Although Apple has stopped iTunes on the latest versions of macOS, it is still a powerful device manager on PCs and macOS Mojave or older. In addition to backup, iTunes is able to sync your iPhone or iPad to your PC or Mac and vice versa. This guide explains how to sync iTunes to iPhone or sync iPhone to iTunes through a USB cable or a Wi-Fi network.

Part 1: How to Sync iPhone with iTunes via a Cable

Unlike backups, iTunes only syncs specific data types on your iPhone including albums, songs, playlists, movies, TV shows, podcasts, audiobooks, photos, videos, contacts, and calendars. With a Lightning cable, you can sync with iTunes without a network.

Step 1. Open the latest version of iTunes, and connect your iOS device to your computer with a compatible cable.

Step 2. Click the Phone button in the upper left corner after iTunes detects your device.

Step 3. Go to the Summary tab on the left sidebar, and locate the Options section. Check the box next to Automatically sync when this iPhone is connected while unchecking Sync with this iPhone over Wi-Fi.

Step 4. Then you have to set iTunes syncing on the computer for each data type, such as:To sync iTunes music library, for example, go to the Music tab under Settings, and tick the checkbox of Sync Music. If you want to sync the entire music library, select Entire music library. To sync specific albums, select Selected playlists, artists, albums, and genres, and choose the desired songs or playlists.

If you intend to sync movies with iTunes, choose Movies under Settings, and check Sync Movies. Then you can manually select the desired movies or playlists to sync playlists from iPhone to iTunes. Or check Automatically include and select an appropriate option from the drop-down list to automatically sync movies.

To sync photos with iTunes, go to the Photos tab under Settings, check Sync Photos, and select the desired album from the Copy photos from option. Plus, you can decide to sync All folders or Selected folders.

If you want to sync iPhone contacts to Mac with iTunes, head to the Info tab under Settings, and check Sync Contacts. If you select All contacts, iTunes syncs all contacts on your iPhone to your computer. If you select Selected groups, you can select specific contact groups on the list.

Step 5. At last, click the Sync or Apply button at the bottom to begin syncing iTunes.

Part 2: How to Sync iPhone to iTunes Wirelessly

Currently, iTunes allows you to sync your iPhone to a computer with a Wi-Fi network. However, you need to set it up through a wired connection. Here are the steps to sync with iTunes via Wi-Fi.

Step 1. Plug your iPhone or iPad into your computer with a compatible cable.

Step 2. Launch iTunes and make sure to update it to the latest version. Click the Phone button, head to the Summary tab, and move to the Options section.

Step 3. Check the box next to Sync with this iPhone over Wi-Fi, and click the Apply button.

Step 4. Now, disconnect your iPhone. When you wish to sync iTunes with Wi-Fi, connect both your iPhone and computer to the same network.

Part 3: Best Alternative Way to Sync between iPhone and iTunes

If iTunes gets stuck on preparing to sync or iPhone is not syncing with iTunes, you’d better look for an alternative solution. Apeaksoft iPhone Transfer, for instance, enables you to transfer data between an iOS device and a computer or another iOS device without technical skills.

How to Sync iPhone Without iTunes

Step 1. Connect to your iPhone

Start the best iOS syncing software after you install it on your computer. Connect your iPhone to the computer with a Lightning cable.

Step 2. Preview data

After your device is recognized, you will be presented with the main window. Here you can preview all data on your iOS device by type.

Step 3. Sync iPhone

Select the files and data that you want to sync from iPhone to computer. Click the PC button, choose Export to PC, and select a directory. If you want to sync your iPhone to the iTunes library, choose Export to iTunes.

Related Articles