How to Transfer Music from Old iPod to Computer

Can you take songs from an old iPod to a computer

iPod seems to be a technological dinosaur today, but it once stood out among plenty of music players and won lots of popularity. Many Apple fans still prefer an iPod Touch as a music and video player due to its superior tone quality. If you have purchased many favorite songs on iTunes, your iPod will quickly get full. So the best way to keep those music files is to transfer songs from iPod to a computer.

Back to the question, “can you take songs from iPod to computer”, the answer is yes. It’s easier than you think. You could transfer music from iPod to the computer with or without iTunes. There are two methods for transferring music from an old iPod, such as an iPod Nano, iPod Classic, iPod Shuffle, iPod mini, or iPod touch, to a computer.

Transfer music from old iPod to Windows computer via iTunes

Mostly, Apple product users know iTunes is a free desktop software to sync or backup music files and other data on Windows computers. If you want to copy music from an old iPod to the computer via iTunes, you can simply use it to sync iPod music to your iTunes Music Library.

Syncing music you’re your iPod can be finished via a USB cable or wireless transfer. After you’ve synced your music files from iPod to your computer, you could enjoy the music on the computer.

[Wired transfer] sync purchased music from old iPod Touch to computer

If you have enabled auto-syncing from iTunes to iPod, the data saved on iPod would be removed because iPod would be synced with the data from iTunes. Therefore, if you want to sync purchased music from iPod to computer, you need to prevent your iPod from syncing automatically first. Go to “Edit” > “Preferences” > “Devices”. Follow the steps below to sync purchased music from iPod Touch to computers.

Notes:✎...

Make sure you have downloaded and installed the latest version of iTunes in Windows.

This method is only suitable for purchased songs on your iPod. You could transfer non-purchased music via iPhone data transfer tools.

Step 1. Connect your iPod Touch to the computer with a USB cable and then trust the computer. Launch iTunes on PC.

Step 2. Click “File” > “Devices” > “Transfer Purchases from [your iPod name]” to sync the purchased music to the iTunes library.

[Wireless transfer] Sync music from old iPod to computer via iTunes

If you have subscribed to Apple Music, you could sync your music library and music downloaded from Apple Music between your iPod and computer by “Snyc Library”.

Notes:✎...

Make sure you have updated the iOS version of iPod Touch to the latest. And download the latest iTunes on your computer.

You need to sign in to your iPod Touch and iTunes on the computer with the same Apple ID. 

Step 1. Go to “Settings” > “Music” and turn on “Sync Music”.

Step 2. Launch iTunes on your Windows computer and go to “Edit” > “Preferences” from the menu bar. And click “General” and turn on “iCloud Music Library”.

Step 3. iCloud will automatically upload and sync your music library between iPod and computer.

Transfer music from old iPod to Windows computer without iTunes [Easiest]

If you want to transfer non-purchased music from iPod to a computer, a third-party music transfer tool could be the simplest solution. Highly recommended FoneTool for syncing from an old iPod to a new computer with a few clicks. FoneTool not only helps users to transfer photos, videos, music, contacts, etc. from iOS devices to computers but transfer everything from iPhone to iPhone.

★Highlights of FoneTool:

One-click transfer of data between iOS devices.

Fully backup and restore iOS data.

Selectively backup photos, videos, music, contacts, and others.

Multiple utilities to make iPhone management easier.

Step 1. Download and launch FoneTool on your computer. Connect your iPod Touch with the PC via a lightning cable.

Step 2. Click "Phone Transfer" > "iPhone to PC". And then click "Start Transfer".

Step 3. Click the + icon and select songs that you need to get from your iPod. After selecting, click "OK".

Step 4. You can set the destination path in Transfer Settings to save and click "Start Transfer”.

How to transfer music from an old iPod to Mac?

If you want to transfer music from an old iPod to Mac, it’s not suggested to use iTunes as the tool. You still need to prevent your iPod from syncing with iTunes automatically, otherwise, the data on your iPod would be overwritten. You can use Finder to transfer music directly.

Note: Please make sure your Mac is macOS 10.15 or later. Otherwise, you could only use iTunes for iPod music transfer.

Step 1. Connect the iPod Touch with your Mac via a USB cable or Wi-Fi if you have turned on Wi-Fi synchronization.

Step 2. Select your iPod Touch in Finder. You can access iPod music files just like other files on a Mac.

Step 3. Click “Files”. And then you can drop the music files into the Finder window.

To sum up

In this tutorial, you could easily transfer music from an old iPod to a Windows computer and Mac. Among these, FoneTool is highly recommended because it can transfer selected files or all data between different devices, including iOS devices and computers. Whether the music is purchased or not, you could use this freeware for iPod music transfer easily and quickly. You will not worry about data loss anymore.