iTunes 10 for Mac: Sync your device over a Wi-Fi network

Sync your device over a Wi-Fi network

If you’re on a Wi-Fi network, and have iOS 5 installed on your iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad, you can sync your device without connecting it to your computer.

You can sync your device automatically or manually over Wi-Fi. You choose your settings for Wi-Fi syncing the same way you do for syncing over a cable.

To turn on Wi-Fi syncing, your device needs to be connected to your computer. Once Wi-Fi syncing is turned on, you can sync your device whenever it’s on the same Wi-Fi network as your computer.

To turn on Wi-Fi syncing:

  1. Connect your iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad to your computer.

  2. In iTunes, select your device (below Devices), and then click Summary.

  3. Select “Sync with this iOS device over Wi-Fi.”

  4. Disconnect your device from your computer.

After you disconnect, your device continues to appear in the iTunes window (below Devices), unless you click the Eject button . If you click the Eject button, your device is removed from the iTunes window, but Wi-Fi syncing remains turned on. Your device reappears in the iTunes window the next time you open iTunes.

To sync your device over Wi-Fi:

Here are ways to sync wirelessly when your device is on the same Wi-Fi network as the computer you sync it with (the computer must be turned on):

  • Connect your device to a charger and plug it in to an electrical outlet.

    Syncing begins automatically.

  • In iTunes, select your device (below Devices), and then click the Sync button.

    If you chose manual syncing, drag items from your iTunes library to your device.

  • On your device, go to Settings > General > iTunes Wi-Fi Sync, and then tap Sync Now.

When your device is syncing over Wi-Fi, the Sync icon appears in the device’s status bar. You can use your device while it’s syncing over Wi-Fi.

To update or restore your device’s software, your device needs to be connected to your computer.

You can sync a device wirelessly with multiple computers, but each type of content can be synced with only one computer.

Syncing over Wi-Fi is slower than syncing over a cable. If you connect a device to your computer while syncing over Wi-Fi, syncing continues over the cable. If you disconnect a device’s cable from a computer while syncing, syncing stops, even if Wi-Fi syncing is on.