Putting Music On My I-Phone Without Using I-Tunes

[hekawi]

looks like there are some options out there...what do you recommend and what do i have to do. i have the I-Phone 4.

why i am seeking options:

i have I-Tunes on my home computer, but the account is my son's since he was the first in our family to get an I device. if i want to put music on my I-Phone using I-Tunes...the two of us have to go back and forth signing out and signing in on the account and my phone. it's a lot of trouble.

 

[Slow Reflexes]

The fact that you already have iTunes on there makes it easier since the DLL files are there.

I use CopyTrans software. Works great for me, and it's free.

http://www.copytrans.net/

 

[uriah1]

I would think you could use the directory to directory transfer...once iphones
is recognized by pc,. the pc asked do you wish to see directories from new device installed.......just find the correct directories...and copy paste....

Perhaps it might not get registered, in the iphone music index, however...not sure about that one...

 

[Mjark]

It's really too much trouble to sign in and out of iTunes? Are you ripping CDs or downloading? You can download direct to your phone.

 

[getbent]

the great thing about modern computers is the ability to have multiple accounts on them.

If you have your stuff in your account, when you sync the phone it all works very nicely.. why not do that?

If you share a computer, it is best practice to have an account for each person.. that way, you don't 'bonk' into each other in the way you describe... and things work as they were intended... workarounds like you are talking about always end in a mess.

 

[Slow Reflexes]

Perhaps it might not get registered, in the iphone music index, however...not sure about that one...

Yeah, the directory structure is funky - iTunes changes all the filenames to a scrambled text mashup of some sort and it won't access anything that you just copy/paste using the Windows file structure.

I understand that having different accounts on the PC is the "right" way to do it, but it really is more hassle than most people want for their "family computer" to have to sign off and on to Windows all the time. Switch User works, I guess, but still - it's a configuration hassle that people don't want from an appliance.

 

[hekawi]

thanks guys.

Slow Reflexes, i think you've got a handle on what trying to do. i will try the CopyTrans when i get home.

 

[getbent]

Yeah, the directory structure is funky - iTunes changes all the filenames to a scrambled text mashup of some sort and it won't access anything that you just copy/paste using the Windows file structure.

I understand that having different accounts on the PC is the "right" way to do it, but it really is more hassle than most people want for their "family computer" to have to sign off and on to Windows all the time. Switch User works, I guess, but still - it's a configuration hassle that people don't want from an appliance.

So, you guys all just log in and log out of stuff you use all the time instead of using something like passbook on your own accounts? that is so time consuming vs. a single state login where even your main apps are open to where you left them device to device....

5 minutes of working at first would save countless hours of logging in... not to mention having to see your kids' facebook pages etc and log out and log into your own.. or worse accidentally post or send email from the wrong account...

oh well.. good luck hekawi! I don't have high hopes for this solution.

 

[Mjark]

Everyone in my home has at least one internet capable device. There hasn't been any sharing for a long time.

 

[Obsessed]

My wife and I do it using playlists, then it is not an issue, off of one account and we can share.

 

[Jefe]

+1 for CopyTrans. You still need to have the iTunes/iPhone drivers installed on your computer, but if you have iTunes installed already, then you're all set.

iTunes for PC has to be worst piece of garbage software I've ever encountered. It's so hard to understand, and it's one of my biggest complaints about iPhones and other iDevices. Copying a couple of songs from your PC to your phone should just be a matter of dragging and dropping, it shouldn't require all this "syncing" crap. I spent an hour trying to figure out the latest version of iTunes, gave up, and started googling "alternatives to iTunes". That's how I came upon Copy Trans, which is a whole lot easier to understand.

 

[uriah1]

Yea.my wife an I have separate phones..just to manual song transfer, not, auto sync

 

[J-man]

+1 for CopyTrans. You still need to have the iTunes/iPhone drivers installed on your computer, but if you have iTunes installed already, then you're all set.

iTunes for PC has to be worst piece of garbage software I've ever encountered. It's so hard to understand, and it's one of my biggest complaints about iPhones and other iDevices. Copying a couple of songs from your PC to your phone should just be a matter of dragging and dropping, it shouldn't require all this "syncing" crap. I spent an hour trying to figure out the latest version of iTunes, gave up, and started googling "alternatives to iTunes". That's how I came upon Copy Trans, which is a whole lot easier to understand.

You can drag on drop music onto an iOS device.. Just plug the device in and check "Manually Manage Music" and then you can drag and drop files.

I agree that iTunes on Windows isn't great, but it's not that hard to figure out.. Even easier would have been to just google it.

 

[DaveKS]

looks like there are some options out there...what do you recommend and what do i have to do. i have the I-Phone 4.

why i am seeking options:

i have I-Tunes on my home computer, but the account is my son's since he was the first in our family to get an I device. if i want to put music on my I-Phone using I-Tunes...the two of us have to go back and forth signing out and signing in on the account and my phone. it's a lot of trouble.

You should have your own user account on the computer, not just different iTunes logins, that way when you login you have a totally separate account on computer. That way all the bookmarks etc are separate, as well as itunes music library and many other thing. All your problems will go away with this simple 5 minute endeavor.

Every user in house should have their own computer login.

 

[Jefe]

You can drag on drop music onto an iOS device.. Just plug the device in and check "Manually Manage Music" and then you can drag and drop files. I agree that iTunes on Windows isn't great, but it's not that hard to figure out.. Even easier would have been to just google it.

I couldn't get the "manually manage music" to work, but I'll give it another try, thanks for the tip. Maybe it's because I've never used apple products, and have always used Windows, but I just could not get along with iTunes. For me, it was hard to figure out, and I didn't want to spend more than an hour googling it and trying to learn how to use it. And I did try. I ran in to similar problems as the OP, and I suppose setting up different users on our PC could solve some of my issues, buy it seems like a lot of trouble to go through just to get music on to my phone. Older mp3 players were just plug in and drag & drop, so I guess I'm expecting the same ease of use with my (much more modern) iPhone.

 

[Slow Reflexes]

You can drag on drop music onto an iOS device.. Just plug the device in and check "Manually Manage Music" and then you can drag and drop files.

You can still only do that on the device associated with the iTunes account currently active on the PC, right? You aren't able to just drag and drop in Windows from whatever PC you happen to be on?

 

[J-man]

You can still only do that on the device associated with the iTunes account currently active on the PC, right? You aren't able to just drag and drop in Windows from whatever PC you happen to be on?

You can't drag and drop outside of iTunes, but AFAIK you don't need to switch accounts to do it in iTunes. I haven't tried it on a shared computer in a while, but last I did, you could drag and drop onto your device while someone else is logged in.

As someone else said.. Switching user accounts is the best way to keep things organised. It only takes a few seconds to switch.

 

[Slow Reflexes]

So, you guys all just log in and log out of stuff you use all the time instead of using something like passbook on your own accounts? that is so time consuming vs. a single state login where even your main apps are open to where you left them device to device....

I approach it more from the perspective of "everyone who needs a computer has their own and they can use it; leave mine alone." But a lot of homes only have one PC that's shared between a half dozen people and it's always a mess. Teaching the whole family how to do it right just isn't a realistic option for everyone.

I think it comes down to that some people just want the computer to be an appliance. Turn it on, use it, probably don't ever turn it off.

 

[J-man]

I approach it more from the perspective of "everyone who needs a computer has their own and they can use it; leave mine alone." But a lot of homes only have one PC that's shared between a half dozen people and it's always a mess. Teaching the whole family how to do it right just isn't a realistic option for everyone.

I think it comes down to that some people just want the computer to be an appliance. Turn it on, use it, probably don't ever turn it off.

But it's not a mess if you make use of the features Windows has. Such as accounts.. One login for each person, preferably password protected and that way everyone can remain logged into their various accounts/websites on the same computer.

It's very easy to set it up.

 

[Slow Reflexes]

You're speaking from the perspective of a person who knows how to set it up.

I agree, it's easy. It's also not something that everyone is comfortable with or wants to be bothered with.