Copying ripped songs from iPhone to iPhone (or laptop)

Saints Rest

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I had about 1500 songs that I had ripped (burned?) from my old library of CDs. Somehow, on previous new iPhones, I had managed, either intentionally or inadvertently, to migrate all those songs to my new phone(s). I can't recall how, but I just know I did it. I think I used to use iTunes on my computer as an intermediary because once upon a time I limited the migration to only songs that were in various playlists (thereby dumping the dreck from numerous albums).

Now, with my new iPhone 13 (almost a year old at this point), I only have the 100 or so songs that I have purchased over the years from Apple, in the new Music app.

The internet is falling me here -- the best I've come up with requires a third-party app (and those are only recommend in marketing materials for those apps, so I question the reliability (and safety) of those apps.

Can anyone help me?
 

The_Powa_of_Seiji_Ozawa

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Sep 9, 2006
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I'd be interested in a solution too. The last time I faced this issue was back in the iPhone 5 era, I had purchased a third party app that worked well, but is no longer supported. The app took the songs, moved them directly from the old phone into the iTunes library, and then synced the library back to the new phone.
 

ColdSoxPack

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Jul 14, 2005
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Simi Valley, CA
Moving to a new phone with less storage might be a reason you are missing some songs. How much storage was on your old phone vs. new phone?
 

Nick Kaufman

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Aug 2, 2003
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You have to create a music library on itunes, then add a folder or folders that contain the music you want on your phone. After that you need to sync the library to your iphone.

It's been a while since I did it, so I don't remember the precise details, but that's the gist of it.

I think I manually sync the library too. Also best do the sync with a cable not wirelessly. Itunes is also somewhat buggy on windows I think.
 

The_Powa_of_Seiji_Ozawa

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Sep 9, 2006
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SS Botany Bay
You have to create a music library on itunes, then add a folder or folders that contain the music you want on your phone. After that you need to sync the library to your iphone.

It's been a while since I did it, so I don't remember the precise details, but that's the gist of it.

I think I manually sync the library too. Also best do the sync with a cable not wirelessly. Itunes is also somewhat buggy on windows I think.
The last time I tried to do it this way, iTunes would not cooperate. Interface and options are a little different from what I remember. It feels like Apple has made it harder to do this.
 

Nick Kaufman

protector of human kind from spoilers
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Aug 2, 2003
13,410
A Lost Time
Last time I did it/set it up was a pain. I also haven't upgraded my itunes in a while. I still use 12.9. Maybe try finding an older version?

But again, for a company where supposedly everything just works, itunes seems like a big pain to me.