iPhone/iPod/iPad Synchronization

Prepare the iPhone/iPod/iPad

If you have an iOS device like an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch you'll need to have iTunes installed. Most other iPod devices don't require iTunes. An alternative to iTunes is CopyTrans Drivers which will only install the required iTunes components for syncing, however this isn't officially supported by Apple or MediaMonkey.

If you have iTunes installed you need to make sure it is not set to automatically sync your media to your device:

1. Connect your device and run iTunes
2. Select your device in iTunes and then select the Summary tab of your device
   1. Disable 'Open iTunes when this device is connected'
   2. Enable 'Manually manage music and videos'
3. Eject the device and close iTunes

Do not uninstall iTunes if you are using an iOS device like iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad.

Preparing Your Files

Apple devices feature Sound Check which when enabled plays your music files at the same volume. MediaMonkey supports Sound Check if your music files have Track Volume values. If they don't you can:

1. Manually analyze the volume of music files in your Library using Tools > Analyze Volume on selected files.
2. Enable automatic volume analysis via Tools > Options > Volume Leveling > Automatically analyze volume of unanalyzed files.

Configure the Device in MediaMonkey

1. Start MediaMonkey and plug in the device
2. Go to Tools > Options > Portable Device Sync, select your devices' Device Profile (make sure that its checkbox is checked), and press 'Configure'. If your device doesn't show up in the list, try restarting MediaMonkey.
3. In the Summary tab, you can leave the defaults as they are.
   • Scan as soon as the device is connected will scan the media files on your device at the moment you connect it. Scanning will happen before Auto-Sync or when you browse the device if this option is disabled.
   • Auto-Sync as soon as the device is connected will start the sync process immediately when the device is connected to your PC and MediaMonkey is running.
4. In the Auto-sync (-->Device) tab you can select what media from the MediaMonkey Library should be synced to your device. You can select Playlists, Collections or specific Artists, Albums, Genres, etc. from a Collection. For Collections you can have it sync a random subset which is useful if you have more content to sync than fits on your device.
   • Delete other files and playlists from the device will allow MediaMonkey to remove files from the device on sync that aren't selected to be synced to the device. It needs to be set to All other media files if you want files added to the device from other sources or files that have been removed from the MediaMonkey Library to be deleted from your device on sync.
5. Under Options > Auto-Conversion you can choose whether to convert your media on sync.
   • Files in a format not supported by your device require conversion on sync to a format your device does support.
   • You can convert files to a format that uses less space (like FLAC to MP3) to fit more files on your device.
   • Auto-Conversion on sync does not modify the originals in your MediaMonkey Library.
   • Volume Leveling is not available since MediaMonkey syncs Sound Check values which Apple devices use to level volume.
6. Under Options > Tagging you can have MediaMonkey only sync the first Genre, Artist and Composer for multi-value Genre, Artist and Composer tags if you so desire on your device.
7. Under Options > Device Profile you can export your Device Profile and import an exported Device Profile. Note that exported Device Profiles don't contain your sync selection.

Using Auto-Sync

• If you enabled Auto-Sync as soon as the device is connected in the Device Profile you just need to connect your device for sync to take place. Prior to connecting your device you can adjust what will be synced in the Device Profile under Tools > Options > Portable Device Sync.
• If you did not enable Auto-Sync as soon as the device is connected you can connect your device, make any adjustments needed in the Device Profile and then use the Sync button in the Media Tree next to your device. This will sync according to the Device Profile settings, but provides control over when sync takes place.

Manually Sync Selected Files

If you want to do a one-time manual sync of selected files:

• Select a Playlist, AutoPlaylist or a group of files and drag them onto your device in the Media Tree.
• Select the files you wish to sync, right-click and use Send to > your device.
• From the Now Playing Dialog, click Copy > Copy Playlist to Portable Device in the Now Playing Controls Toolbar.

The selected files and playlists will sync to your device per your configuration in the Device Profile.

Disconnecting your Device

iOS devices like the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad don't feature an option to safely disconnect. Most other iPod models can be safely disconnected using the eject button with your device in the Media Tree.

Troubleshooting

• Device is not recognized by MediaMonkey/Sync isn't syncing all files or metadata (including Artwork) incorrectly
  • Make sure Windows recognizes your device (in Explorer) and that iTunes (if device requires iTunes/iTunes is installed) recognizes your device.
  • Make sure the Device Profile for your device has a checkmark in the checkbox under Tools > Options > Portable Device Sync.
  • Make sure MediaMonkey is up-to-date. Often new releases of iOS/device firmware/iTunes require a new release of MediaMonkey. A new release may not be available till some time after a new release of iOS/device firmware/iTunes.
  • Try a device reset in iTunes.
  • Check our Forum [1] if there are any known problems. If not report your issue and a developer will try to troubleshoot the problem.
• An update is available for iOS and/or iTunes. Before updating either you can check the Forum [2] to see if MediaMonkey is already compatible. Often a new Beta will be released that adds support for the new iOS/iTunes, but a Final Release may take a little longer.

See: MediaMonkey iPod Wiki

Additional Help: Knowledge Base | Forum | MediaMonkey Support | MediaMonkey for Android Help | MediaMonkey 5 Help | MediaMonkey 4 Help