Last week I have successfully sync my iTunes library to my Android phone using the third party application called iSyncr. And while the process is much easier than you may think. Quite a few of you may have a hard time synchronizing your iTunes to your Android, so I figured I would throw this quick tutorial up, guaranteed to transfer iTunes music to your Android device.

Something You Gotta Known About iSyncr:

iSyncr is very simple to set up and easy to use. It is a great app for keeping your iTunes library synced to your Android handset over USB or WiFi effortlessly. It supports selective playlist sync and automatic syncing. It’s not free, but once you begin to use it you will realise that the small price you pay is nothing compared to how much easier copying your music and videos and songs to your phone is.

iSyncr is available for Windows or for Mac users. You can get the Windows version here, and the Mac version here. It has several add-ons such as WiFi syncing and USB transfer (your device needs to be plugged in to the computer to sync). Making iSyncr work optimally requires two general steps. The first one is to set up and configure iSyncr properly on your Android phone, and the second one is to properly set up and configure a music player (that works in harmony with iSyncr) on your phone.

Sync iTunes Music to Android Over USB

Setting Up iSyncr on Your Android Device

  • 1. Download and install iSyncr to your Android phone. Download the version for the operating system running on your computer (i.e., the Windows version for Windows machines, and the Mac version for Mac machines).
  • 2. Run the iSyncr app on your phone. You will be asked where to install iSyncr. If your phone has more than one storage area, you can choose to install to both storage areas. You will be presented with an installation screen as detailed in the screenshots below. Ensure that “install to USB storage” is selected, as this is necessary for your computer to detect the software.

  • 3. When the installation finishes, you will see a reminder about the proper way to disconnect your device from your computer after syncing. After this, you will have the option to view a tutorial about using iSyncr. You can skip the tutorial if you like.
  • 4. Go to the app’s home screen. Tap on the Settings icon. In the app’s Settings screen, enable “Play Count Logging” and “Auto Clean Playlists.” You can also set the Playcount Sensitivity and Skip Threshold according to your personal preference.
  • 5. Connect your phone to your computer using a USB cable. When asked for a connection type, choose to mount your phone as a disk drive or as a USB Mass Storage device. This will enable your computer to use your phone as a removable drive.
  • 6. Open the removable drive in My Computer.
  • 7. Launch the iSyncr executable file located in the removable drive (Open the root folder of your phone and you will see a new file called “iSyncr.exe”. This is the file that the installation process above installed for us; open it and you will be presented with a list of your iTunes playlists). Click on the Options button. In the Options screen, enable “Sync iTunes Album Art” and “Remember Selected Playlists”.
  • 8. On the list of playlists, check those playlists that you want to sync. Once you have all the media that you want accessible on your phone selected, and have ensured that there is sufficient space left on your device, click the “Sync” button. You’ll notice iTunes open on your computer automatically, and iSyncr will begin showing its progress on the sync.

While you are waiting for this to finish, feel free to minimise iTunes (but not close it!) and do something else. Depending on the amount of items you selected to sync the time taken will vary greatly. For my 2GB of music it normally rests around the 20 minutes mark, which is very reasonable. Once it has completed syncing you can disconnect your phone.

Sync iTunes Music to Android Wirelessly

That functionality isn’t what impressed me, though – it’s the WiFi add-on that’ll make you wonder why Apple had never thought of implementing wireless syncing for the iPhone. With my phone and my MacBook always being on the same WiFi network, I figured it was worth the extra 99 cents to be able to sync my playlists without having to even touch my laptop, perfect for podcast listeners who have episodes of their favorite shows automatically downloading them as they’re released.

You do have to set up a server application on your PC, but this is extremely easy and you won’t have to fuss around with it much afterward. As soon as you connect the device to sync, you’re presented with a list of your iTunes playlists. From there, just touch the ones you want to sync and hit the start button. I had over 1,000 songs to sync and it did so without fail. (Though it did take very long.) After your initial sync, though, the experience will be such a bliss and a joy to use.

Set Up a Music Player on Your Android Device

Now that you already have your iTunes music synced with your Android device, the next thing that you need is a music player that works in harmony with iSyncr. The best choice so far is PlayerPro Music Player because of its ability to synchronize play counts, lyrics, ratings, album art, and ID3 tags. Of course, you have to first install this app and again take note of configuration settings to set it up properly. Here are the instructions for setting it up:

1. Download and install PlayerPro Music Player from the Android Market. Run the App.
2. In the app’s main screen, tap the Menu button, then tap the Settings button.
3. Go to Music Library > Scrobbling, and select “Simple Last.fm” from the list to make sure that play and skip counts are synced to both iSyncr and iTunes.
4. Go to Music Library > Rating System, and select “iSyncr” from the list.
5. Go to Look and Feel and enable “Prefer ID3 artwork”.

If you have grown accustomed to the way your iPod works, setting up your Android phone in the manner described in this guide will help you keep that familiar experience. Everything from iTunes playlists, artists, albums, album art, lyrics, ratings and ID3 tags is synced between iTunes and your Android device–not to mention that any changes in your playlists are also automatically updated.

iSyncr Pros and Cons

Pros:

  • One click sync between your iTunes library and your Android device
  • Syncs over WiFi to avoid being tethered to your desktop and does so without fail
  • Available for both PC and Mac
  • Helpful tutorials make an already easy-to-use application even easier

Cons:

Have you tried setting up your Android device to sync with iTunes? If are interested in doing this likewise, just check out the tutorial above to get iTunes and your Android to play nicely.

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