Cedric-the-Saxon

Q: How do I keep my iPod Nano from deleting information (like the heart for "loved" songs) when I sync to my iTunes on my PC?

I've had trouble with iPods deleting information like play counts or, worse, genres, in the past.  With the heart emoticon that we can add on iTunes, I've made a whole smart playlist that screens for these.  But, my iPod Classic (6th gen) and my iPod Nanos randomly wipe out this designation - it's never ALL, but a random selection, though, I CAN count on some songs always being altered.  REALLY frustrating and holding me up from upgrading my iPhone...              

iPod classic, Windows XP

Posted on Aug 28, 2016 4:26 PM

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Q: How do I keep my iPod Nano from deleting information (like the heart for "loved" songs) when I sync to my iTunes on my PC?

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  • by Kenichi Watanabe,

    Kenichi Watanabe Kenichi Watanabe Aug 28, 2016 7:00 PM in response to Cedric-the-Saxon
    Level 8 (38,248 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 28, 2016 7:00 PM in response to Cedric-the-Saxon

    That seems to be a problem.  I don't know of a solution.  However, an alternative is to use the 5-star Rating instead of Love (the heart symbol).  Your iPod's old onboard software is aware of the song Rating field, unlike the Love field which was introduced recently with the Apple Music service.  An advantage of using Rating is that you can "rate" a song on your iPod, while listening to it.  You can't "love" a song on your iPod.  New or undated ratings sync back to your iTunes library.  I use the 4-star (songs I like a lot) and 5-star (songs I really love) ratings, which makes creating smart playlists more flexible.  (I also use the 1-star rating to mark songs I want to delete from my library, while using my iPod.)

     

    The Love field is used by the Apple Music service to tell it about your music "tastes."  If you subscribe to Apple Music, you may want your "loved" songs marked with heart too.  For me, a 5-star rating is equal to a heart.  I created a smart playlist that shows 5-star songs that do not currently have a heart.

    Screen Shot 2016-08-28 at 6.41.34 PM.png

    I go to this playlist periodically, do a Select All (from menu bar or Cmd-A), right-click selection, and Love.  That puts back all the hearts that syncing my iPod removed unintentionally.  If you don't subscribe to Apple Music, you can ignore the Love field and use song Rating instead.