How to Send Contacts Automatically to the iPod

by Aramenta Waithe
The fifth-generation iPod can store contacts, music, movies and photos.

The fifth-generation iPod can store contacts, music, movies and photos.

Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images

If you carry your iPod everywhere you go, you may find it useful to store the contact information for your friends and family on it. This enables you to use the iPod as a quick reference in the event that you need to recall a person's email address or phone number. Also, if you have an iPod that can access the Internet directly, this can enable you to contact people directly from the device. Using iTunes, you can synchronize the contacts on your iPod with those on your computer. Changes or additions made on the computer will automatically transfer to the iPod.

Step 1

Connect the iPod to your Mac or Windows-based computer and load iTunes. Wait for iTunes to detect the iPod and synchronize it with your computer.

Step 2

Click the name of your iPod under "Devices" on the left side of the iTunes window.

Step 3

Click the "Info" or "Contacts" tab -- depending on the version of iTunes that is installed -- in the main area of the window.

Step 4

Click the "Sync Contacts from" check box.

Step 5

Click the pull-down menu and select the application that you want to synchronize your contacts with, such as "Microsoft Outlook" or "Windows Contacts."

Step 6

Click "Include contacts' photos" if you have photos for your contacts in the selected application and want to transfer them to your iPod.

Step 7

Click "Apply" and wait for the message "iPod sync is complete" to appear at the top of the iTunes window.

Step 8

Click the "Eject" button under "Devices" to safely disconnect the iPod from your computer.

Tip

  • As of 2011, iTunes cannot synchronize contacts with Windows Live Mail or with Microsoft Outlook versions prior to Outlook 2002. If you use an unsupported application or have difficulty getting your contacts to transfer to your iPod, try using the application's "Export" function to save your contacts as a vCard file. You can then transfer the vCard file to the "Contacts" folder on your iPod manually. When transferring contacts to the iPod in this way, a new contact that you save on your computer will not transfer to the iPod until you create and transfer a new vCard file.

Resources

About the Author

Aramenta Waithe has been a professional writer and ghostwriter since 1989. Her work has appeared in Florida's "Sun-Sentinel" and the "Miami Herald." She writes about a variety of subjects from home improvement to medicine. Waithe attended the University of Massachusetts and Florida Atlantic University, majoring in oceanographic engineering.

Photo Credits

  • Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images