Wi-Fi Sync for iPhone Is Here
The Wi-Fi Sync app for the iPhone was rejected by the App Store, is now in Cydia, and works great
Apologies for the crappy photo above, but you should be able to see one crucial thing: an iPhone sync in progress, with no cable attached. I’ve been trying out the new Wi-Fi Sync app (jailbreak only) this morning and it works like a charm.
Wi-Fi Sync is something I’ve been waiting to see ever since the first iPhone launched. Hell, the very first Zune model could do it, and I hate having to cable up every time you want to sync, so I was very happy to see this app available in Cydia this morning. And not surprised in the slightest to see that Apple rejected its App Store submission.
Here are a few details on the app and notes from my testing of it this morning:
– It’s quite a pricy app, by iPhone standards – $9.99 in Cydia.
– It requires a (free) desktop companion app in order to work. You can download that app from the app’s site here:
– The desktop app is for Mac only at the moment. It downloads as a .zip file and has a typical Mac install routine.
– When the install finishes, you get a good informational message on the Mac, letting you know how to make sync work – here’s a slice of it:
Install Wi-Fi Sync on your Apple device. Launch it and you should be automatically prompted to pair the Apple device with this computer.
Once the pairing process is complete, you won’t need to do it again. iTunes should automatically launch and sync whenever you open Wi-Fi Sync on your Apple device.
You can access the Wi-Fi Sync menu in the top-right corner of your screen, near the system clock.
– So far the app has worked flawlessly for me. The first time I launched it, I got confirmation messages on both the iPhone and my MacBook Pro – prompting to pair, and had to say Yes on both of them.
– Once I did that, the iPhone showed up as connected in iTunes just as advertised.
– I have only just recently done a restore on my iPhone, and had not yet done a full sync since the restore – so I had a perfect first sync test scenario for Wi-Fi Sync, especially as 10GB of music needed to be synced.
– That first sync ran without a hitch. It took a long while (a little over two hours, even with backup canceled) but completed successfully and had synced all my music across as well as everything else.
– A little while later, I purchased a couple of new songs on iTunes and tried out a more typical sync. With backup canceled, that one took just one minute and was smooth and successful.
– I’ve tried a couple more quick syncs since then, and all has gone swimmingly every time.
So yet another much-desired bit of functionality for the iPhone is shown to be fully workable via a jailbreak app.
Wi-Fi Sync works perfectly for me so far, and is a superb addition to the iPhone. I have always hated connected sync and very rarely bother with it. Now I can sync as often as I like without any of the hassle. For things like a quick sync when you’ve just added a few new songs, this is just ideal.
You can find Wi-Fi Sync in the Cydia app store now, priced at $9.99.
Oh my God. That's amazing.
Ain't it just.
Does it sync ical and contacts too?
Yes. It does a standard iTunes sync – iTunes sees the iPhone as connected.
Mac only, bummer I hope they have a Windows version soon.
Absolutely.
I just wish they'd have a 10 day trial like most paid-for JB'ed apps… $9.99 before I can even try the thing?? I'm afraid not.
Agreed.
Do I need to be on the same network? For example, can I be on my work's WIFI and sync with my Macbook on my WIFI at home?
Yes, I know 3g is slow… but, could this be paired with 3g unrestrictor and synced from anywhere with a connection?
What about running the sync in the background somehow? Part of my problem with syncing is that it takes the functionality away during the sync, if I could wirelessly sync in the background I'd probably sync everyday…
Is this still your go to sync after having it a few days?
I believe you do need to be on the same network. There is no mention of port forwarding setup or any OTA ability that I've seen so far for the app.
I'm not sure about the background sync possibility. What I can say is that if you don't need a new backup every day (which most of us don't) and you cancel the backup when you want a faster sync, you shouldn't see very long sync times most days.
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The first time I wifi sync my ipod touch everything works great, after the first time it won't pair my ipod whin my macbook anymore and I'm unable to wifi sync again, I uninstall and re-intall the wifi sync for mac, and I get the same behavior, works first time and then stops woeking, anyone has has the same problem, any fixes?
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