[lcargile]

Whats up fellow iMore peeps! I have an issue and, as stupid or easy to fix as it may be, I cant figure this mess out. I'm trying to take advantage of the "Sync over wifi" feature of both my new iPhone 5 (which is AMAZING) and my wifes iPhone 4. Unfortunately I cant get this feature to work. For a while our iPhones wouldnt show up in the device tray. Then, finally my wifes showed up but mine didnt. Then eventually mine showed up. At any rate, that part of the feature was rather sporadic. Finally, when they did show up, I drug the songs that I wanted to sync to the phone. Then, on my phone, it said "Looking For iPhone" and then my phone disappears from the device tray. And even though the songs showed up on my wifes iPhone as gray with the arrows beside it (im assuming gray meaning that they would sync when her phone was plugged in) none of the songs synced to the phone and I never could get my iPhone 5 to work. Anyways, I know this all sounds like a jumbled up mess but any help with this issue will be greatly appreciated. Im a little lost when it comes to the wifi sync feature

Thanks.

[SnapThrow]

When Wi-Fi sync was added last year I turned it on... for all of about 5 minutes. These type of problems were what I experienced and it just was totally unreliable. I was hoping this feature would have improved by now but doesn't seem like it has. At this point I use iTunes Match for music and I plug my iPhone into iTunes only about once a week...

[Just_Me_D]

When Wi-Fi sync was added last year I turned it on... for all of about 5 minutes. These type of problems were what I experienced and it just was totally unreliable. I was hoping this feature would have improved by now but doesn't seem like it has. At this point I use iTunes Match for music and I plug my iPhone into iTunes only about once a week...

Same here. I tried it out when it was introduced and it worked, but not all that great. Also, I knew I would never use the feature because I rarely sync anything to iTunes. I transfer purchases over to iTunes on my MacBook and sync my business ringtones after an update or after I've reset my device and restore as new. Oh, I use iTunes to back up my devices and I do the same via iCloud.

[lcargile]

Well, the only reason I am trying to use this feature is because I really hate dragging my one and only USB cable that I have right now back and forth between rooms to SYNC. I guess its a non issue though because Ill be ordering some cables soon enough but I had hoped that this would alleviate the issue until then.

[Just_Me_D]

Well, the only reason I am trying to use this feature is because I really hate dragging my one and only USB cable that I have right now back and forth between rooms to SYNC. I guess its a non issue though because Ill be ordering some cables soon enough but I had hoped that this would alleviate the issue until then.

I understand and didn't mean to discourage you. I don't have an iPhone 5 so I am unfamiliar with its "sync over Wi-Fi" feature. On my 4S, I only have the "iTunes Wi-Fi Sync" feature and I take it to be different from the one you're referencing.

[lcargile]

No problem man, you didn't discourage me. I appreciate y'all's reples. Just wish I could get this issue fixed.

[chippy19977]

I'm having the same issue. I haven't had time to try it yet, but I think if you restored from a previous iPhone ( a 4 in my case) you need to name your iPhone 5 something different. I think because the previous phone's name carried over to the 5 during the restore, iTunes is looking for that same device which it can't find so it won't show in the device menu.

[chippy19977]

I just tested it and it worked. You have to change the name of your new phone to something different from what you named the previous phone you restored from.

[lcargile]

Great info chippy, I really do appreciate the reply. Ill definitely be trying this when I get home.

---------- Post Merged at 02:04 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 02:04 PM ----------

Great info chippy, I really do appreciate the reply. Ill definitely be trying this when I get home.

[projectman]

I just tested it and it worked. You have to change the name of your new phone to something different from what you named the previous phone you restored from.

I have the same problem and my phone name is not the same as anything else being synced in my house. It is the same name as another phone that I used to sync. The old one has since been renamed (to align with my oldest child who inherited it from me). Do you s'pose that iTunes remembers that it "used" to be named 'Steve's iPhone' and therefore can't find the new 'Steve's iPhone?'

[chippy19977]

Yes it links the old phones unique identifier to the name. So you have to change the name on the new one, not the old one.

[douglaswilson]

I just tested it and it worked. You have to change the name of your new phone to something different from what you named the previous phone you restored from.

- - - Updated - - -

I've renamed both my iphone 5 and ipad 3 and it hasn't worked since!

[chippy19977]

Did you try restarting both your devices and your computer?

[Ipheuria]

I have had the same type of issue at work but at home it works fine. At work it's a different router and there is also a firewall. At home I have an Apple airport and it works most of the time. I've synced devices that was one floor above. I think it also has something to do with how the router is setup. Apple set it up to probably use the most basic out of the box kind of setup on a wifi router. So if routers have static IPs or the devices etc. then it might cause problems just a thought

[robertk328]

Mine will disappear from the side if I don't 'wake it up' beforehand. When I press the home key, when it first turns on only LTE is on, not wifi. So my guess is the phone may have disconnected. If I go to itunes and initiate the sync there, it will drop my phone from the list unless I click the home or power button first, then it works fine. If it does disappear, I engage the wifi sync from the phone and it will show back up.

[robertk328]

Mine will disappear from the side if I don't 'wake it up' beforehand. When I press the home key, when it first turns on only LTE is on, not wifi. So my guess is the phone may have disconnected. If I go to itunes and initiate the sync there, it will drop my phone from the list unless I click the home or power button first, then it works fine. If it does disappear, I engage the wifi sync from the phone and it will show back up.

This morning it won't show up even after rebooting both the computer and my phone as well as trying the trick above. :-/ guess I'll just do my updates from the phone as that's really the only reason I sync.

[AppDucate]

I've never had any issues with my devices syncing over Wi-Fi. Maybe try seeing if everything is setup correctly, check this tutorial to make sure if you like: Sync your iOS device with iTunes over Wi-Fi | AppDucate

[ccol002]

I frequently have the same issue.
What works for me: (1) make sure the phone is unlocked and (2) start using some application using wifi.
Otherwise (1) itunes does not allow you to sync a locked iphone and (2) it seems like wifi on iphone goes to sleep and itunes does not find the device.