iTunes - iPhone and iPad syncing with each other :(

[troypiggo]

I've had my iPhone for a while, very happy with it, backing up and syncing with iTunes no dramas at all.

Recently got an iPad, plugged it into iTunes for the first charge/update etc and it synced (ie downloaded) all of my iPhone apps to the iPad! I didn't want that! They look stupid because they show up on the iPad big screen as a tiny iPhone sized screen in the middle with all black around the outside. And there's a "2x" button to blow it up to same size screen as the iPad, but it just goes all pixelated. Bleh.

What I'd like to have set up is to plug in iPhone and it only syncs with iPhone apps, iPad syncs with only iPad stuff. Possible? How? If not, aaargghhhh stooooopid!

[Steffen]

After you plug in the iPad click on the iPad icon on they sidebar in iTunes. This will take you to the device screen which has several tabs with settings for all kinds of content. Under the Apps tab you can select which apps to sync across to the iPad.

Cheers
Steffen.

[RB]

Troy I'm in the same boat as you and I didn't mind syncing the iPad to my iPod under the same account.
Recently though my son was given an iPod for his birthday and I've bought a iPod nano for my wife and obviously these needed a separate account on the same computer/iTunes.

The info I found is that you have to hold down the shift key (in Windows) when you click on iTunes which brings up an option to create a *new* account and you place that in a separate folder creating a new Library.

Whenever you plug your alternate device you just choose the appropriate library from that folder and go from there.

AFAIK you have to choose each time which library you want to sync to for different devices.

[iceman]

Like Steffen says, when you click on the device, go to Apps, and choose which ones to Sync to which device.

Sometimes it's great to be able to share the same apps from the same library between multiple devices (I do it at home with 2x iPads and an iPhone and 2x iPod Touches).

But I can see why sometimes you don't want to.

[troypiggo]

Thanks guys. Will look into it.

Is it just me, or does it seem dumb that different "iDevices" automatically sync with apps intended for other devices by default?

[RB]

I liked the idea of having the same apps for both my iPod and iPad saving me the cost of doubling up but once I added my son's and wifes devices I needed a way to separate them while still using the same computer/iTunes.
The shift option works a treat for us.
Alternatively as Steffen says you can choose not to sync everything automatically, but I like the fact that you can create a totally individual library for each user on the one computer.

[RB]

I just found the Apple KB link I used to do this.
Method 3.

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1495

:)

[Steffen]

But they don't. You won't ever see iPad apps synced to an iPhone. The reason iPhone apps are synced to iPads is that they work there. There are three kinds of native iOS apps:


iPhone apps - these will work on both iPhones and iPads, but don't make use of the full screen size of the iPad
universal apps (denoted by a +) - these will work on both iPhones and iPads, and adapt their looks and function to the device they're running on
iPad apps - these only work on iPads


By default, the first two will sync to iPhones and iPads linked with your iTunes library.

Cheers
Steffen.

[troypiggo]

Gotchya. Thanks again Andrew and Steffen.

[Octane]

So /that's/ what the + means! Thank you, Steffen.

H

[troypiggo]

G'day guys, sorry to drag this thread up again. I haven't plugged the iPad into iTunes since the above thread and only now getting around to it.

Taking the above advice, I held down the "option" key on Mac while opening iTunes and got a dialogue box, selected "create new library" so I can isolate the iPad from iPhone. What I'm nervous about is syncing now. I think I'll lose all apps off the iPad because they're not in this new library, and there was a warning message appeared in iTunes to that effect so I cancelled the sync. Any ideas?

[Octane]

I'm going through the iTunes headaches at the moment migrating from PC to Mac, with the same warning messages, etc. It's not a lot of fun. I know once it's set up, it will be excellent, though.

Still, it can be done. I'd hate to imagine going from Mac to PC. :eyepop:

H

[troypiggo]

So frustrating/nervous doing all this. I've lost my whole music library from my iPod once because of something like this. They'd make it sooo much easier if you could copy from iPod to iTunes, but you can't. Anti-piracy blah blah blah supposedly. I don't have any pirated music at all. Just want it to be safe as it's so time-consuming re-ripping hundreds of CDs :(

[troypiggo]

:(:sadeyes::mad2::confused2:

My fears are confirmed. All apps are goooone from my iPad. Goddammit.

[Omaroo]

Troy - bugger! :( The point of a new library is to support a new "person", or account holder - not device. All devices registered on one person's account use a common library - and AppleID. If I'd caught your post I would yelled "NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!" before you did it. Dang!

By creating a new library for your iPad of course it will wipe the iPad - it's assuming, quite rightly, that you've probably sold it to someone and they are creating a new account. It was never designed to work any other way. You can't split devices.

Between iOS upgrades (2 to 3, 3 to 4 and 4 to 5) I've noticed that the iPad has taken a few iPhone apps by mistake, but I just deleted them and then all was good until the next major upgrade. This time around (4 to 5) i didn't have any cross-device problems.

[troypiggo]

I didn't want to create a new library for a new iPad, so the assumption is incorrect. I wanted to create a new library in iTunes for my current iPad so the bloody thing wouldn't sync with my iPhone against my will. Guess it's a control thing, and with iTunes I don't have the level of control over what goes on between my devices that I'd like and am used to with linux.

Understand what you're saying, and my frustration isn't directed at you, obviously. In the end, I've only lost $5-6 worth of games (Machinarium - great game BTW) and the rest was free apps, so can all be reinstalled.

Not sure if/how I can now sync my contacts between Mac, iPhone, and iPad if both devices are on different libraries? Will look into that next. That'd be my real concern, losing all my contacts.

[Omaroo]

Ah - sorry, I should have read your post more carefully. I can't understand why you're having your initial problem though. I run two phones and a pad and they all have different apps on them - and they don't sync together each time I buy an app for one or the other. As I said - there has been cross-contamination at upgrade time on occasion, but never at any other time.

[Octane]

+1 for Machinarium.

So sorry to hear of your issues -- this is the reason why I've put off migrating the iPhone from PC to Mac for so long. :scared:

I have backed up absolutely everything, including the MobileSync/Backup directory (which no-one ever mentions!) -- everything is copying over to the Mac from the PC over the WiFi while I'm at work. By the time I get home, it should be ready to go.

H

[Steffen]

What Chris said. Also, iOS devices don't sync to each other, they sync to the iTunes library on your computer (pre-iOS5) or your iTunes account in the cloud (iOS5). However, there is an option in iTunes (Preferences -> Store) that controls whether everything new you purchase on either the computer or any of your devices will also make it onto all other devices automatically. If you turn that off you are in full control of what goes onto each and every one of your devices, all of them syncing to the same iTunes lib.

Cheers
Steffen.

[telemarker]

Also, there is the function (in iTunes) to transfer/download all music and songs etc from the device to the library. Can't remember which menu it's under (File I think). Do that before you sync then you lose nothing.