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two way transfer between iPHONE & laptop done automatically?

computer repair store tried to fix iTUNES signature not valid during update attempts & messed up! iPHONE has playlists & more tunes than what i now have in laptop (i.e., zero playlists & less songs). am now afraid to synch cell fon with laptop! store did uninstall & re-install but also told me never to try updates on laptop or it would undo his attempt!? is synch-process a 2-way street? not want to lose my songs & playlists that i have in iTUNES apple fon if i try a synch process!? i am old & have luddite tendencies & somewhat disabled. just want to know will my synch attempt do what i want without complicated process or some type of drop-down menu that will ask me if i want data from iTUNES (in phone) to go to iTUNES in laptop? please help

Windows, Windows 6

Posted on Nov 5, 2023 9:26 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Nov 6, 2023 10:58 AM

Apple's iTunes software is, in the main, designed to transfer data from the computer to their devices but not in the other direction. You are right, if you try to sync you will lose the music on your iPhone. For more info and possible solutions, see:

Recover your iTunes library from your iPo… - Apple Community


6 replies

Nov 20, 2023 12:52 PM in response to sergeX

iTunes sync IS NOT A TWO WAY PROCESS. This IS a definitive reply.


If your device has content or playlists that aren't in your library then it is possible to reclaim that material, but you cannot rely on iTunes to do it for you automatically. What generally happens if you try to sync an iPhone to a new (to it) library is that all media and playlists on the iPhone are removed and then replaced with the content from the local library. The workarounds are discussed in Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device - Apple Community. It is long and complicated as it attempts to address multiple scenarios and potential gotchas in one place so you don't have to come back and forth asking for more information. That said I am more than happy to try to help further if I can. As above, the simplest method seems to be to use a brief subscription to Apple Music's subscription service to merge the content and playlist from the device into an iCloud Music Library that can then be downloaded to your computer and backed up. In the process the library on the computer gets all of the songs and playlists that are on the device, and the device will get any new unique content that is currently on your computer. Make sure to merge and not replace the content on your iPhone when signing up for Apple Music.


tt2

Nov 14, 2023 7:07 PM in response to sergeX

thanks for the help & i did read the other complicated article with specific how-to's but it beyond my ken. correct me if i mistaken but i thought iCLOUD magically copied all data/songs almost every time you turn on iTUNES? if true why is there no easy way to somehow access iCLOUD from laptop containing iTUNES and get back all of my playlists & 600+ songs i lost when the repair shop uninstalled & reinstalled my iTUNES & made a bad situation worse?

Nov 20, 2023 6:43 AM in response to turingtest2

i've had iTUNES on laptop for years already but had issues with doing updates & receiving failed messages saying signature invalid. computer repair shop uninstalled & reinstalled & wiped out my playlists & songs i did not evidently but on iTUNES. i need to be 100% certain that if & when i try to sych my iPHONE to my laptop iTUNES that it is possible to regain my playlists & missing songs that are missing on my laptop!? is the laptop synch process a 2way-street? some kind of drop-down prompt telling me that i have more songs in my APPLE fon than in my laptop & would i like contents to go from cell fon to my laptop (which is what i really want to do!). another community member replied & told me it is only a laptop to cell fon process & not a 2way process?? please help & give definitive reply

two way transfer between iPHONE & laptop done automatically?

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