Electronics

[Moonchilde]

Someone should know this -

If one started out setting up their initial i-device through iTunes long ago, and kept using iTunes for years on different PCs and with multiple subsequent i-devices -

What can I do now to avoid ever having to use iTunes any more, ever? Quite a few times, when I google to see how to change a setting or rearrange something or do this or that, the answer will be "go to iTunes and ...."

What about people who ONLY have an iPad or an iPhone, and do not have a PC or Mac to install iTunes on? They have iCloud and they have iTunes on their device. Are all the abilities and settings available in iTunes on my PC also available in the iTunes on my iPad? I would love to get permanently out from under ever having to use iTunes on my PC again, if possible - or using it ever. Possible, or not?

[Mz iMac]

@Moonchilde

Step by step uninstall instructions from Apple's KB Article:  https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204275

[Moonchilde]

Thank you, @Mz iMac. I have actually done that, once upon a time. I may not have been clear in my OP - I want to know if I can fully manage and customize my devices without using iTunes to do it, i.e. MUST I have iTunes on a PC in order to continue "managing" my devices, since long ago it was set up that way, or would everything work just the same as far as full functionality without iTunes? Are you saying I need to uninstall it in order for it to drop off my Apple account? Sorry if I'm unclear.

[jaxs mom]

The biggest problem that I see is if you purchase music online from somewhere other than the itunes app on your device or if you ever want to rip music from a CD. If all you plan on doing in the future is purchase from itunes or use Apple Music subscription then you should be fine. If you delete itunes from your computer and as such delete your computers itunes iibrary from your account you probably will lose access to any music you didn't buy from itunes, because deleting your itunes library from your account will remove that imported music too. I haven't tested that though. 

[Moonchilde]

Thanks, @jaxs mom. There is some music I'd hate to lose, but I could bear it. Apple won't let you store that music in the cloud, will they? Probably not :-(

[Kachina624]

You must be able to store it because a couple months ago I reset my iPad...took it back to new-from-factory and my music files were intact.  Not such good luck when I had to reset my Samsung pad.

[jaxs mom]

its not so much where is it stored as how do you add non iTunes music purchases to your iTunes library through your device. Traditionally your computers iTunes library is your home library. Even if you don't physically sync. 

[jaxs mom]

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@Kachina624 wrote:

You must be able to store it because a couple months ago I reset my iPad...took it back to new-from-factory and my music files were intact.  Not such good luck when I had to reset my Samsung pad.

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Apple knows what you've bought from the iTunes Store. Resetting your device doesn't change that. But it's more complicated with non iTunes purchases. Do you have iTunes Match? Do you have an iTunes library on a computer? Do you have other devices on your iTunes account? Those are all ways other music is still in your iTunes library 

[jaxs mom]

I have a mac though. Not windows so my stuff syncs automatically across all my devices  and my computer 

[Moonchilde]

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@jaxs mom wrote:

its not so much where is it stored as how do you add non iTunes music purchases to your iTunes library through your device. Traditionally your computers iTunes library is your home library. Even if you don't physically sync. 

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Once upon a time I loaded every CD I bought, automatically. The CDs I still have, but the random free songs I d/l from various sites would be lost. And who wants to go back to CDs after having such portable music in the cloud. Sigh....

I have to do something one of these days, because half my (Apple-purchased) music won't play. This was a big Thing several months back. Had to do with licensing and synching if I recall. I'd need to look it up again.