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How to Copy Playlist From iPhone, iPad, or iPod to iTunes on Computer

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December 26, 2014 by Mitch Bartlett 97 Comments Filed Under: iOS, Software Tagged: ipad, iPhone, ipod touch, itunes

I went through the trouble of making a killer playlist on my Apple iPod. This playlist took quite a bit of time to create and contained hundreds of songs I currently love listening to. After jamming out to this playlist, I thought “Wow, these songs I selected would make a great playlist for when I listen to music on my computer!”

I attached my iPod to my computer, fired up iTunes and created a new playlist called “Morgan”. I then selected the playlist on my iPod and tried to drag and drop them to the playlist on the computer. It didn’t work though. iTunes doesn’t let you copy a playlist from your iPod to your local computer. Nor will it allow you to drag individual songs to from an iPod to a computer playlist.

What a bummer! I just had to find a workaround for this. Fortunately, I was able to find one rather quickly. You can do the following.

Note: This tutorial has been revised to reflect iTunes version 12.

  1. Connect your iPhone, iPod, or iPad to your computer.
  2. From iTunes on your computer, select the icon for your device at the upper-left portion of the window.
  3. Select the playlist you want to export under the “On My Device” section.
    Select Playlist
  4. Select “File” > “Library” > “Export…” to export the playlist to a text file. Give the export a name, then select “Save“.
    iTunes Export Playlist
  5. Select the Music icon located at the upper-left portion of the screen to switch back to the computer’s library view.
  6. Select “File” > “Library” > “Import Playlist…“, then select the text file created in step 5.
    iTunes Import Playlist

There you have it. You have successfully added a playlist from your Apple iOS device to iTunes on your computer.

FAQ

Why do I get an error that says “Some of the songs in the file were not imported because they could not be found”.

This tutorial assumes that the actual music files exist on your PC as well as the device. If they don’t, you will need to transfer the music files to the PC you’re working with. If they only exist on your device, you will need to research how to extract music files from your device.

Related posts:

iTunes Send Album to Apple DeviceHow to Transfer Songs From CD to iPod, iPhone, or iPad iOS iTunes app iconiTunes: How to Download Previously Purchased Music, Movies, and Apps Apple logoFix “Unable to load SyncUICoreLocalized.dll” Error in iTunes iTunes automatic sync optionPrevent iPhone or iPad From Automatically Syncing

Comments

  1. Andy Siviter says

    September 16, 2016 at 8:13 pm

    Thank you so much
    First day with iPod and kicking myself for creating playlist on iPod not PC
    May karma smile on you

  2. ariki17 says

    September 10, 2016 at 6:51 am

    Thanks it worked!

  3. Helen Thomson says

    August 19, 2016 at 3:19 pm

    At last, thanks to you, I have got all my playlist songs copied back to my PC from my i-pod after losing over a thousand of them.
    I’m SO HAPPY!

    Thank you Thank you Thank you!
    x

  4. Brad G says

    August 15, 2016 at 6:53 pm

    Just did this. Worked flawlessly.

    Thank!

  5. Tom says

    July 27, 2016 at 7:38 pm

    Awesome content – appreciate you sharing the how-to with screen shot examples!

  6. Moije says

    July 27, 2016 at 5:02 am

    Note: This worked when exporting/importing in xml format, but it did not in m3u format.

  7. Thea says

    July 3, 2016 at 8:46 pm

    Brilliant! Thank you. I never would have worked that out on my own!!

  8. Robdog says

    May 29, 2016 at 2:12 am

    Cheers Mate, I like it when instructions are easy to understand and work like they’re supposed too.

  9. AAAin says

    May 4, 2016 at 8:42 pm

    Nice sharing! But I think iTunes 12 is not as friendly use as it supposed to be.

  10. Sourav Saha says

    April 12, 2016 at 5:57 am

    Perfect reply.. works like a breeze.. thanks for sharing this

  11. keith says

    March 21, 2016 at 11:18 pm

    Thanks! Worked like a charm :-) Very thankful for the advice!!!

  12. Terry Elston says

    March 12, 2016 at 4:40 pm

    Clear and clean instructions – that worked!

  13. Melontop says

    March 9, 2016 at 6:46 pm

    Thanks a bunch. You just saved me many hours of recreating my personally perfect playlist(s). Such a simple thing too. Keep up the good work, brother.

  14. Karen says

    March 7, 2016 at 7:04 am

    Thank you!!! From a very technically challenged music lover and playlist compiler. Your directions were so easy to follow!

  15. Julie B says

    February 28, 2016 at 10:06 am

    Worked perfectly. I had to create the playlist from the ipad to the ipod. I was able to follow your directions to put the files onto the computer, then it was a simple drag and drop from the computer playlist to the ipod device.

    Thank you.

  16. Phil Clarke says

    February 19, 2016 at 8:40 am

    Thanks dude, great post and really useful

  17. michel says

    February 10, 2016 at 3:57 am

    Thank you very much. I’ve been looking for this ever since my PC crashed half a year ago.

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My name is Mitch Bartlett. I've been working in technology for over 20 years in a wide range of tech jobs from Tech Support to Software Testing. I started this site as a technical guide for myself and it has grown into what I hope is a useful reference for all.

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