In order to better manage an Apple device we must necessarily install iTunes on our PC, otherwise we will not have access to some backup and restore options, not to mention the management of multimedia files and contacts. iTunes therefore becomes fundamental since it is the iPhone management program from the PC and allows access to the iTunes Store, where we can find music, movies and apps online.
iTunes, however, is a huge and complex program to understand, it allows you to do many things and, for this reason, it is complicated to use on the first start.
In this guide we will show you all the tricks and tips to be able to better manage our iPhone from your computer via iTunes, so as not to have more difficulties every time we connect an Apple device to the PC.
READ ALSO -> Programs to manage the iPhone from PC without iTunes
First of all, as already written in another post, iTunes for PC is an excellent music player, similar to Windows Media Player, perfect for listening to songs and managing music on your computer.
But we can do many more things, especially if we connect an iPhone and intend to manage it through iTunes (in many cases there are features accessible only with this program).
1) How to sync and manage iPhone
One of the most useful functions of iTunes is the synchronization function with the iPhone, which allows you to synchronize any data and any multimedia file present in your account, so as to always be available.
To manage the iPhone with iTunes just open the program and connect the phone via USB cable to the PC.
The device will become visible in the sidebar; as soon as it is connected, click on the small iPhone-shaped symbol in the top bar, so as to access the advanced settings offered by iTunes for the device.
From this screen we can manually synchronize the iPhone by clicking on the Synchronize button on the bottom of iTunes.
If we want to make the automatic synchronization every time you connect the Apple device, we scroll down, so we can find and activate the item Synchronize automatically when iPhone is connected .
If we want synchronization to take place without a USB cable but via WiFi, simply activate the Synchronize with iPhone via WiFi option .
If instead we don't want iTunes to do everything automatically and we want to personally manage the music and videos to be added to the iPhone, we deactivate the previously activated voices and activate only Manually manage music and videos .
From now on we will be able to add only the multimedia files that we want simply by dragging them from the iTunes interface to the iPhone device in the sidebar.
2) How to make and restore iPhone backups
To make a backup of the iPhone to be kept on the PC or to be synchronized with iCloud just connect the device to the PC with iTunes installed, open the program and click on the small phone-shaped button at the top.
Now just click Back up now to start the backup.
We can also choose where to save this backup by selecting the item This computer or iCloud ; to protect the backup we can also start the encryption by inserting the check mark in the iPhone backup encoding box.
If we intend to restore a previous backup saved on the PC via iTunes, all we have to do is connect the device via USB, go to the same menu seen a little while ago and click this time on Restore backup .
3) How to update and restore iPhone
We want to check for updates or want to restore an iPhone to factory settings ">
If there are updates iTunes will report it and proceed to download and install it on the iPhone; updates are checked automatically, simply connect the phone periodically to carry out this type of check.
If we intend to restore the iPhone to its original settings (to sell it or to sell it to other people for example) just use the Reset iPhone button next to the button that allows you to search for updates.
The recovery is useful even if the iPhone has problems and we want to try to solve them by following this path.
4) Associate new local music (MP3 files and the like)
Do we have folders full of music files and want to add them to iTunes and iPhone?
To add local music just open the program and click on File -> Add folder to library or Add file to library .
We select the folder or files to add, then wait for the upload and synchronization with the iPhone.
If we have manual synchronization or manual file management, to move the music just drag the songs from the right side of the interface to the iPhone, present in the left bar.
5) How to convert music
The files we own locally are in excellent quality (WAV or FLAC) and we want to convert them into a format easily managed by the iPhone, without taking up too much space ">
As soon as we drag songs from iTunes to iPhone, the conversion will be done automatically in the AAC format, much more compatible and of higher quality than simple MP3s (with the same bitrate).
If we want to convert the entire music library to AAC, simply click on File at the top and use the Convert menu to perform the most congenial type of conversion.
8) Other useful guides for iTunes
iTunes tends to create a lot of duplicates that fill the hard drive if there are the same songs in each folder.
Duplicates on iTunes are also the consequence of badly made synchronizations and the song collection ends up being ruined with non-existent or double tracks.
In this case we recommend using an external program to remove duplicate mp3s and clean up iTunes from non-existent tracks .
With iTunes, you can also sync music to multiple computers .
To do this, simply open the iTunes menu > Edit> Preferences and go to the Sharing tab, so you can activate the service and choose what to share on the local network.
This feature uses Bonjour, the service that is also used to listen to the music of a PC, on another computer on the network (to be enabled in the device tab)
Sharing can be set for a maximum of 5 PCs on the network so all the home computers can hear the same music.
In another article we talked about how to copy the iTunes library and move it to other PCs, manually.
The Genius function of iTunes can be activated from the Store menu and allows you to find music similar to the one you are listening to; listening to the songs found in streaming is however severely limited, in fact it can only be done for 30 seconds.
If you like the idea but want to take full advantage of this functionality in another article we have seen MusicBee Player better than iTunes, with AutoDJ and Genius function.
As detailed in another guide, with iTunes you can create a personal ringtone in mp3 for the iPhone.
In another article we told you instead of the programs to upload music and videos to iPhone from the PC, they are often lighter and faster than iTunesma that do not have the functionality for backup, restore and conversion.
READ ALSO: Synchronize iTunes with Android to transfer music from PC to mobile phone
