2nd hand iPhone 3G

[Tania Derck]

Hi there,
I bought a used iPhone and have noticed that when I sync it to my Macbook, it - obviously - shows up as being the previous owner's iPhone... I was wondering if there is any way of reconfiguring the iPhone without losing all data, media, etc... There is some pretty good music on there and I wouldn't mind keeping some of it, and I'd also like to update some of the apps...
Any ideas?

Thx in advance

 

[Marianne]

Nothing to do with you but it's a pet peeve of mine when I see people advertising iPhones for sale with a bunch of apps and music on them already without explaining to the new owner that keeping everything will be difficult (music) or impossible (apps) if they want to sync it with their own computer. And, they use these "extras" as a reason to charge more than the iPhone is actually worth or make it more attractive compared to other iPhones also for sale.

In short, you won't be able to update the apps that came with the iPhone unless you know the previous owner's iTunes password. There is no way around this.

You could get the music off by using a program like Senuti on your MacBook to copy the music from the iPhone to your MacBook and then sync it back to the iPhone (since syncing the iPhone will remove all music from it that doesn't already exist on your MacBook). If any of it is DRM protected, however, you won't be able to authorize your MacBook to play it unless you have the previous owner's iTunes password.

 

[Tania Derck]

Thanks Macgirl! First of all, it wasn't at all overpriced AND I didn't get it because of the apps and music... so all in all, I figure I still got a good deal out of it. I think I'll try and convince the guy to give me his password (he can change his, after all) and if that doens't work, I'l follow your recommendations and try and get round it that way... Just one more question: what if I have all my music backed up on an external HD? Would I still loose it all?
Once again thanks for your helpful post!
T

 

[Marianne]

You're welcome. I'm glad to hear the seller didn't try to charge you more because of the music and apps he left on the iPhone.

I'm afraid that even if the seller gives you his current iTunes password, it won't work once he changes it. iTunes will always check for the current password on their servers. So, his password might work for you for a few minutes until he changes it.

Personally, I would never give anyone my iTunes password since they could then use it to make purchases in the App Store easily (and even Apple's own online store since it's the same system - I have no desire to let someone buy a MacBook Pro with my account and see a few thousand dollars show up on my credit card bill by surprise). If the seller has two brain cells to rub together, he won't give his to you (no offense to you).

Just one more question: what if I have all my music backed up on an external HD? Would I still loose it all?
Once again thanks for your helpful post!
T

I'm not sure what you mean by that... Once you choose to sync your iPhone with your computer, it will erase all media and apps on that iPhone. So, you'll need to have copied over any music you want to keep to your computer first and put it into your iTunes library. iTunes won't do this for you - it's a tactic to prevent music piracy (this is why I mentioned that you need Senuti or another similar application to do this for you). Once you've copied the music you want to keep to your own iTunes library, you'll have to add it back to the iPhone (since that first sync will erase all media on it).

So, your process will go like this:

1. Use Senuti (or another similar application) to copy music from the iPhone to your Mac
2. Make sure music copied goes into your iTunes library (this is probably automatic with Senuti but double-check)
3. (Also, use iPhoto to import any pictures you've taken with the iPhone since you got it. And unless you're using MobileMe or some other OTA service to sync your contacts, calendars and bookmarks, you'll want to investigate ways to save those as well or they'll also be erased once you sync, IIRC.)
4. Sync the iPhone and accept warning that all apps and media will be erased.
5. Re-sync the music you copied (and any from your own library) back to the iPhone along with any of your apps, photos, contacts, calendars, etc. back to the iPhone.

 

[Tania Derck]

Hello again,

It seems like I got everything sorted out? I went to see a friend who helped me... lost the apps and the music but that is not why I bought the phone. I managed to restore the original factory settings so now, at least, the iPhone "belongs" to me and I'll just load my own music onto it.

Thanks so much for your help though.
T