iMac going into storage for several months.. Backups/update for iPhone and iPad?

[alexjholland]

Hi, we're moving into temporary accomodation for several months in several weeks; and then into a new place after that.

My iMac which has all my music and video - and which I sync my iPhone 5 and iPad to, is going into storage for that time - and I will be using my Macbook for my general computing needs.

I could sync my iPhone and iPad to my Macbook, but I tried that once and ended up wiping my iPhone! My Macbook has no music or videos, I just want to be able to do software updates and occassional backups to iCloud.

I understand I can sync wirelessly, but doesn't this require my iMac to be available?

If you can think of any other implications of putting my core Mac into storage for several months, do let me know. Fortunately I have Dropbox, so all my work is available on my Macbook at least!

Thanks

 

[Pharmscott]

Your iPhone and iPad can only sync to one computer at a time. You're right: if you just plug them into your Macbook, the apps and data on them will get deleted. You could move the account from the iMac to the Macbook by backup/restore but then you have to reverse the process later. It just depends on whether you think the effort of moving the account is less than the effort of just doing updates on the iPhone and iPad directly.

 

[scaredpoet]

Unless you want to specifically add non-itunes-based music or movies to the iPhone/iPad that you haven't already synced while the iMac is in storage, I would leave things as is. So long as you're running iOS 5 or later, the iOS devices don't really require any sort of periodic syncing except when you want to change the type of content I mentioned above.

App updates/new installs, iOS updates, and new app purchases can be handled on the device itself over WiFi. And if you switch your backups to iCloud, then the backups will be fine as well, backing up every time you plug the devices in for charging and they're connected to WiFi.

 

[alexjholland]

Ok cool, I'll set them to backup over WiFi! Thanks for the clarity guys.

Do I have to remember to configure that in my iMac before I pack it, or can I tell each device to sync over WIFI within their own settings?

I'm already doing my backups over iCloud, but these happen when I plug into my iMac, rather than the power socket.