone, something that still has to be done on a PC or Mac. So I created this new ringtone, highlighted my iPhone's tab on the left of iTunes, selected sync all ringtones and hit sync.
What happened from this point on has been the most confusing hours of my life.
Itunes, began making copies of all the apps I have installed since I plugged my phone in, fair enough I thought. Kind of makes sense.
It then removed all these new apps from my device and proceeded to stick loads of old apps in their place.
This happened in a completely random way, I can only assume somebody at Apple has spun around 15 times and pointed at the first 30 apps they could see.
I then realised, that it was not only syncing my ringtones, but it was syncing everything, music, video, books, etc.
I cancelled the sync, itself a slow and awkward task. When I lightbulb came on in my head. I unchecked sync apps, sync music, sync video etc, because I now use the cloud I don't need to deal with my PC anymore, what with iTunes match out now.
After unchecking all these options, I hit sync and was ready to experience my phone in all its PC free glory. Not quite yet iTunes informed me...
"Not syncing all your stuff will delete it all from your device, do you want to continue?"
Wait? What? I want to go to the cloud, I don't want to sync with you anymore.... I don't want you to delete all my apps either... I like having my apps and settings how they are! Why do you hate me?
A second lightbulb went off in my head.... I will allow it to delete all my content, and then I will restore from my iCloud back up. And when all that has taken care of itself, my device can stand tall on its own, no link to the PC. I've unchecked all those boxes after all!
I'll be living the dream, I can get out of the house, I can see friends again.... it's all going to be over and I have won!
The iCloud backup goes without a hitch, and I think about how, if I should ever have to restore from the cloud for real, it will be a slick process. So, I now have my phone in my hand, in the same great shape it was this morning.
Next, to get my new ringtone on the device.... It is no longer showing up in my devices over a WiFi connection, so it looks promising. I plug it into the Mac with a USB cable and close my eyes.
The iPhone shows up and all looks well. I check my sync settings, and yep, EVERYTHING is checked, everything. Ringtones, video's books, apps.
It has me in checkmate. Press the sync button my Mac dares me. Just see what happens.
I'm screwed.
I remember when I used to be able to manually manage music and video, but that was before iTunes Match. Now I can only manually manage video.
I hope somebody who is a lot smarter than I am reads this, and can help me.
I'm totally stumped.
I suppose one question is, how can I get my ringtone onto my iPhone without messing everything else up?
An another is, how do I cut all ties with my Mac without messing everything else up?
Thanks.
Seriously though, I have no idea. Sorry. Now that I got my iphone set up the way I wanted it, I avoid syncing with iTunes like its the plague until a new iOS feature that I really want comes out.
