Why do I lost my music playlists when syncing ringtones in iTunes

There is more benefit with syncing music and videos with an iPhone than with manually managing music and videos.

Sync Apps should be selected under the Apps tab for your iPhone sync preferences with iTunes. With this selected, after downloading an app with your iPhone the app will be copied to your iTunes library automatically the first time you sync your iPhone with iTunes after doing so. iCloud allows for doing this automatically but won't resolve the problem when you want to sync Tones, which can't be manually managed as with music and videos. You can remove an app from your iPhone without having to delete the app by deselecting the app under the Apps tab for your iPhone sync preferences with iTunes followed by a sync. To reinstall the app again later, reselect the app under the Apps tab followed by a sync.

The same applies with music. After downloading a song direct with your iPhone, the song will be copied to your iTunes library automatically the first time you sync your iPhone with iTunes after doing so. iCloud allows for doing this automatically as well, but won't resolve the problem when you want to sync Tones. To remove an entire playlist from your iPhone, deselect the playlist under the Music tab followed by a sync. To add a new playlist created in iTunes, select the playlist under the Music tab followed by a sync. With sync only checked songs and videos selected under the Summary tab for your iPhone sync preferences, you can remove a song from your iPhone without removing it from a playlist in iTunes by deselecting the song in the playlist in iTunes followed by a sync. To re-add the song again later, reselect the song in the iTunes playlist followed by a sync.

I don't believe you can manually manage Tones, so in order to transfer Tones you must select Sync Tones. Since Tones are music files, when doing so will remove all music transferred to your iPhone by manually managing music and videos. When switcing from manually managing music to syncing music will remove all music from your iPhone first, and if you don't have Sync Apps selected under the Apps tab, all apps will be removed from your iPhone as well.

All music on your iPhone should be in your iTunes library. Are you saying after downloading a song from the iTunes store direct with your iPhone you don't want that song in your iTunes library on your computer?

I did sync the ringtones and have the manually manage music checked, so when I sync one the ringtones, it ends up taking out my music playlists ONLY FROM THE iPHONE (still in iTunes' playlists and on my computer) and my apps.

Nothing in your iTunes library can be erased via the iTunes sync process.

Would think if it backed up, it would still have my music in playlists on my iPhone, no?

No iTunes content is included with the iPhone's backup - no music, tones, audio and print books, podcasts, movies, tv shows, and apps.

Can you tell me why, then, I WAS able at one point to just drag a ringtone after being created from the iTunes ringtones section into the iPhone ringtones section and now I can't?

I'm not sure, but it is my understanding this has not changed. Tones cannot be manually managed.

If I check NOT to manually sync my iPhones music, then I can't independently add a song to my phone, can I?

Sure you can. You can add the song to one of the existing iTunes playlists already selected to be transferred to your iPhone under the Music tab for your iPhone sync preferences with iTunes followed by a sync. To remove a song from your iPhone, you can remove it from the playlist in iTunes followed by a sync, or if you want to remove a song from your iPhone without removing it from the playlist in iTunes, select sync only checked songs and videos under the Summary tab for your iPhone sync preferences with iTunes. Deselect or uncheck the song in the playlist in iTunes followed by a sync. To add the song to your iPhone again later, reseletc or check the song in the playlist in iTunes followed by a sync.

I think that is why I chose to do that. I cannot fit my entire music colleciton on my phone as it is, so I just do as much as possibly and leave a little space for additional photos, etc., as I'm using my phone daily.

Syncing music does not require transferring your entire iTunes library. Under the Music tab for your iPhone sync preferences with iTunes, there are two options. Entire music library, or selected playlists, artists, albums, genres. With the 2nd option selected, you can select the individual iTunes playlists, and/or artists, albums, genres below folllowed by a sync. To remove an individual playlist from your iPhone currently selected, deselect the playlist under the Music tab followed by a sync. The same for a select artist, album, or genre. With sync only checked songs and videos selected under the Summary tab for your iPhone sync preferences with iTunes provides additional options.

There are more options available with syncing music, movies, tv shows than when manually managing music and videos - especially with an iPhone that does not support disc mode which provides for transferring iTunes content to an iPod from more than one computer. I've never manually managed even with my iPod which seems so archaic and Windows to me. You can make the various changes in iTunes and/or under the various tabs for your iPhone sync preferences with iTunes followed by a sync so that all your chosen changes are done at once with the sync process instead of doing addiing/removing some items manually, and others via syncing.

Allan, it didn't erase it from my iTunes library but my iPhone's playlist and library. That's why I said in caps "ONLY FROM THE IPHONE and put in the parenthetical I did above.

I didn't say it did. I said it can't. Since you included this removed all music from your iPhone but not from your iTunes library on your computer, other users read these threads. What I provided was for your benefit and for others that read it.

I don't know. But at first glance of reading your reply, it sounds like a lot of work to add a song or delete a song by syncing.

It is not more work that manually managing music with more options available. Another benefit is when restoring your iPhone with iTunes from your iPhone's backup if wanted or needed. When manually managing music and videos, you must manually re-transfer all songs and videos to your iPhone one by one after doing so. With Sync Music selected, your selections under the Music tab for your iPhone sync preferences with iTunes will be transferred to your iPhone automatically with the iTunes sync process that follows automtically after restoring your iPhone with iTunes from the backup.

To each his/her own, but I prefer making any changes under the various tabs for my iPhone sync preferences with iTunes followed by a sync with any changes done at once and without having to manually select and delete a song from my iPhone, or manually selecting a song in my iTunes library and dragging it to my iPhone followed by a sync to update any other changes that cannot be manually managed such as for tones, photos, podcasts, and apps.

What if you have an iPod and an iPhone?

I do want my entire Library (100+gb) to sync automatically with my iPod Classic 160 (160gb)

I do NOT want my entire Library to sync automatically with my iPhone 4s (64gb) even if it had the capacity.

Checking and unchecking songs isn't device-specific so that doesn't work for me.

Automatically syncing my iPod and manually syncing my iPhone does work for me.

Is it really impossible to manually transfer Tones to the phone from iTunes? Did the makers really forget their customers might own more than one iProduct? I use an iPod Classic, an iPhone and an iPad.

A one-check-syncs-all-devices option doesn't work. Why make some items manually manageable and others not?

Or, more to the point, how can I use these products the way I want to?

Thanks in advance.

I have an iPod, iPhone, and iPad.

I make use of iTunes playlists for music with each.

.

Great. Me too. Same playlists on each device.

Do you automaticaly sync all of them or manually manage them or some combination of approaches?

If you do automatically sync all of them, how big is your iTunes library vs. the capacity of your devices?

Again, automatically syncing my iPhone and iPad is not an option with a 100gb Library and even if it were, do I really have to just to get one ringtone on my phone?

Because iTunes *****. I have that same exact issue with syncing and it also adds a whole ton of unwanted music too. A good alternative is CopyTrans if you use Windows

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You can get what you want with a little bit of effort, and a change to how you view the managing of your iPhone contents ...

Instead of manually managing your iPhone, manually manage a playlist and auto-sync to the playlist. If you want to get creative, create multiple playlists and auto-sync to all of them, or create a "master" playlist that sums them all up and auto-sync to the master playlist.

My library is 10x larger than my iPhone and this process works great. By using a combination of "regular" (static) playlists and smart (dynamic) playlists, which I set a size limit, this gives me the manual control I want (via regular playlists) as well as automatic rotation of music from my library based on ratings and recent play history (via smart playlists).

TheRhett wrote:

Great. Me too. Same playlists on each device.

This makes the process above a little less desirable since each playlist you want on your iPhone needs to refer to the playlist(s) that you sync to, which would not apply to your Classic. But it is still quite manageable, give it some thought.

That's one way to go. Thanks 2nd Guy. Does it work with ringtones too?

I don't automatically sync any device when connected to iTunes.

My iTunes library is much larger than the capacity of each device.

I sync each device but not automatically when connected.

And yet you're able to get custom ringtones on them?