# Help with iTunes and syncing non-iTunes music **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 20, 2015, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-itunes-and-syncing-non-itunes-music/710339 "2015-01-20T01:29:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![liirogue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dbc845/32.png) [@liirogue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liirogue)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-itunes-and-syncing-non-itunes-music/710339/1 "2015-01-20T01:29:32Z")
I’m trying to help my mom add some non-iTunes music to her library/cloud but I’m not very familiar with Apple. She bought some music online but apparently can’t download the files to her iPad. Since she does not have a computer or laptop, that’s where I come in. I’ve downloaded both her music and iTunes to my computer. We’ve logged in using her Apple ID. How do I get the files that I’ve added from my computer to be available for her iPad and iPhone? ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-itunes-and-syncing-non-itunes-music/710339/2 "2015-01-20T03:10:36Z")
Well, first step, where did she buy the music from? Do you have the music files (e.g. mp3s)? If you do, have you added them to the itunes library (you can just drag and drop the files in)? Once that is done, when you next sync, the music should go into the ipad and iphone. ---
**Author:** ![liirogue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dbc845/32.png) [@liirogue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liirogue)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-itunes-and-syncing-non-itunes-music/710339/3 "2015-01-20T03:19:05Z")
The files are from Garth Brooks’ website, and I have the mp3s on my computer. I have also added them to the iTunes library. Does she just need to plug her phone into her iPad and it will sync and update the music, or does my computer need to be involved somehow? ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-itunes-and-syncing-non-itunes-music/710339/4 "2015-01-20T03:41:18Z")
No, you can’t transfer music from one iDevice to another. Both need to sync with a computer. Basically, all the music needs to “live” on a computer, and the devices just sync up with the computer. All the backups and stuff are in itunes on the computer too. However, make sure that when you’re syncing, you don’t accidentally delete everything on the device. This happens when the computer thinks that you want to sync the empty computer to the device, this replacing all the stuff on the device with the stuff on your empty computer, which is empty. That’s why you have to make sure that you transfer all the stuff on the device into the computer first. This article might help. [How to Transfer Everything From Your iPhone to iTunes on a New Computer](http://lifehacker.com/5954309/how-to-transfer-everything-from-your-iphone-to-itunes-on-a-new-computer) EDIT: If the ONLY stuff on the iphone is music from the apple store, then you can also just re-download from itunes. [http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201267](http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201267) ---
**Author:** ![liirogue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dbc845/32.png) [@liirogue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liirogue)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-itunes-and-syncing-non-itunes-music/710339/5 "2015-01-21T03:33:02Z")
Thanks for your help Tabby!