[Archived] Transferring An Iphone 3Gs To A New Computer

[Eddie]

So my last computer went belly-up and I now have a nice new mac, but I'm having troubles transferring my iphone onto the new computer. The problem is that as the last computer actually broke I wasn't able to remove the iphone from that computer and I don't want to do a total sync with this new one as I believe I would lose all of my applications and contacts. How can I do it and how can I make this new computer the main computer for my iphone?

[Hughesy]

Think your going lose everything that isnt on your new PC when you sync I think?!

Im not sure - im in a similar position as iv just got my new laptop and need to swap it over to that.

[Eddie]

I don't mind losing everything, but for applications that I've paid for will I be able to get those back for free?

[Hughesy]

I don't mind losing everything, but for applications that I've paid for will I be able to get those back for free?

I think so because your stuff is all based against your user id & password isnt it?!

If not - you could always jailbreak and get them back for free

Apple forum about your issue

Picked this up from there "if you are strictly talking about apps on your phone that you want to transfer to your new library then all you need to do is "transfer purchases" and then sync. I literally did this on Sunday after my old pc died and got a new one."

[Paul]

Eddie I don't have an iPhone but on the face it the answer is this. Back up your iPhone on to an external hard drive or similar so you are certain the data isn't influenced by anything you do with the Mac. After backing up play around till you find the solution, if it fails you've got the backup to revert to. I've used this plenty of times when I wasn't sure how a piece of kit might react and it's always worked for me.

[Eddie]

Thanks for the help guys, I'll give that a go and hope for the best. I've also contacted Apple, so hopefully even if I end up losing all of my applications it will be possible to get them back without having to pay for them again.

[BuckyRover]

You can download Apps for free if you lose them.

Just make a note of all your apps.

For a quick and easy test, delete a cheap app from your phone then try and re-download it. You won't be charged

[Hughesy]

Eddie how did you get on? Iv a new laptop so need to set it all up again too.....not bothered about my music though, as I would rather re-build it all!

[S15]

Eddies a good thing to do is to use any external hard drive you have as your Macs 'Time Machine.'

This way anything you ever do on your Mac will be automatically backed up, and this includes songs imported into your iTunes.

Obviously you need an external hard drive with preferably more memory on it than your Mac, but this could save you a lot of hassle/worry in the future.