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Copy Music from Your iPhone or iPod to Your Computer for Free
Posted by Kevin Purdy at 2:00 AM on May 31, 2008
There as many applications and methods for copying music from an iPod to your computer as there are iPod models themselves, which makes finding a sure-fire, free solution a matter of tedious trial and error. To save you the work, today we're rounding up the best tools and techniques for getting music off any model iPod onto nearly any computer—for free. Whether you're a Windows user looking to yank tunes from an iPhone, a Mac fan backing up an iPod classic, or a Linux enthusiast trying to get into your new nano, we've got you covered. Follow along for a detailed look at the best ways to transfer songs from your iPod to your computer, no matter what hardware or operating system you're rocking.
iPhone and iPod touch
While it used to be as simple as enabling disk use on old school iPods to get to the music files stored there, it's not that easy with the iPhone and iPod touch models. Luckily, intrepid hackers have found a way on each platform. Here are our picks for the best ways to get at your music from your touchscreen iPod and iPhone.Mac OS X—Senuti (beta)
Free Mac utility Senuti could always copy music from regular iPods to your Mac, and a new beta version now supports the iPhone and iPod touch. Be sure to download the beta release (as of this writing, the latest beta is 0.50.2b7) and install it on your Mac. Fire up Senuti to get a complete list of songs on the iPhone or iPod touch connected to your Mac. Senuti will put a blue dot next to songs that already exist in that Mac's iTunes library. Select the songs you want and hit the Transfer button to copy them to your computer. (Original post) Windows—Jailbreak + SSH (Update: and Winamp!)
Unfortunately, there are no free graphical applications for Windows like Senuti for Mac that can reach into your touch-based iPod's guts and move music around.Update: We stand corrected. Several readers point out that Winamp's newest iPod plug-in can indeed copy files from your iPhone in Windows without jailbreaking. Thanks, zod000, Scoops, and apprehensive!
Update 2: iPhoneBrowser is also an option for those with jailbroken phones, providing an FTP-like interface to iPhone/touch files with a USB connection. Thanks to emailer Miguel and commenter halfshafter for the tip! (posted here).
It's not that hard to get your files, if you're willing to jailbreak your device and do a little file-swapping. Here's how to do it.
Jailbreak your iPhone/touch: Your editors have found the 45-second ZiPhone method pretty reliable, but your mileage may vary. However you jailbreak your device, make sure it has "BSD Subsystem" and "OpenSSH" packages installed through the Installer.app utility.- Get an SFTP application: Unless you want to hack around command-line-style with PuttY or Cygwin, you'll find it easier to get around using an FTP program. Filezilla is a free, easy-to-use option, but any client that supports SSH transfer will do.
Get into your iPhone/touch: Make sure your iPhone/touch has a Wi-Fi connection to the same network as your computer, and that its Autolock setting (Settings->General->Autolock) is temporarily set to "Never" to prevent dropped connections. Find its IP address (Settings->Wi-Fi, then select the checked network), and in your FTP program, put that address in as the Host, and set a username of "root" and a password of "alpine," assuming you've upgraded your firmware at least once (it's "dottie" if not). Choose to connect through port 22 for an SSH connection, and you should get in. You may get a warning related to a "host key," but choose "Yes" or "OK," and check "Always trust this host" or a similar catch-all, if offered.- Transfer the files: I found my iPod touch's music nested deep inside the file structure, at
/private/var/mobile/Media/iTunes_Control/Music/. You'll probably find your music there too. Copy all the folders named F01, F02, and so on to your computer. The files have nonsensical names, but they're really your tunes, and iTunes (and even Windows itself) knows it:
Once you've got your files, you can give them back sensible names in iTunes by importing them, then heading to Edit->Preferences->Advanced->"Keep iTunes Music folder organized." Now you've got your iPod's whole music library, organized, and ready to use wherever.
Linux—Wireless sync
As with Windows, there's no single app that gets you to your music, but you can jailbreak your iPhone/touch in Linux and open it up for wireless access to apps like Amarok or gtkpod for transfers and organisation. Head to our guide to Syncing your iPhone wirelessly in Linux for a detailed tutorial on doing just that. All other iPods
Whether you've got a shuffle, nano, classic, photo, video, or something more old-school, your route to music recovery is decidedly easier than with those fancy-dancy touch models. Here's the best ways to get at your files:Windows—YamiPod
YamiPod works on all three major platforms, but it really comes in handy in Windows. It recently added support for the new-model nano and iPod classic, and boasts a host of great features, including search, preview-play of files, duplicate remover, and more. Better still, it's a small stand-alone program that can run from a USB stick, so helping friends and co-workers recover their music is a snap. (Original post) Mac OS X—Senuti (stable release)
For non-touch Apple music players, Senuti is still your best bet. The uber-useful blue dots that indicate a song is already in your collection, a slick interface, full Leopard support—it's great, free software.Linux
If you simply need to grab the music files off an iPod, gtkpod is the tool of choice. It grabs play counts and playlists, ratings and cover art, and can replicate the iPod's entire database on your hard drive. The creators are working on support for the very latest models, but photo, video, nano, and older makes should all function just fine. It's also worth mentioning that the three most well-known Linux music organizers—Amarok, Rhythmbox, and Banshee—can move unprotected music on and off most iPods with relative ease. Cross-platform
If you're a dual-booter, virtualiser, or use your iPod at different home and work systems, you might want to check out two apps that run on Windows, Mac, or Linux, for better integration and matching features: - Songbird: This open-source library organizer from Mozilla, creators of the Firefox browser and Thunderbird email client, is looking pretty slick these days. Its latest versoin supports every iPod (except the iPhone/touch, of course), can replicate your iTunes database, and copying files from iPod to disk is a drag-and-drop affair. (Original post)
- Floola: As Adam detailed in his self-sustaining iPod feature, Floola not only works as a nifty iTunes replacement, but can actually run right off your device's storage drive, making it great for spreading your music to friends, co-workers and the person putting you up on vacation.
- YamiPod: As noted above, this slick iPod-copying app works on Windows, Mac, and Linux, and easily runs from a USB stick.
How do you copy music from your iPod to your computer? Got a simpler method of liberating songs from an iPod touch or iPhone? Let's hear about it in the comments.
Kevin Purdy, associate editor at Lifehacker, has been meaning to clean The Magnetic Fields off his iPod for some time now. His weekly feature, Open Sourcery, appears weekly on Lifehacker.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
osnofla
Posted 2:20 AM 31/5/08
i use sharepod, it's slightly unstable when using the built-in player but it's really light
osnofla
discounteggroll
Posted 2:15 AM 31/5/08
easy non-software required way:
enable disk use on the ipod, then navigate to the ipod that's now mounted as a drive. In the iPod folder, go to Tools > Folder Option, go to the view tab, and check "view hidden files and folders". open the iPod_Control folder that is now visible and move all of those folders to your music folder. They will be named weird and be in F folders, but once imported the correct info will rename those weird names
discounteggroll
zod000
Posted 2:33 AM 31/5/08
On windows, both the new version of Winamp (or previous versions with the ml_pod plugin) and Ephpod can copy the files off the ipod. I found both to be more useful than Yamipod. The only saving real perk of Yamipod is that you can run it directly from the ipod.
zod000
BenjaminCachimbear
Posted 2:32 AM 31/5/08
You guys missed my favorite crossplatform one! It's called catipod, and it's just a simple little jar that run on pretty much anything.... you can find it here: http://modsyn.wordpress.com/2007/06/22/catipod-catalog-your-ipod/
BenjaminCachimbear
tlebert
Posted 2:30 AM 31/5/08
re: discounteggroll
just make sure that you have "Keep iTunes Folder Organized" under Preference -> Advanced -> General. i don't think it's on by default.
tlebert
Gina Trapani
Posted 2:54 AM 31/5/08
Ooh, thanks for the Winamp plug-in tip for iPhone->Windows, y'all. Updating the post now.
Gina Trapani
apprehensive
Posted 2:38 AM 31/5/08
I have used the winamp iPod plugin on my iPhone for some time now to copy music onto my work computer. Works great!
apprehensive
Scoops
Posted 2:37 AM 31/5/08
Support for the Touch and Phone is preliminary, but the ml_iPod plug-in for Winamp lets you pull songs off your iPod.
nb. This is not the default iPod plug-in that comes with Winamp.
Scoops
steve_in_nyc
Posted 3:17 AM 31/5/08
Another vote for Floola. I learned about it here on Lifehacker. It runs from your iPod. No need to install iTunes on a computer in order to manage playlists, etc.
steve_in_nyc
AltReality
Posted 3:16 AM 31/5/08
I second Sharepod. I haven't had the instability issue with the built-in player..but generally I like the podplayer interface better. For some reason I can't even get Yamipod to detect my music, and @zod000, sharepod can be run directly from the ipod as well. That and CD_EX will allow you to rip your friend's CD, and import it to your ipod, all without installing anything on the host computer.
Good times.
AltReality
sarahmichelef
Posted 3:35 AM 31/5/08
Agreed on Senuti - definitely the best thing I've found out there.
sarahmichelef
RedHotSwami
Posted 3:32 AM 31/5/08
I've also used sharepod in the past, and it rocks.
RedHotSwami
JohnM
Posted 3:22 AM 31/5/08
Songbird is actually not done by Mozilla, the creators of Firefox and Thunderbird. It is based on the Mozilla platform, which powers Firefox and Thunderbird.
JohnM
D
Posted 4:11 AM 31/5/08
Hey - a question that's only slightly related to this post, but... I have 8 gigs of music that I would like to send to someone who lives overseas. Is there an easy way to do this electronically?
D
despair
Posted 4:50 AM 31/5/08
Doesn't iTunes let you do this? Maybe I'm missing something here, but I've always been able to simply drag and drop music from my iPod to my library.
despair
discounteggroll
Posted 4:50 AM 31/5/08
@D:
break it up into 8 (or more) bits and share via sites like filefront.com
discounteggroll
Argo117
Posted 5:14 AM 31/5/08
another one i used was podutil, but that keeps popping up with ads
Argo117
Darkmatter91
Posted 5:05 AM 31/5/08
yamipod is my favorite - works on OS X and windows great!
Darkmatter91
Argo117
Posted 5:02 AM 31/5/08
@despair
nope, i tried for like a half-hour
Then i got a zune, which lets you do that.
Argo117
burn321
Posted 5:36 AM 31/5/08
Let me be more specific with my "Sharepod doesn't do playlists" comment. It will backup playlists, but only if you do them one at a time. That's not very useful for me since I have a lot of playlists.
burn321
Brad N.
Posted 5:34 AM 31/5/08
@Argo117:
"Then i got a zune, which lets you do that."
Uh, since when? 'Cause I have 2 of them (a 30 and an 80), and neither lets me drag and drop.
Brad N.
burn321
Posted 5:33 AM 31/5/08
Let me put another vote in for SharePod. I pull music off my iPod all the time with it.
I put music on my iPod from home, work, and my laptop/friend's house/etc and, therefor, don't let iTunes sync my music library so SharePod comes in very handy for me.
My only gripe is that SharePod doesn't keep track of playlists. I have about a million playlists (both static and smart) and if my iPod ever crashed (or was stolen/lost) it would take me a LONG to build the playlists again.
I knew Winamp could manaage an iPod but I've never messed with it. I might give it a try although I prefer Foobar (or iTunes) to Winamp.
burn321
rawbt
Posted 2:48 AM 31/5/08
The first commenter hit the nail on the head. if you in windows just enable hidden files and go to you ipod and the files will be named weird stuff then copy to your desktop then add to you library if u want to add tunes from your buddy's ipod into you music library, apple just complicates it to prevent piracy as u could basically copy a library of music in minutes
rawbt
adb
Posted 6:01 AM 31/5/08
I have TouchCopy for Windows ([www.wideanglesoftware.com]) which does let you move music from your iPhone to your PC (along with a bunch of other tricks).
adb
BurkeGebeh
Posted 5:03 AM 31/5/08
I use iPod Access for Windows 4.2.2. It works with iPhone flawless. http://www.findleydesigns.com/ Best Regards.
BurkeGebeh
LindaGaloof
Posted 3:43 AM 31/5/08
I am trying to copy songs from an Olive Media player (runs linux) to an Iaudio 7. Any ideas on programs that work for this task?
LindaGaloof
halfshafter
Posted 6:12 AM 31/5/08
Get it here, you'll like!
[code.google.com]
halfshafter
hebrewhammer770
Posted 6:11 AM 31/5/08
@discounteggroll: you don't even have to go that far. just search for all music files in your ipod/iphone and remember to include hidden folders and files in your search. copy everything you find into one folder on your computer, and add it to your itunes library while keeping your library "organized" that way you dont have to look for the F01, F02, F03 etc folders.
hebrewhammer770
halfshafter
Posted 6:10 AM 31/5/08
I use iPhone Browser to copy music to and fro my iPod touch. None of that SSH silliness and since it's connected using the iPod cable i'm not draining the battery with wifi.
halfshafter
harmx
Posted 8:04 AM 31/5/08
@steve_in_nyc: gotta agree, floola's pretty cool!
harmx
MaxGhost
Posted 10:23 AM 31/5/08
@osnofla: I agree... SharePod's the best program in my opinion, and you can run it from your iPod on the go! works on all of the pods and does the conversion both ways really quickly. Version available for each OS too!
[www.getsharepod.com]
MaxGhost
Myles
Posted 1:56 AM 1/6/08
Another vote here for SharePod. Was great one time when my iTunes library got massively messed up and I needed to restore it from my iPod.
Myles
utch
Posted 3:11 AM 1/6/08
[www.mp3buzz.net] here is a tutorial atleast for the non touch ipods that you can follow, with no extra software except itunes. (only on windows based machines) It can be done on a mac, but I didn't write the tutorial for that.
utch
Argo117
Posted 6:09 AM 2/6/08
@Brad N.: Just click on the device tab, then drag your songs to the computer ison in the lower right. I've been able to do this since 2.0. I also have a 30 and 80.
Argo117
ollie
Posted 9:26 AM 2/6/08
Purdman, Songbird is not (!) from Mozilla (the creators of Firefox and Thunderbird). It's actually from a group called POTI, aka Pioneers of the Inevitable, most of them were formerly of Winamp, Yahoo Music and others.
Songbird is built on Mozilla's XULRunner platform, and that's probably where the confusion comes from.
ollie
lardissone
Posted 1:20 AM 3/6/08
You can also use the great MediaMonkey (version 3 or later) for Windows only, it automatically detects your iPhone without any plugins or hack.
lardissone
BIGGUNS
Posted 6:27 AM 31/5/08
All u Gotta do for non touches is to get Tinkertool for mac (google it). Show hidden files and you can then easily find your music
BIGGUNS
charlzz92
Posted 6:19 AM 31/5/08
Use foola it works on linux windows and os x
charlzz92