Quick fixes

How to put music on an iPod

You put music on these iPods by syncing them: in the Finder on a Mac with macOS Catalina or later, or in iTunes on a Windows PC or an older Mac. Pick your computer and your iPod for the steps.

Quick answer

  • On a Mac with macOS Catalina or later: connect the iPod, open a Finder window and select the iPod in the sidebar.
  • On a Windows PC, use iTunes. On Windows 10 or 11, get iTunes from the Microsoft Store (or from apple.com/itunes). On Windows 7 or 8, install iTunes 12.10.11 from Apple's download page: newer iTunes needs Windows 10.
  • Open iTunes, connect the iPod, click the iPod button near the top left, click Music, tick Sync Music, choose the music and click Apply.
  • Connect the iPod. If a message offers to Erase and Sync (in newer iTunes: Remove and Sync), click Cancel: that replaces every song on the iPod with the music on this computer.

Every step, by model

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Not sure which one? Identify your iPod

Step by step

  1. On a Mac with macOS Catalina or later: connect the iPod, open a Finder window and select the iPod in the sidebar.
  2. Click wheel iPodsMac with only USB-C ports? Connect the iPod's USB cable through a USB-C to USB adapter. On a Mac laptop with Apple silicon, click Allow when the Mac asks about the iPod.
  3. Click Music, tick "Sync music onto" your iPod, choose all your music or the artists, albums and playlists you want, then click Apply.
  4. On a Windows PC, use iTunes. On Windows 10 or 11, get iTunes from the Microsoft Store (or from apple.com/itunes). On Windows 7 or 8, install iTunes 12.10.11 from Apple's download page: newer iTunes needs Windows 10.
  5. Open iTunes, connect the iPod, click the iPod button near the top left, click Music, tick Sync Music, choose the music and click Apply.
  6. On a Mac with macOS Mojave or earlier, use iTunes the same way.
  7. Connect the iPod. If a message offers to Erase and Sync (in newer iTunes: Remove and Sync), click Cancel: that replaces every song on the iPod with the music on this computer.
  8. Eject the iPod before you unplug it.
  9. iPod 3rd GenThe 3rd Gen connects to a Mac only through FireWire, and macOS Tahoe 26 removed FireWire. Use a Mac with FireWire on macOS Sequoia 15 or earlier, or a Windows PC.

Steps from Apple's own iPod guides and support pages.

Sync iPod to Mac

Also searched as transfer music from Mac to iPod

On a Mac with macOS Catalina or later the Finder syncs the iPod; on macOS Mojave or earlier, iTunes does.

  1. On a Mac with macOS Catalina or later: connect the iPod, open a Finder window and select the iPod in the sidebar.
  2. Click wheel iPodsMac with only USB-C ports? Connect the iPod's USB cable through a USB-C to USB adapter. On a Mac laptop with Apple silicon, click Allow when the Mac asks about the iPod.
  3. Click Music, tick "Sync music onto" your iPod, choose all your music or the artists, albums and playlists you want, then click Apply.
  4. Connect the iPod. If a message offers to Erase and Sync (in newer iTunes: Remove and Sync), click Cancel: that replaces every song on the iPod with the music on this computer.
  5. On a Mac with macOS Mojave or earlier, use iTunes the same way.
  6. iPod 3rd GenThe 3rd Gen connects to a Mac only through FireWire, and macOS Tahoe 26 removed FireWire. Use a Mac with FireWire on macOS Sequoia 15 or earlier, or a Windows PC.
  7. iPod Classic, iPod Video, iPod 4th Gen, iPod Photo and iPod Mini 2nd GenAn iPod set up on a Mac can't be used on a Windows PC without a restore, and a restore erases the songs: copy them off on a Mac.

Steps from Apple's own iPod guides and support pages.

Sync iPod to iTunes

Also searched as sync with iTunes · transfer music from iTunes to iPod · transfer music from PC to iPod · copy music from PC to iPod · sync iPod to PC · sync iPod to laptop

iTunes syncs these iPods on a Windows PC and on a Mac with macOS Mojave or earlier.

  1. On a Windows PC, use iTunes. On Windows 10 or 11, get iTunes from the Microsoft Store (or from apple.com/itunes). On Windows 7 or 8, install iTunes 12.10.11 from Apple's download page: newer iTunes needs Windows 10.
  2. Open iTunes, connect the iPod, click the iPod button near the top left, click Music, tick Sync Music, choose the music and click Apply.
  3. Connect the iPod. If a message offers to Erase and Sync (in newer iTunes: Remove and Sync), click Cancel: that replaces every song on the iPod with the music on this computer.
  4. Eject the iPod before you unplug it.
  5. iPod Classic, iPod Video, iPod 4th Gen, iPod Photo and iPod Mini 2nd GenAn iPod set up on a Mac can't be used on a Windows PC without a restore, and a restore erases the songs: copy them off on a Mac.

Steps from Apple's own iPod guides and support pages.

Manually add music to iPod

Also searched as manually add songs to iPod

Managing music by hand lets you add songs one by one and use the iPod with more than one computer, without erasing it.

  1. To add songs one by one instead: in iTunes, click Summary, tick "Manually manage music and videos" and click Apply (in the Finder: General, then "Manually manage music, movies, and TV shows"), then drag songs from your library onto the iPod.
  2. Eject the iPod before you unplug it.
  3. Copying song files onto the iPod like a USB drive doesn't work: the iPod's own software plays only songs added by iTunes, the Finder or a music app made for iPods (below). Rockbox is the exception.
  4. Rockbox (free, rockbox.org) replaces the iPod software and plays song files that you copy onto the iPod like a USB drive.From repair references, not Apple
  5. It works only on an iPod set up on a Windows PC. An iPod set up on a Mac must be converted first (the easy way is to restore it in iTunes on a Windows PC), and converting erases its songs.From repair references, not Apple
  6. Turn on "Enable disk use" for the iPod in iTunes, then install Rockbox with Rockbox Utility (Windows, Mac or Linux) and follow its steps.From repair references, not Apple
  7. Then drag your music files onto the iPod, into any folder except .rockbox.From repair references, not Apple
  8. iPod 3rd GenOn the 3rd Gen Rockbox has no USB: start the iPod's own software to connect it (turn it off, slide the Hold switch on, then connect it).From repair references, not Apple
  9. Other apps that put music on these iPods without iTunes: CopyTrans Manager (Windows, free) and Swinsian (Mac, paid after a 30-day trial; turn on "Enable disk use" first).From repair references, not Apple

Steps from Apple's own iPod guides and support pages.

Still not working — free diagnostic

Mail us your iPod and we test it and send you a free repair quote. If you don't like the price, we ship it back at our expense.

Free diagnostic for the iPod 3rd GenFree diagnostic for the iPod 4th GenFree diagnostic for the iPod PhotoFree diagnostic for the iPod Video 5th GenFree diagnostic for the iPod Classic 6th GenFree diagnostic for the iPod Classic 7th GenFree diagnostic for the iPod Mini 1st GenFree diagnostic for the iPod Mini 2nd GenFree diagnostic

Free

Questions

Can you still put music on an old iPod?

Yes. Apple's current guides still cover it: on a Mac with macOS Catalina or later you sync it in the Finder, and on Windows you use iTunes (on Windows 7 or 8, iTunes 12.10.11).

Will syncing erase the songs on my iPod?

Syncing makes the iPod match the computer's library, so songs that aren't in that library are removed, and an iPod synced with another computer offers to erase and sync. To keep what is on it, cancel and add songs by hand.