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You are here: Home / iPad / How to sync music and videos in macOS Catalina

How to sync music and videos in macOS Catalina

By Dan Helyer 16 comments Last updated September 1, 2019

iTunes is gone from macOS Catalina and Apple is moving further into the realm of subscription streaming services. But if you like to own your music and videos — rather than simply stream them — you can still sync that media to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch using Finder in macOS Catalina. 

Apple has replaced iTunes with new Music, Podcasts, and Apple TV apps. So now you need to sync music and videos using Finder instead. In this post, we’ve explained exactly how to do it.

Related:

  • It’s the end of iTunes as we know it (and we feel fine)
  • How to update iOS and iPadOS using Finder and macOS Catalina
  • How to back up your iTunes library before upgrading to macOS Catalina
  • No more iTunes. How to use Finder in macOS Catalina to sync and restore iPhone

Contents

  • What music and videos can I sync in macOS Catalina?
    • Do I need iPadOS or iOS 13?
  • How do I sync music or videos using macOS Catalina?
    • What if I don’t see Locations in Finder?
    • What if I don’t see my device in Locations?
  • How do I un-sync using macOS Catalina?
  • How do I back up my device using macOS Catalina?

What music and videos can I sync in macOS Catalina?

Just like with iTunes, you can sync any music or videos you own to your iPadOS or iOS devices. These might be home videos or music ripped from your CD collection. 

But whatever it is, you need to import it to the Music or Apple TV apps first. Although that should happen automatically when you upgrade to Catalina.

Import menu bar option from Music app in macOS Catalina
Import new media to your Music or Apple TV library from the menu bar.

When syncing any content you bought from the iTunes Store, you need to have downloaded it to your computer already. Alternatively, you can download it directly to your device from the Music or Apple TV apps in iOS or iPadOS.

Do I need iPadOS or iOS 13?

No, macOS Catalina is compatible with any version of iOS. So if you updated your Mac but you’re holding off on updating your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch then you can still sync them using Finder.

How do I sync music or videos using macOS Catalina?

  1. Connect your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your computer using a certified MFi cable.
  2. Unlock your device and go to the Home screen.
  3. Open Finder and select your device from the sidebar, under Locations.iPad option under Locations in Finder Sidebar on macOS Catalina
  4. If prompted, choose to Trust or Pair your device.
  5. Click the Music, Movies, or TV Shows tab
  6. Check the box to Sync music, movies, or TV shows onto your device.Sync music checkbox for iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch in Finder in macOS Catalina
  7. Choose the specific items you want to sync or sync your entire library.
  8. When finished, click Apply or Sync in the bottom-right. 
  9. View the progress of your sync from the loading circle in Finder’s sidebar.Syncing progress circle in Finder in macOS Catalina
  10. When the sync is complete, eject your device from the Finder sidebar.

What if I don’t see Locations in Finder?

  1. Open Finder.
  2. From the menu bar, go to Finder > Preferences > Sidebar.
  3. Check the box to show ‘CDs, DVDs and iOS Devices’ in the sidebar.

    Sidebar view options in Finder showing CDs, DVDs and iOS Devices
    You can customize everything in the Finder Sidebar.

What if I don’t see my device in Locations?

There are several reasons your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch may not show up in Finder. Check each of the following suggestions to discover what the cause of the problem is:

  • Ensure your iOS or iPadOS device is powered on and on the Home screen.
  • Clear out any dirt, lint, or debris from the ports on your device.
  • Connect your device to a different USB-port on the computer.
  • Inspect your cable for signs of damage or use a different cable.
  • Restart both your device and your Mac, then reconnect them.
  • Contact Apple Support directly for more one-to-one assistance.

How do I un-sync using macOS Catalina?

It’s just as easy to remove music or videos from your device as it is to sync them in the first place. Simply connect your device to Finder again, return to the relevant tab, and uncheck the Sync box. 

Click Apply or Sync in the bottom-right corner of Finder then wait for the sync to complete. And you’re done!

How do I back up my device using macOS Catalina?

Of course, we didn’t only use iTunes to sync music and videos. We also used it to update, back up, and restore our devices. Fortunately, all of that is just as easy as you’d expect it would be with macOS Catalina.

You can do it all from the General tab in Finder after connecting your device. Take a look at this other article we wrote to find out the finer details of how to do it.

General tab in Finder for syncing connected iPhone or iPad in macOS Catalina
You can do lots of things, like updating or backing up, from the General tab in Finder.

And tell us your thoughts on macOS Catalina in the comments below — we’d love to hear your experiences with the new software so far!

Dan Helyer

Dan writes tutorials and troubleshooting guides to help people make the most of their technology. Before becoming a writer, he earned a BSc in Sound Technology, supervised repairs at an Apple Store, and even taught English in China.

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Show 16 Comments

  1. Chris Kitching says

    June 22, 2021 at 12:06 AM

    Following the change to Catalina and the problems with syncing my music collection on I tunes to my iPad
    I am now considering purchasing a cd drive to play music and forgetting all about Apple Music which is a complete rip-off.
    Why change things which are good for something which is completely non intuitive and expect to pay for the privilege.
    An old saying which is relevant in this case is ,”do not bite the hand that feeds you”

    Reply
  2. Anthony says

    September 16, 2020 at 4:51 PM

    Catalina so far is Simply rubbish. I upgraded my Macbook Air to Catalina and boy is it a a problem with my Ipod. I cannot play music on an Ipod off it. On my Imac it plays perfectly.

    Cannot seem to find anyone online who can talk intelligently as to how to remedy this.

    Reply
  3. peterjohndean says

    September 6, 2020 at 8:57 AM

    iTunes was a horrible conglomeration of apps. Music is simpler but even more horribly non-intuitive. And it just does not work properly with a classic iPod.

    Reply
  4. Don Andrews says

    March 23, 2020 at 3:51 AM

    Back in the late 1980s, when I first started using Apple computers, shifting to a new computer took a couple of hours, and mainly involved connecting a network cable and copying stuff across.

    It has so far taken me four days to set up macOS Catalina on a new computer.

    Not only does migration assistant seem to be poor, I now have to set up all sorts of things with Apple ID, the Music app is a mess and it took me hours to figure out how to take ownership of my own “documents” folder.

    It seems that Apple is expending far too much effort on pushing its various subscriptions and services and not nearly enough on making things easy for its customers.

    Reply
  5. Don Andrews says

    March 23, 2020 at 3:38 AM

    Only Apple could take something as ponderous and unwieldy as iTunes and replace it with something worse (in my humble opinion).

    Reply
  6. Charles Suggs says

    January 10, 2020 at 11:50 AM

    When I first synced my music from Catalina to my iPad running iOS 13.3 I got a little window giving me a choice of encoding higher resolution files for syncing. I chose 128kbs and synced a few albums to see how it worked. I then erased all of my music on my iPad so that I could sync all of my music. The encoding choice window did not reappear.

    How can I get that choice back?

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Elizabeth Jones says

      January 10, 2020 at 12:11 PM

      Hi Charles,

      This should do the trick. Go to Music > Preferences, click Files, then tap the Import Settings button.

      There you can change the kpps by tapping Settings and selecting from defaults or create your own custom setting.

      Reply
  7. gregory says

    December 18, 2019 at 6:34 PM

    when using sync process iPad …receive error (50)

    Reply
    • Elizabeth Jones says

      December 19, 2019 at 6:00 AM

      Hi Gregory,

      Before anything, close all programs and restart both your computer and your iPad.

      If you run an antivirus or malware software, try temporarily disabling it and see if you can now sync your iPad. If the problem continues, first try to update. When you see the option to Restore or Update, click Update. Your computer tries to reinstall the iPadOS software without erasing your data.

      If the error has a More Information button, tap it to see further information on what’s causing the error.

      Reply
  8. Kenneth Hodne says

    November 11, 2019 at 5:37 PM

    Catalina and itunes now just hit a all time low for music forcing us to use there subscription service .I want to load my music and play and save my music this is crap on apples part.

    Reply
  9. Keith Salvesen says

    October 31, 2019 at 9:48 AM

    I am dealing with a collection of 2500 CDS. I need to rip and store quite a number of them. I use a standard external HD, and the system was completely simple and worked fine until Catalina came along and installed itself. Now CD’s can’t be imported into my library that was (formerly) the easy-to-use iTunes. The ext HD and computer simple don’t work together – the CDs whirrs but there’s no progress.

    I’ve noticed that whereas songs were in MP3 or something called (I think) MV4, now I am seeing something called AIFF. I seriously hope this doesn’t signal some sort of compatibility problem.

    How do I simply rip a CD into my music library as usual?

    Thanks

    Reply
  10. Jon Ulrich says

    October 26, 2019 at 6:56 PM

    I upgraded my iMac to Catalina, popped a new CD into my CD drive to import it to what used to be my iTunes library – now “Music” – and given that I setup storing my iTunes library on the iCloud, and given that I had ‘sync iTunes’ library setup on my iPhone and iPad, expected to see the newly-added album on ALL my devices. To my very unpleasant surprise, I learned that I now have to pay Apple $10 a month to subscribe to the Music service to be able to access the music I buy to use one all the Apple devices I also bought! This change is now making me re-think my whole relationship with Apple. Apple wants to squeeze $10 a month out of me for a function that was included as part of the previous operating system and iTunes software? I’ve given Apple a LOT of hard-earned money in the past, but this change is one that is enough for me to switch my allegiance to other vendors. By the way, I DID try and sync my iPhone and iPad using the Finder method, but it did NOT work as documented. I also pay Apple for iCloud storage to store my music library on the cloud (to make that library available on ALL my Apple devices). I even bought a new car (Nissan Murano) in part because of CarPlay, and the ability to get to MY music using my iPhone while I’m driving. Now Apple wants another $10 a month from me to access music I buy using Apple devices with the forced subscription to this Music service?!? I am NOT happy!

    Reply
  11. Peter E Chudyi says

    October 23, 2019 at 1:43 PM

    Sorry, but Catalina and Music is not compatible with iPod Classic. Those of us who have this hardware are plain out of luck. Apple should provide a fix for this.

    Reply
  12. WK TANG says

    October 11, 2019 at 1:10 AM

    Thanks for explaining the backup in Catalina.

    However, I don’t know why the Backups button is dimmed and it set to Backup important data to iCloud only.

    How can I set this? Thanks.

    Reply
    • Elizabeth Jones says

      October 12, 2019 at 7:29 AM

      Hi WK,

      First, make sure your Mac has sufficient space to store a backup.

      Try temporarily turning off iCloud backups on your device by going to Settings > Apple ID > iCloud > iCloud Backup > Toggle off.

      Then connect your device to your Mac with macOS Catalina and open via Finder app. See if the backup option to your Mac is now available.

      Reply
  13. dana says

    October 10, 2019 at 6:44 PM

    i am not connecting to my device – for hours just a spinning wheel. catalina macos is the buggiest thing i’ve seen in quite some time. pathetic

    Reply

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