Erase and Sync: Confused!

Question

Erase and Sync: Confused!

Okay, I know there are probably hundreds of threads on this, but I can't seeem to find an answer that everyone is, well, answering with.

A few years ago my dad got a new iPhone 4S. So he didn't have to buy all new music, I just loaded the music I had on my OLD iTUNES LIBRARY AND OLD APPLE ID onto his phone, while HE HAD HIS OWN ID FOR HIS PHONE. I honestly have no idea how I did this without all the IDs getting mixed up, so I did and I left it.

Now he has a new computer. So a few days ago i downloaded iTunes so he could just have his own library and ID and whatnot. So I managed to load the music and apps onto iTunes. To make sure everything was in order, I synced just to check. I got the dreaded option of "Erase and Sync". ( it states that it will erase the content of the iPhone and replace with the content of the iTunes library or something like that).

So my question is... what exactly will it erase? I don't mind as much if the music is erased, that's a bit more bearable. It's just the stuff like app data, photos, messages, contacts, etc. I really don't want to lose those. I don't mind backing up, it's just I will need someone to explain that because I don't know much about that, taking the risk of just pressing is out of the question.

Thanks In Advance! 🙂

Posted on Dec 20, 2013 12:44 PM

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Answer 1

ed2345

Level 9

62,492 points

Dec 20, 2013 1:55 PM in response to tranquilvibes

I just loaded the music I had on my OLD iTUNES LIBRARY AND OLD APPLE ID onto his phone, while HE HAD HIS OWN ID FOR HIS PHONE.

Once you did that you guaranteed that at some future date he would face the "erase and sync" dilemma. The day has come.

What you should have done is helped him create his own iTunes library that he could sync his phone to it. Do it now.

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Answer 2

Dec 20, 2013 2:30 PM in response to ed2345

Thanks for replying.

Sorry, just a bit confused. If I create a new library now, won't I just run into the same problem again?

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Answer 3

ed2345

Level 9

62,492 points

Dec 20, 2013 2:33 PM in response to tranquilvibes

Put all the stuff into the new library. Then sync the phone to it.

You will get the "erase and sync" message, but when you sync, all the stuff will be there because you have already added it to the library. This is the benefit of having put it into the library instead of directly onto the phone.

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Answer 4

Dec 20, 2013 2:40 PM in response to ed2345

Ohhh, thanks! 🙂

But what about photos on the camera roll, contacts and app data? Will that be erased when I erase and sync?

Sorry for all the questions, I just want to make sure that his phone won't be wiped and we won't be able to get back any photos or data. I don't have any back up or anything, and the camera roll photos aren't on the computer.

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Answer 5

turingtest2

Level 10

272,749 points

Dec 20, 2013 2:55 PM in response to tranquilvibes

See Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device.

tt2

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