# The Ubuntu Forum Community > Ubuntu Specialised Support > Apple Hardware Users >  syncing iphone 4s with iOS 5.1 in ubuntu 12.04

## BigWillieC

Hi, I'm trying to sync iphone 4s with iOS 5.1 in ubuntu 12.04. I've tried using the Rythmbox and gtkpod iPod manager. However they seem to be laced with errors. 

Question 1: Can you actually sync in 12.04?
Question 2: Do I need to have my iphone unlocked/jailbroken to manage it in 12.04?

Thanks

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## neofreud

Are you trying to simply sync music and podcasts, or perform backups, app management, etc.. ?

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## BigWillieC

I'm  trying to sync music, video and podcasts etc.

Cheers

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## BigWillieC

Does anyone know how to sync music, video and podcasts etc on iphone 4s with iOS 5.1 in ubuntu 12.04??

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## dude2040

This is currently not possible with iOS 5. For more details see http://www.libimobiledevice.org/. search for donate in the webpage.

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## orbitur

Actually, if you read libimobiledevice's page, they use libgpod for music sync.  libimobiledevice basically handles everything but music sync.

http://www.gtkpod.org/wiki/Libgpod <-- info

I've been on the gtkpod mailing list for a long time, and not much progress is being made on the iOS 5 front.  Last activity I saw regarding that was back in January, I think.  I don't know if it's a lack of interest or a lack of resources.

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## dierocck

anything new about this matter???

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## petersphilo

i'd be interested also...
i will test this in the next few days to see what can be done..
Cheers..

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## Nick Johnson

I have a kinda solution for this but its not realted to ubuntu so, its up to you taht you find it suitable or not.
I have finally found how to insert music into the iphone 4 database,  without using itunes. A program from cydia called  Mewseek,works on  my  jailbroken iphone 4, on IOS 5.01.

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## M4r5h4ll

i am very sick from this iphone thing. i wonder for how long we will suffer from it & why nobody posts a real helpful solution to us ?

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## spaceshipguy

> i wonder for how long we will suffer from it & why nobody posts a real helpful solution to us ?


Sorry, but the sad truth is...

This situation will not change soon. Every iOS update includes code changes and other tricks to make it hard for non-Apple products to interact with it. Apple are taking ever more steps to make the wall round their walled garden higher. They want every piece of hardware you own to have an Apple logo on it. 
If you're not OK with this they are going to try and make your life difficult.

The only workarounds right now are to give in and buy a MacBook, not ideal because iTunes is unstable and every time it trashes your iPod the only solution is to reinstall the iOs and content from a backup, a process that can take hours, Mac forums are full of such tales of woe. 

 Or run iTunes in a virtual box - not easy, but I got it to work, again you have to deal with iTunes, which is suboptimal in device management, but very good at selling content.

Or, install OPlayer Lite, (free from the app store) and drag and drop music to the documents folder it provides - (how long Apple will allow them to keep providing this workaround is another question).

P.S. Do not update your device iOS, no matter how insistently it asks you too, this will only make things worse as far as connecting it to non-Apple hardware and software goes.

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## Paddy Landau

> i am very sick from this iphone thing. i wonder for how long we will suffer from it & why nobody posts a real helpful solution to us ?


Simply, Apple is not interested in supporting Linux. Period.

I don't know why, because Linux is much closer to iOS (Unix) than is Windows.

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## buckyaustin

This really should have its own thread, for easy access. So if anyone here wants to make this its own thread please do so.

Requires jailbroken device,dTunes or VLC4iPhone or YouTubeToMP3, all available in cydia.This tutorial is for YouTubeToMP3.Works for all iDevices to my knowledge, on all Linux machines.

Step 1; Install openssh

This step requires you to install openssh from cydia on your iDevice.
Open cydia, go to search. Look for openssh, then click openssh from the list. Click install on the top right of the screen. Wait till complete, then switch to your pc.

Step 2; Install filezilla

Method A(advanced/fast)
Type the below command without qoutes into a terminal.
"sudo apt-get install filezilla"

Method B (for beginers/slower)
Open ubuntu-sofware-centre and search for filezilla. Once fonud righ click and install.

Step 3; Using filezilla
Once complete run filezilla, in the host type sftp://root@[your-iDevice-IP-Address].

To Find your ip address open Settings, go to Wi-Fi, click the little blue icon just right of your internet connection. You will find it there. An example of a host is as follows:

sftp://192.168.1.100

In username type "root". This works for all iDevices.

Then in password type "alpine". You should change this password.

Then click Quickconnect.

The rest is drag and drop.

The location of music on an Idevice is "/var/mobile/Media/Downloads"
The location of music on Ubuntu is "/home/[username]/Music/"

Tested on iTouch 4g iOS 5.1.1 jailbroken. Kubuntu 12.04 and 12.10.

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## beavenburt

Not sure whether this is the solution you're after but it works for me. I installed File Manager by Tapmedia from the appstore which allows you to create folders. Then I created a music folder and just drag and drop mp3s into it using nautilus or in my case pcmanfm. Voila, play them on your iphone directly from the file manager. No itunes needed.

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## Jgonick

Spaceshipguy,

Another option.  CopyTransManager  http://www.copytrans.net/copytransmanager.php

It still needs Windows, but I run it in VirtualBox w/usb support.   Not the perfect solution, but its free (at least right now) and  I don't have to use Itunes....

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## mitulv4u

This one works. thanks a lot buckyaustin.
But cannot copy music from desktop to iPod Touch. It does not show up on iPOD. I am able to view all existing podcasts and mp3 songs and download to my Ubuntu from iPod Touch.

It seems you cant even check what the content is from filename. They rename all songs and other content in your Pod.




> This really should have its own thread, for easy access. So if anyone here wants to make this its own thread please do so.
> 
> Requires jailbroken device,dTunes or VLC4iPhone or YouTubeToMP3, all available in cydia.This tutorial is for YouTubeToMP3.Works for all iDevices to my knowledge, on all Linux machines.
> 
> Step 1; Install openssh

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## icebird1942

There is a free Ubuntu program called Banshee which is a media player with the ability to sync with devices INCLUDING Apple. Website is banshee.fm. There are no complicated installs because it is available on the Ubuntu Software Center. You might want to try it out.

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## hatredman

> There is a free Ubuntu program called Banshee which is a media player with the ability to sync with devices INCLUDING Apple. Website is banshee.fm. There are no complicated installs because it is available on the Ubuntu Software Center. You might want to try it out.


Not at all. Banshee uses libgpod and it supports only iOS version 4 and lower. 

Anyone using iOS 5 (or 6) is stuck.

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## bl4ck74ck

Hi there is always the choise of using something like bridge. You just have to transfer the songs to a folder inside your device and then use the app to import them into the music.app's database. Pretty straightforward. It works with the latest ios version.

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