Help: iphone no longer works with iTunes after ios7

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I have an iPhone 4S. I recently upgraded to ios7 after reading an article that sounded like compatibility wouldn't be a problem.

I was wrong. I plugged it into my G4 laptop, which is running iTunes 10.6.3. And now it can't read my phone. I can't drag MP3s from my laptop to my iphone anymore. How can I remedy this without having to buy a new laptop? I regularly dragged MP3s onto my phone daily from podcasts and whatnot.
 
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iOS 7 requires iTunes 11. It is likely your G4 is too old to update to iTunes 11.

Always a good idea to research all hardware and software compatibility requirements before upgrades. Especially when you have older model hardware.

I'm sure there are 3rd party apps that will allow you to transfer MP3s to your iPhone. I've never used any, but a simple Google search should turn up a few options.

iCloud will keep your music up to date if they are purchases made from iTunes store.
 

chscag

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Actually, iOS 7 requires iTunes 11.1 which you can not install on the G4..... :(
 
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How can I remedy this without having to buy a new laptop? I regularly dragged MP3s onto my phone daily from podcasts and whatnot.

Go back to iOS 6.1.4 and you can for a cetain amount of time, like as they say in this article at Gizmodo ~ Aust. But if you cant restore from iTunes the normal way, you will have to grab the 6.1.4 .ispw from here and then holding option down while you click the restore button in iTunes and navigate to the .ispw you just downloaded.
With old equipment there is always a time where it is stopped being supported and as chscag said, the G4 wont be able to take iTunes 11.1
 
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chas_m

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A G4?? It's a miracle your iPhone works with it *at all.* That's at least an 8-year-old computer!

Bottom line: don't even THINK about upgrading iTunes, iOS or your iPhone again until you get a new(er) computer.
 
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kirrwed
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Thanks for the suggestions, all. I'm too late on the downgrade according to my research. So it looks like my only hope is 3rd party app. So far, all the 3rd party apps that can put music on an iPhone are not yet compatible with ios7. Does anyone know of one that would be compatible with a G4 and ios7?
 
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chas_m

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Treat yourself to a newer Mac. You deserve it, and you're WAY overdue.

Maybe something from let's say 2007 that can run Snow Leopard, like the lovely BlackBook I used to have. Then you'll still be able to run your outdated software AND support your iPhone/iTunes ecosystem.

Should be cheap enough ...
 
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Is it possible to put anything higher than OS 10.5 on a MacBook Pro?
 

Raz0rEdge

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Is it possible to put anything higher than OS 10.5 on a MacBook Pro?

Depends on the Macbook Pro..you can most definitely go to Snow Leopard. If it's a Macbook Pro after 2008 or so, a good chance (once you upgrade the RAM likely) you can run Mountain Lion..

Without the exact specs, hard to say what you can and cannot do..
 
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chas_m

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Snow Leopard strongly recommended (assuming the machine you refer to is ACTUALLY a MacBook Pro and NOT a PowerBook ... people get these mixed up all the time for some reason). It's $20 from Apple. That plus the free updates to 10.6.8 will move you from the kids' table to the adults' table, modern computing-wise.
 
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Paydirt. There is a free app called EXMP3. I installed this on my iPhone. Under the feature "File Transfer," you have the option to select wi-fi or G3. Once it detects how you are connected to the web, it gives you a URL address. You type this URL address into your computer's browser, and it is a page that lets you select MP3s from your computer. It then transmits it to the EZMP3 app. And presto, you can transfer MP3s to your iPhone and play them in the EZMP3 app. No need to buy Apple upgrades yet.

Honestly, the fact that transferring an MP3 you own to a phone you own is not some new technology that should go away with new system upgrades. It's just dragging from a folder to a folder. Apple may or may not have intentionally disabled this simple task in order to get laggers to buy new computers. Why sell the same thing to someone once when you can sell it to them over and over?
 
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chas_m

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They didn't intentionally disable it -- older software can't take advantage of the new technologies and protocols, may have bugs or more seriously security issues. As pointed out already, a used Mac would have solved the problem, so where's the profit for Apple coming into the equation?

People should really stop being so paranoid ...

Also, as previously pointed out by me an others, a whopping investment of $20 would have fixed that problem AND made your machine work way better. I've never met anyone so opposed to spending such a pittance for what will turn out to be a HUGE benefit (not to mention extending the life of your current computer) in my life ...
 
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kirrwed
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I don't think the issue is quite that simple, Chas. Sure, this particular update could have only cost $20, but what about after that. And what instability issues are there in dragging a file to a folder? Can someone articulate that? Why a new system with new bells and whistles suddenly makes dragging a file from one folder to another difficult? Is Apple above such deliberate things? Suddenly the new ipad have a different cord connector. Every laptop I've ever bought had a different power cord connector. Which is the superior one? Results in a lot of extra sales doesn't it? Because when a cord goes bad, you can't use an old one. If there is legitimate technological reasons for all of these variations and pattern of incompatibility, I'd like to hear it. I never have heard one. Maybe Apple is run by saints who merely look out for the customer. I don't know, but the evidence seems to tilt a certain way to me anyway.
 
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MacInWin

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I don't think the issue is quite that simple, Chas. Sure, this particular update could have only cost $20, but what about after that.
For your machine, there is no "after that." That $20 buys you the latest OS that can be put on that old machine. It's at the end of its life.
And what instability issues are there in dragging a file to a folder? Can someone articulate that? Why a new system with new bells and whistles suddenly makes dragging a file from one folder to another difficult? Is Apple above such deliberate things?
It's not just a drag and drop, it's that to support the new features in IOS7 iTunes needed to be updated and Apple chose not to spend the time and money to make that update compatible with OSX 10.5. You are using a very old technology with old operating system and are now being left in the dust of obsolescence.
Suddenly the new ipad have a different cord connector. Every laptop I've ever bought had a different power cord connector. Which is the superior one? Results in a lot of extra sales doesn't it? Because when a cord goes bad, you can't use an old one.
No extra sales other than replacing the original cord with a proper matching one, either from the original vendor or a third party supplier. It's hard for my friend with a 1928 Whippet to get parts, too. Technology moves on, parts become scarce because demand drops. It's the price one pays for trying to sustain old tech.
If there is legitimate technological reasons for all of these variations and pattern of incompatibility, I'd like to hear it. I never have heard one. Maybe Apple is run by saints who merely look out for the customer. I don't know, but the evidence seems to tilt a certain way to me anyway.
It's called progress. It happens. Serial ports were replaced with USB ports, then USB2, then USB3 plus there were FireWire and Thunderbolt ports as well. Apple is always looking to make the connectors smaller so that the real estate on the outside of the iPhone can be optimized for other things, like the speakers and headphone jack. So the Lightning connector is smaller than the old 32 pin connector. But Apple also makes a converter so that all those older things for the older phones can be connected to the new Lightning port. Yes, you have to buy it, but that's the price of trying to reuse old technology with new.
 
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chas_m

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Suddenly the new ipad have a different cord connector.

I don't have time for most of your tin-hattery, but this one in particular is just ignorant.

Apple introduced the 30-pin dock connector for the iPod in 2003. They kept the same connector for all their mobile devices for over 10 years (in fact you can STILL buy current Apple products with a 30-pin connector ... the iPod Classic and the iPhone 4S among them).

The Lightning connector takes advantage of significant new technologies even if all you personally use it for is charging. Don't hold everyone else back just because your head is still in the sand, okay?

So yeah, "suddenly" Apple is likely to change the connector every 10 years or so. Kinda like the way the PC industry went from serial ports to USB to e-SATA to Thunderbolt. Kinda like the way we went from 8-bit to 32-bit to 64-bit. Like how we went from monochrome to greyscale to 8-bit color to full color, the way we went from Beta to VHS to Laserdisc to DVD to Blu-Ray.

Things change. If you don't like change, there's an area in Pennsylvania that will welcome you with open arms. This has nothing to do with Apple, it's the way the entire world works and has always worked. Unless you're still riding a horse as your main mode of transportation ...
 
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kirrwed
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it's that to support the new features in IOS7 iTunes needed to be updated and Apple chose not to spend the time and money to make that update
Can you be a little more specific? It's am MP3 or one of Apple's encrypted music files. What about the "new features" would suddenly render that kind of file dragging from one folder to another null?
Apple is always looking to make the connectors smaller
I was referring to the laptops, which have a multitude of different kind of connectors, none of which are saving space over another. Otherwise, in general I would buy the idea that technology tends smaller. Oh, p.s. because OS 10.7+ is not compatible with my MacBook Pro, there is indeed an "after that" beyond $20. Look, if simple tasks weren't suddenly neutered in so many of these updates, I might buy the whole "technology is progressing" idea. Yes, it's progressing, but there's so many other signs that the progression contains deliberate caveats to attach you to a certain company. This is basic profit-seeking motivation. I could go on about sim cards, adapters, etc... But thanks for the tips about archaic pin plugs - that I might believe.
 
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MacInWin

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Can you be a little more specific? It's am MP3 or one of Apple's encrypted music files. What about the "new features" would suddenly render that kind of file dragging from one folder to another null?
You missed the point. The changes in IOS7 and iTunes 11.1 don't have to do with dragging a folder (which, by the way, is NOT how music is transferred) but with other functionality of iTunes. What caught you out was the fact that because Apple didn't spend the time and effort to make the new version of iTunes compatible with OSX 10.5 it simply won't run on your old equipment at all. It was a financial decision, to be sure. Apple estimated how many people still run that old equipment and decided the investment of their developer time into that very small population wasn't worth it. Microsoft had made the opposite decision when it first came out with Windows. They decided to continue to support the old 8-bit DOS environment, which led to endless hours of programmer time as they tried to sustain that compatibility into the 64 bit world. Eventually they gave up and abandoned old equipment and software. Apple chooses to abandon old technology faster, which makes them more flexible in adopting new technologies. They changed to Intel, changed the approach to OSX and basically moved into the 21st century. You haven't, so you are being left behind. It's a choice you get to make in a free society, but you then have no basis for complaint when the new stuff doesn't work on your old system.
I was referring to the laptops, which have a multitude of different kind of connectors, none of which are saving space over another. Otherwise, in general I would buy the idea that technology tends smaller. Oh, p.s. because OS 10.7+ is not compatible with my MacBook Pro, there is indeed an "after that" beyond $20. Look, if simple tasks weren't suddenly neutered in so many of these updates, I might buy the whole "technology is progressing" idea. Yes, it's progressing, but there's so many other signs that the progression contains deliberate caveats to attach you to a certain company. This is basic profit-seeking motivation. I could go on about sim cards, adapters, etc... But thanks for the tips about archaic pin plugs - that I might believe.
With regard to laptop power cables, just about every laptop has different power requirements, so the cables are deliberately different to prevent naive or careless end users from plugging in the wrong power supply. Now one might try making an argument that all of the laptops should have the same power requirements, but that would lead to every machine having to be packaged with a power supply designed for the most powerful and power hungry laptop, which would drive up the cost of the low end machines. That approach would also prevent any laptop maker from going beyond the power requirement of the existing power supply parameter, limiting future technologies to fit into that power environment. It's like arguing that every car air filter should be the same size and shape so that I don't have to work so hard to get the right one. But that would mean that even small cars would have to have a filter that is designed for the largest car in the market, and that no larger car than then largest filter could ever be built. That's nonsense. So vendors choose to customize the power supply to the laptop and prevent burnouts from wrong power supplies with unique plugs. No mad conspiracy, just simple technology.

And, no, for your equipment there is no "after that." To move forward you need to abandon the G4 and get something more modern that supports the latest OSX, or at least a version that supports the iTunes version required to support the IOS7 iPhone. A smart use of money would be to step up the latest and best technology now, given your apparent propensity to hold on to technology well beyond its "normal" life. If you buy something older and used, it will become obsolete sooner than a brand new system.

Finally, nothing in the free market attaches me to any company, other than my willingness to spend the money it costs to change platforms. I used to have all Windows systems, including hardware and software, but decided of my own free will to change to Apple and its environment. It cost me money to make that change, but again, it was MY decision. I believe I am getting better value for money with that decision. Does Apple want me to stay in their environment? Absolutely! But then again so does Ford, Toyota, Sony, GE, LG and just about every company in the world. But I still have the freedom to choose which products to buy and when to buy them. I may choose to leave Apple for some other product if I think I get better value for money with that new product, but for now Apple wins.

And with that, I'm done. Nice chatting with you.
 
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just about every laptop has different power requirements, so the cables are deliberately different

Rather than going around and around on the other stuff - if a device's different power requirement requires a different power cable, why are so many other devices just fine with a 3-pronged female plug?
 

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