One of the chief benefits of digital music is that you can carry hundreds of hours worth of music with you anywhere you go. Whether you purchased some tracks on the iTunes Store or ripped audio from a CD collection, you’ll want to upload them to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod for ultimate portability.

Which iPod Types Does This Tutorial Cover?

Before following this iPod syncing tutorial, you’ll need to have one of the following Apple products:

  • iPod mini
  • iPod Shuffle (3rd generation or higher)
  • iPod nano
  • iPod touch
  • iPod classic (pictured)

How to Connect your iOS Device to iTunes

Before connecting the iPhone, iPad, iPod to your computer, make sure your iTunes software is up-to-date.

When music is synced to your iOS device, any songs that iTunes finds that aren’t on your computer will be deleted from the iOS device.

  • Connect the device to your computer using the provided dock connector.
  • Launch the iTunes software.
  • Under the Devices section in the left sidebar, select iPhone, iPad, or iPod, depending on which type or device you are connecting.

How to Transfer Music to an iOS Device

To transfer music using the automatic sync method, follow these steps:

Connect the device to your computer using the provided dock connector.

Launch the iTunes software.

Under the Devices section in the left sidebar, select iPhone, iPad, or iPod, depending on which type or device you are connecting.

  • In the upper left corner of the main screen, select the iPod/iPad/iPhone icon found to the right of the Music dropdown box.
  • Under the Options pane, select the checkbox next to Automatically sync when this iPhone/iPad/iPod is connected.
  • If you’d prefer more control, you can manually choose which media to add to your device by checking Manually manage music and videos. Skip to the next section to learn how to manually add music.
  • Take this opportunity to select any other options you may prefer. For example, you can choose to convert higher bitrate audio to save storage space, or to sync the device over Wi-Fi.
  • To start transferring music to your iPod or iPhone, select Sync.

How to Manually Transfer Music to an iOS Device

If you selected the Manually manage music and videos option, then follow these steps to transfer media to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod.

In the upper left corner of the main screen, select the iPod/iPad/iPhone icon found to the right of the Music dropdown box.

Under the Options pane, select the checkbox next to Automatically sync when this iPhone/iPad/iPod is connected.

If you’d prefer more control, you can manually choose which media to add to your device by checking Manually manage music and videos. Skip to the next section to learn how to manually add music.

Take this opportunity to select any other options you may prefer. For example, you can choose to convert higher bitrate audio to save storage space, or to sync the device over Wi-Fi.

To start transferring music to your iPod or iPhone, select Sync.

  • Navigate to your iTunes Library.
  • To manually transfer content to your iOS device, simply drag and drop songs, albums, movies, or other media from the Library window to the appropriate iOS device listed under Devices in the left sidebar.
  • To select multiple tracks for transfer, select one, then hold down the Shift key—Ctrl, if you’re on a PC—and press the up or down arrow to highlight several items in a row. Once highlighted, drag the entire selection to the iOS device as you would for individual tracks. You can do the same with iTunes playlists.

Navigate to your iTunes Library.

To manually transfer content to your iOS device, simply drag and drop songs, albums, movies, or other media from the Library window to the appropriate iOS device listed under Devices in the left sidebar.

To select multiple tracks for transfer, select one, then hold down the Shift key—Ctrl, if you’re on a PC—and press the up or down arrow to highlight several items in a row. Once highlighted, drag the entire selection to the iOS device as you would for individual tracks. You can do the same with iTunes playlists.

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