Please help me survive this virus called iTunes!!

[Ranalot]

I am using iTunes with my iPhone 4S, iPad 2, iPod Touch 4G. Previously I used it with my iPhone 2G, 3GS, and iPod Touch first gen.

I have two iTunes accounts, one for my iPhone / iPod Touch, and one for my iPad (which is mostly for work).

Anytime I try to sync my devices with iTunes, and I try to sync apps, iTunes always tries to add old iPhone 2G apps to my new devices, or remove my new apps from my iPad or iPhone 4S.

Managing multiple devices on a single computer with a single iTunes software install is a huge migrane.

I have over 400 apps from all the iOS devices I have owned. And there is no easy way to tell iTunes which app belongs to which device. Anytime I try to "sync" or even removing the "sync apps" it threatens to delete apps / content from my iOS devices.

I am extremely frustrated. Most recently it deleted some apps from my iPad automatically when I was trying to sync a few apps...and there is no log as to what apps were removed, so I have to log into iTunes Store and view all my purchases and view the purchases one by one to compare with what was removed. This took hours.

Am I really going to have to have a dedicated computer, with a dedicated iTunes install, for each one of my iOS devices, to prevent this mess from happening??

 

[takeshi74]

And there is no easy way to tell iTunes which app belongs to which device.

Sure there is. Click on your device in iTunes. Go to the Apps tab. Uncheck the apps you don't want on the device.

Don't confuse "I don't know how" with "There's no way".

I am using iTunes with my iPhone 4S, iPad 2, iPod Touch 4G. Previously I used it with my iPhone 2G, 3GS, and iPod Touch first gen.

I just started using iTunes when I got my 4s.

 

[Ranalot]

Sure there is. Click on your device in iTunes. Go to the Apps tab. Uncheck the apps you don't want on the device.

Don't confuse "I don't know how" with "There's no way".


I just started using iTunes when I got my 4s.

There are over 400 apps...and going through to click / de-select 400 apps for every device is an exercise in head banging. There is no "unselect all" or "select all" option either. Apparently you have a single device with iTunes which works great... but not so great when you are a long time iOS user and have multiple devices over time. You still have a lot to learn, it seems.

Why isn't there a smarter way of assigning apps to each device? iTunes assumes all apps are relevant for every device.

 

[aristobrat]

I have over 400 apps from all the iOS devices I have owned. And there is no easy way to tell iTunes which app belongs to which device.

Per the reply below, iTunes remembers sync settings on a device level. If you plug in your iPhone and make changes in iTunes as to which apps sync, that setting only applies to that iPhone. Plug in your iPad, and you can make entirely different selections, and they will only apply to that iPad.

I've been using iPods since 2004, the iPhone since it came out in 2007, and the iPad since 2010 -- and have had no problems keeping the various devices synced the way I want them.

Sure there is. Click on your device in iTunes. Go to the Apps tab. Uncheck the apps you don't want on the device.

 

[Ranalot]

Per the reply below, iTunes remembers sync settings on a device level. If you plug in your iPhone and make changes in iTunes as to which apps sync, that setting only applies to that iPhone. Plug in your iPad, and you can make entirely different selections, and they will only apply to that iPad.

It should, I agree. Unfortunately it does not work this way. When I synched my iPhone 4S the very first time, and it only had a dozen apps, iTunes started adding 400 old apps to it.

my Iphone 4S went from 2 screens of apps to 9 screens of apps within minutes of syncing... I had to a factory restore and start from scratch. As a result I no long sync my iPhone 4S with iTunes on this PC... and I still have my old iPhone 2G which I still sync from time to time to make back ups...so the situation is a bit muddy to say the least.

 

[aristobrat]

It should, I agree. Unfortunately it does not work this way. When I synched my iPhone 4S the very first time, and it only had a dozen apps, iTunes started adding 400 old apps to it.

On the iTunes "Sync Apps" tab for a device, if you have the "Automatically sync new apps" check box checked, then it will automatically try to install every app in your library on a new device.

 

[Ranalot]

On the iTunes "Sync Apps" tab for a device, if you have the "Automatically sync new apps" check box checked, then it will automatically try to install every app in your library on a new device.

Thanks for the clarification. That setting is not very clear. I did deselect that for my iPad, and tried to do a sync. Somehow iTunes started removing some apps I had previously installed. I didn't go through and deselect apps, and somehow it started to remove apps.

For example I had Calculator Pro app for my iPad, since it doesn't have a native calculator app. That app is now gone from my iPad. Sadly there is no iTunes log to see what apps it removed, and why...

I wish there was an easier way to manage multiple devices within iTunes. And a way for iTunes to NOT remove or add apps to my iOS devices unless I explicitly approve. Sadly you can click on a wrong check box, click "sync" and the process starts and you could be headed down a disaster with no recourse except to pull the sync cable and assess what damage happened. Even an iTunes log of what it did would go a long way to help recover, but there is no log so you are left to manually figure out what happened...

I am viewing my iTunes store purchases and compare to my iPad to see what apps were removed...not fun.

 

[darngooddesign]

There is no "unselect all" or "select all" option either. Apparently you have a single device with iTunes which works great... but not so great when you are a long time iOS user and have multiple devices over time. You still have a lot to learn, it seems.

I've kept several devices synced on the same account and never had an issue. If you get a new device you will have to manage it for the first time, after that it remembers.

Finally, there is a select/unselect all. It works the same way as music does. Hold down CMD or Ctrl and click on one box. Everything is selected, do it again and everything is unselected. Easy peasey and probably in the instructions somewhere, but I guess it was more sensational to call iTunes a virus.

It seams you also have a lot to learn.

 

[Ranalot]

I've kept several devices synced on the same account and never had an issue. If you get a new device you will have to manage it for the first time, after that it remembers.

Finally, there is a select/unselect all. It works the same way as music does. Hold down CMD or Ctrl and click on one box. Everything is selected, do it again and everything is unselected. Easy peasey and probably in the instructions somewhere, but I guess it was more sensational to call iTunes a virus.

It seams you also have a lot to learn.

Thanks for the info on the select / unselect all... I do have a lot to learn, as many of us do...but iTunes is obviously not the simple user experience one expects Apple products to have.

Why isn't there a "select all" or "unselect all" option, for instance? Why do you have to ask around and find someone who is a geek who knows about the holding down a combination of button in iTunes to do some basic tasks?

And why isn't there an audit log to show what iTunes did to your device?

I used the word "virus" out of frustration because it has cost me hours and hours of work to reverse what it did...simply because iTunes is not that easy to use or manage, unless you're a guru or a geek...

I do thank you very much for the tip though, it is very helpful...in managing some of the idiosyncracies of iTunes. Managing multiple devices should be more obvious and dummy proof, I wish...

 

[darngooddesign]

Thanks for the info on the select / unselect all... I do have a lot to learn, as many of us do...but iTunes is obviously not the simple user experience one expects Apple products to have.

Why isn't there a "select all" or "unselect all" option, for instance? Why do you have to ask around and find someone who is a geek who knows about the holding down a combination of button in iTunes to do some basic tasks?

http://www.apple.com/itunes/how-to/shortcuts.html

Now while that doesn't explicitly say it applies to the list of apps, its should be extrapolated that it applies to anywhere there is a list of items.

So with all due respect, I don't want the interface cluttered up with extra buttons just because people don't read the instructions. You could easily argue that why have a right-click menu because its as geeky a thing to know.

If they include it there, they would have to have one everywhere there is a list of items. Depending on how you display your library, that could be a lot of them on one screen.

 

[Sandman1969]

I have 4 iOS devices that I sync to my computer and 6 that I use the same iTunes account. Wife sync's her ipad and iphone on her computer.

I didn't have any problem getting things sorted between the different devices. And it is a bigger pain for me since my daughter is currently using my first iPhone as an iPod and it doesn't run half the games.

Just takes a little time. But to say it should be easier I am not sure what you are expecting. iTunes for that handles management of devices splendidly. It is also much easier to use to manage the pages within each device compared to managing folders on the device itself.

And no I am not a Guru nor a Geek...

 

[aristobrat]

For example I had Calculator Pro app for my iPad, since it doesn't have a native calculator app. That app is now gone from my iPad.

When you uncheck the "Automatically sync new apps" box, I'd imagine it would remove any app from the device that wasn't specifically checked in the list above it.

On devices where you've turned that preference off, I can't think of a reason that iTunes would either add or remove apps from those devices (after the first sync with the preference, that is).

With iOS 5 and iCloud, you have the option of not using iTunes to touch your apps at all, if that helps any.

 

[Ranalot]

I have 4 iOS devices that I sync to my computer and 6 that I use the same iTunes account. Wife sync's her ipad and iphone on her computer.

I didn't have any problem getting things sorted between the different devices. And it is a bigger pain for me since my daughter is currently using my first iPhone as an iPod and it doesn't run half the games.

Just takes a little time. But to say it should be easier I am not sure what you are expecting. iTunes for that handles management of devices splendidly. It is also much easier to use to manage the pages within each device compared to managing folders on the device itself.

And no I am not a Guru nor a Geek...

what I want is everytime I plug my device in, not to have iTunes present all the apps from every device I ever loaded presented. In addition, I'd like more detail on the apps - as in which device was it first loaded on / synched from? That way it's easy to separate out the apps from the older iOS devices to the new iOS devices.

Basically everytime you plug in an iOS device, you shouldn't have to sort through all the hundreds of apps you've ever installed on any other iOS device. Why can't iTunes have a separate app screen page for each device? Should be pretty simple to do technically, tie an app to a device, and segregate it from the other devices.

That's what I mean by simpler. This way it is obvious, and you don't have to sort every single app you ever downloaded any every device, to try figure out what's what.

For instance, when trying to reload Skype on my iPad, the app screen showed two Skype apps - one for the iPad, one for the iPhone. It wasn't real obvious which was which until I sorted by device...then I lost the sort by time, which I wanted to see and track which ones are more recent apps. So it makes it a messy exercise.

Just because you're used to working around the iTunes software doesn't mean it is perfect or can't be made much simpler or easier.

And you say you're not a guru or geek...I beg to differ. You've obviously spent a lot of time managing the iOS devices, far more than I have...which makes you a guru. I'm sure you've made your share of mistakes like I have, when I have tried to add new devices or sync different devices. If you didn't, then I'd call you a liar. Because the iTunes interface is simply unnecessarily complex.