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I'd like to sync my music and transfer it to my iPhone in Ubuntu 13.04. Trouble is I've tried using Banshee, Rhythmbox, GTKPod and nothing happens. Banshee goes through the process of viewing/adding tracks and it even "appears" to sync music, but when I check it on my iPhone, there is absolutely no music on the device. Over at the libimobiledevice.org website, it states

Latest Release: 1.0.7 Development/Unstable Release: 1.1.5

Tested with iPod Touch 1G/2G/3G/4G, iPhone 1G/2G/3G/3GS/4/4S/5, iPad 1/2/3rd Gen and Apple TV running up to firmware 6.1.3 on Linux, Mac OS X and Windows.

So I believe I should be able to sync my device. However Ubuntu's version of libimobiledevice is 1.1.4, so how can I update that package exactly? I don't really want to use an unstable package to get syncing to work, but I've found no other solutions. I have even tried installing iTunes with PlayonLinux and sadly, syncing is not supported with Wine at this time. Any suggestions? Any help would be much appreciated.

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dswhite85
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4 Answers4

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As of writing there is no available way to sync music on iOS versions > 4. This is by far my number one pet peeve of Ubuntu.

Over at the libimobiledevice.org website, it states 

Latest Release: 1.0.7 Development/Unstable Release: 1.1.5

Tested with iPod Touch 1G/2G/3G/4G, iPhone 1G/2G/3G/3GS/4/4S/5, iPad 1/2/3rd Gen and Apple TV running up to firmware 6.1.3 on Linux,

Mac OS X and Windows.

You need to scroll all the way down to the very bottom of that page, because what that says is misleading. At the bottom of that page you will read this:

Music/Video Synchronization DBVersion <= 4 4.3.5 Rhythmbox, gtkpod and Amarok sync with latest libgpod >= 0.7.90. The iPhone 4/4S, iPod Touch 4, iPad 1/2/3rd Gen and Apple TV do NOT work. Any device with DBVersion > 4 does NOT work. To check your DBVersion run "ideviceinfo -q com.apple.mobile.iTunes -k DBVersion". WIP.

Roughly translated: syncing music will not work on iOS versions > 4.

Also, if you try to sync on an unsupported version of the iOS you can potentially corrupt the music library db and your device will require a full restore or reset.

Also see what is the current state of apple device (iPhone, iPod, etc.) support?

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Gerard Roche
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I suggest trying the Ubuntu One Music app:

https://one.ubuntu.com/downloads/iphone/

Igor Soarez
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    I have seen that option before, however Ubuntu One Music app charges $3.99 per month to stream and listen to your music offline, so it's not the ideal option. Paying per month like that, you might as well get the Spotify or Rdio apps since they cost very similar. – dswhite85 Aug 16 '13 at 06:44
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The "Bridge" app from cydia (jailbreak required) lets you import music into the player. Tested and working on iPhone 4 OS 5.1.1 Ubuntu 13.04

user190916
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Install iTunes using wine (http://www.winehq.org/) using the PlayOnLinux GUI front end if you need it, and then you will have sync capacities in Linux.

Thomas Ward
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Seb
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