basic ipad sync/itunes Q's

[sjleworthy]

Hi guys, just about to purchase an ipad, this will be my second 'i' devise next to my Touch. But i have 1 or 2 questions if you'd indulge me please -

1) I never sync music/media/apps back and forth between my Touch and PC iTunes - i purchase everything straight downloaded to my devise. i only use iTunes for software updates and occasionally syncing individual cd's across.
So, if i have a game i love on my Touch, how do i get this same game onto my new iPad? my syncing/itunes knowledge and usage is very small.

2) using wi-fi, will i be able to sync apps, or copy apps/media back and forth purely between my 2 devises?

 

[DontUnderstandMyIpad]

You can download already purchased apps again onto any device using the same Apple ID. Just go to the App store and select Buy, it will tell you, you have already purchased the item and then download it.

 

[sjleworthy]

right. so it'll tell you if you've already purchased the app on that particular devise you're trying to buy it on? not just whether you've bought it in general?

 

[nasomi]

You can play your itouch games on the ipad, simply sign into the apple store from your ipad and download it, it's already registered as having you paid for it. Bear in mind it's small, in the middle of the screen. You can click the 2x button and it will enlarge, but it won't be as crisp of grpahics when enlarged. You can sync your touch to itunes, then itunes to your ipad.

There's an app on the itunes store that lets you transfer between ipad and iphone via bluetooth. If your touch has bluetooth, i'd think it would have hte same capability.

 

[sjleworthy]

thanks guys.

Bear in mind it's small, in the middle of the screen. You can click the 2x button and it will enlarge, but it won't be as crisp of grpahics when enlarged.

yup, i appreciate that. but it's more than games im interested in.

You can sync your touch to itunes, then itunes to your ipad.

can i, like with music, sync individual apps from itunes to my devices?

There's an app on the itunes store that lets you transfer between ipad and iphone via bluetooth. If your touch has bluetooth, i'd think it would have hte same capability.

my Touch is 1st gen, so thats a no go me thinks.

 

[nasomi]

You can sync individual apps with the ipad/touch/etc with itunes. Just grab an app and drop it into itunes or onto your device.

There's a bluetooth adapter out there for i think $40ish for the touch, plugs into the bottom. I can't comment on the quality or how it works though. There's apple brand and generic brand. If you google ipad bluetooth adapter it will come up, just happened to be a conversation some coworkers and myself had earlier today.

 

[twerppoet]

101 workarounds, but the easiest thing to do is hook up you iPod Touch to iTunes, go to the Files Menu, and Transfer Purchases into iTunes. This will take all your iTunes purchased music, apps, and whatever and place them in the computer's iTunes library. If it's a lot, it will take a while.

When you connect your iPad to the same computer and iTunes you will have the option to sync whatever you want, including all compatible apps.

If you want better control, go into iTunes Preferences, the Devices Tab, and check the box that prevents auto-syncing. That way when you connect your iPad you will have a chance to go though all the devices sync settings before your first sync. Actually, it would be a good idea to do this before you connect the iPod Touch. That way you can transfer the purchases and not get caught in auto-sync. You wouldn't have to sync your iPod Touch at all, just transfer your stuff to iTunes.

Or you can continue to do things the other way(s). If Peled is around he would probably be the best choice to tell you how to bypass iTunes to the maximum extent possible.

 

[Chumleyboo]

Hello, not sure if this is the right place for this question. My son has just purchased an iPad Mini, and I want to transfer his games and apps from my iPad to his device, without losing saved progress. I understand I can do this via a Restore Backup, but I don't want to transfer all my photos, contacts and other data to his device, just the apps that he uses. I thought I could just back up my iPad to my iMac, then sync selected apps to his device, but he is adamant that he will lose progress if I do it this way. Any advice would be appreciated, thank you.

 

[twerppoet]

If both iPads are up-to-date you could try the new Family Sharing feature.

I haven't used it myself, and I've heard several bloggers say it's not really ready yet; but it might work for you. If it does work, it would be a far better solution than trying to restore his iPad with your account.

http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201085

 

[Chumleyboo]

Thanks very much for your response and suggestion. I am using family sharing and it's great in many respects, mainly that we can share apps I have purchased and photos and so on. But sadly, it doesn't transfer saved progress.

You are quite right that restoring his iPad with my account was not a good solution! After spending ages on the phone with Apple support, who were completely baffled by my question, I did the restore option, thinking I could just delete all my photos and contacts afterwards. Not only did this not save game progress, it just made a clone of my device, so my entire correspondence in Messages with all my friends and family appeared on his device. I had to completely clear and reset it and start all over again.

In the end I set up a child's Apple ID for him, which automatically allows me to approve all his downloading requests, and he will either have to restart all his games, or I just have to accept the fact that some of his games will stay on my device.

What a pain! It seems that most people who buy a new iPad are replacing an old one and want to restore everything to it, or, they do the sensible thing and pass the old device on to the kid, and keep the shiny new one for themselves. If only he hadn't saved up his hard-earned pocket/birthday/Christmas money to buy it himself, I could have done that!

Thanks again, I appreciate it.

 

[twerppoet]

No problem.

Saved game progress is either tied to the device, Game Center, or some other sync source (like a FaceBook account). It's almost impossible to share between to accounts.