12-04-2010, 11:54 AM

I am trying to use my iphone as a modem when out and about so that I can email pictures to magazines and newspapers.
I have susposedly sorted out the tethering but the phone is sync'd to my desktop G5. When trying to plug it into my Macbook it asks me to sync it to the laptop which would mean is gets "un-sync'd" to the desktop.
I need it to be able to be happily plugged into both the G5 and the Macbook with out having it have this syncing issue everytime I swap from one to the other
I have looked about on the internet and it seems that you used to be able to do something to itunes so that the phone would sync to 2 computers but not with the newer versions of itunes - i.e itunes10
I have to get this sorted with in the next few hours as I have a job first thing in the morning when I need this to work....
any suggestions anyone? ( I did a search for this topic but very surprised that nothing seems to have been discussed on this before - i'm sure it has but my search came up with nothing)
cheers

12-04-2010, 01:17 PM

The iPhone can only be synced with one machine for use and data transfer. All the iPods (not sure about iPad) can be synced to multiple computers if the syncing is done manually. Apparently Apple did this on purpose, although their exact logic escapes me.

I'm not sure if there is a solution and I don't use my phone for tethering so I'm not much help there.

12-04-2010, 01:29 PM

yeah I must say it is one of the more annoying things about the iphone. I am not particular a fan of the phone anyway because it relies so totally on itunes which is really annoying. Itunes just winds me up!.... but I guess that is besides the point.
It is almost enough to make me move away from mac's. Talk about design flaw.
I assumed / hoped there might have been a hack for it out there somewhere like there was for the earlier versions of itunes

12-04-2010, 02:33 PM

Don't need to sync it to transfer pictures to another computer. I do it all the time.

On another Mac you can use iPhoto or ImageCapture to import - on my Win machines I use Picasa for importing - never touch iTunes on the other machines.

You can also email the pictures right from your iPhone without the need for importing them to a computer.

And yes, I'm also using a 3GS.

This works for pictures in the camera roll - it will not work for pictures you're trying to move from one computer to another using the iPhone as a storage device. If that's what you're attempting, for $20-30 or less you can get a 8GB flash drive for that.

12-04-2010, 03:11 PM

sorry i should not have even mentioned photos - it was probably pointless info.

The Pictures are taken on my proper camera (SLR) then downloaded, photoshopped, captioned etc on my laptop. Then i have to use the iphone to work as a modem to email the pictures and covering letter to various picture desks.

Essentially the problem is that i need to be able to plug the phone into both my G5 (in the office) and my Macbook (when out and about). I can't risk having to resync and loose stuff already on the phone (like new contacts/text messages and emails) every time i plug it into the laptop.

The hacks that have been listed on various sites apparently only worked for itunes 8 and before but my itunes is updated to the latest version..

maybe i could downgrade (if possible with out loosing everything) then use the hack??

12-05-2010, 09:00 AM

Suggest you save yourself a lot of time and aggravation.

4GB
8GB
16GB

or PodtoMac

12-05-2010, 10:05 AM

I don't believe iTunes is required for tethering. Can you just keep the iPhone synced with the Windows machine only? In iTunes preferences, there is an option to prevent devices from automatically syncing when plugged in. You should still be able to tether to the Mac without syncing.

Alternately, could you tether to the Mac via Bluetooth. BT definitely doesn't involve iTunes.

12-11-2010, 02:38 PM

can anyone tell me how to tether my iphone 3G, it has no tethering options