iPhone: Activate on PC then switch to Mac at later date?

[CD3660]

Is there any difficulty if you activate your iPhone using a PC, and then replace your PC with a Mac some weeks later?

What is involved in this process, eg does it necessitate re-formatting the iPhone for the different OS? If so, is this a problem?

Alternatively, can someone tell me if you can have more than one iPhone 'linked' to the same computer?

 

[draperm25]

i think you can have 2 iPhones linked to 1 computer, but you CANT have 1 iPhone linked to 2 computers, once you connect your iPhone to another computer, it will say that its already connected to another computer and give you an option to change the computer the iPhone is Syncd to, but be careful cos once you sync your iPhone to the new computer you will lose everything on the iPhone as you wont have any of your, music, photos, videos and contacts on your new computer?

 

[CD3660]

Thanks Mark, that's very useful information.

 

[jecapaga]

So what to do if I am currently synced with my iphone to a work MBP and six months from now I purchase a new MBP and wish for that to be my iphone sync?

 

[CD3660]

So what to do if I am currently synced with my iphone to a work MBP and six months from now I purchase a new MBP and wish for that to be my iphone sync?

My guess is that you would need to put a copy of your iPhone data on the new MBP and then do a synch. Can anyone confirm this?

 

[jecapaga]

My guess is that you would need to put a copy of your iPhone data on the new MBP and then do a synch. Can anyone confirm this?

right...and how does one put a copy of iphone data on a new MBP if you have no access? What about copying over the iTunes folder? Or if you sync to a new mac will it give you the option to sync with this new computer, copy over contacts, etc without erasing all data?

 

[CD3660]

right...and how does one put a copy of iphone data on a new MBP if you have no access? What about copying over the iTunes folder? Or if you sync to a new mac will it give you the option to sync with this new computer, copy over contacts, etc without erasing all data?

Sorry, I should have been more specific. Not sure how you would do contacts since they will be in a different format but you could use a memory stick or an external hard drive to copy your iTunes and photos over to the Mac.

I won't have an iPhone for another two weeks so I'm shooting in the dark a bit, but that's what I did when I switched from Microsoft PC to Mac 4 months ago.

The question I posed in the original post was on behalf of a friend who has a PC and will be getting his iPhone a few weeks before making the switch to Mac.

 

[JBaker122586]

I originally activated my iPhone on a PC and then switched it over to a Mac.

If you have contacts from your PC loaded onto your phone, they will load back up to the Mac why you sync your phone.
Didn't have to reactivate or anything, just spent a few minutes syncing and everything was good to go.

 

[CD3660]

I originally activated my iPhone on a PC and then switched it over to a Mac.

If you have contacts from your PC loaded onto your phone, they will load back up to the Mac why you sync your phone.
Didn't have to reactivate or anything, just spent a few minutes syncing and everything was good to go.

Excellent, thank you.

 

[CWallace]

I originally activated my iPhone on a PC and then switched it over to a Mac.

If you have contacts from your PC loaded onto your phone, they will load back up to the Mac why you sync your phone.
Didn't have to reactivate or anything, just spent a few minutes syncing and everything was good to go.

This was my experience, as well.

I used a program called "O2M" (Outlook to Mail) to export my Outlook 2007 email, calendar, and contacts to Mac Mail, iCal, and Address Book. I then just adjusted what I wanted to sync in Mac iTunes and re-synched to my iPhone and everything was perfect.