Can't synch to iPod 3rd generation

[shif2121]

Hi, I have a premium subscription and love it.  My big Samsung S3 is awkward in the gym so I thought I could move my local Spotify songs to the iPod.  I thought I could do this as long as the device connects to my Spotify account every 29 days.

I've followed the Spotify instructions and maybe 3 to 5 songs will synch.  I've worked on this for a couple hours and am thinking this just won't happen.  Again, I have a premium account and the songs are local so what gives?  Thanks

[Peter__ · Accepted solution]

What type of iPod is it?

Be aware, if it is an iPod Shuffle, Nano, Mini or Classic, you can't sync any content from Spotify (or offline playlists) onto those devices - they can only sync local files just like with iTunes.

[shif2121]

Peter, many thanks for answering.  It was a frustrating weekend.  I am working with a 3rd generation Nano.  I guess I don't understand the meaning of "offline content" and "local files"? 

I understand the Nano is not WiFi capable but thought if I downloaded Spotify songs to the Spotify player (iTunes equivalent) I could put the Spotify songs on the Nano.  And as long as I maintained a subscription to Spotify, I could enjoy their music.  Sounds like that's not the case.

[Flyn67]

Kinda wish that if syncing offline content with the Nano (or any other device) is not supoorted, Spotify would pop up a disclaimer saying as such...or maybe just not recognize it.  In my case, Spotify recognized my iPod Nano Gen3 and prompted me to erase content before sync-ing, which I did.  Seems Spotify recognizes the Nano enough to erase it's content but not enough to actually sync offline content.  Thanks for nothing Spotify...really short-sighted.

This prompts the commentary that just because a device is older, does not mean it is worthless.  It seems nowadays when a new generation of device comes out, the older devices lose support and in turn users are forced to abandon them and buy the new ones.  This seems ridiculous to me since these devices otherwise work perfectly fine.   Seems we are forced to buy products that we do not necessarily need. 

I guess this is one more reason to consider dropping my premium account.  This one really ticked me off.

[tpalmercurl]

Then why does Spotify, on its devices page, say "Connect your iPod with a USB cable to let Spotify sync your MP3s"??? I just bought a Nano because Spotify made it seem like syncing would be easy. I feel lied to.

[jeremygoh · Accepted solution]

Yeah its slightly misleading to be honest..

For all iPod's except iPod Touch (Where there's an App Store), Spotify works exactly like iTunes, offline content works exactly like iTunes, literally (I know that this is totally dumb), but finding your own MP3s and putting inside it and Spotify become a super-simple no bells and whistles music manager.. And no, the songs available on the spotify catalogue CANNOT be transferred into the iPod at all. 

Unless of course you are using an iPod Touch..

For those who recently bought an iPod, Apple provides a 30 DAYS no questions asked refund policy.. and you can always buy refubished apple products from their online store (just saying..)

I used to have an iPod Classic 80GB, but I couldn't quite find it now..

@shif2121 @Flyn67 @tpalmercurl 

[tpalmercurl]

Slightly misleading .. ya think? How about an outright LIE? I call BS on Spotify. So now the question is, return the Nano or dump Spotify? 

[jeremygoh]

My own opinion? Return the nano.. Anyway there won't be anymore new products released for it either.. As the sales figures keep dropping, they might kill the product line soon.

And there's no app store for it anyway, so the functionality is limited.

You can't quite say its a lie:
" Connect your iPod with a USB cable to let Spotify sync your MP3s"
WELL TECHNICALLY SYNC YOUR MP3s is your own files.. Spotify used to provide (LONG LONG TIME AGO), a downloading service that they work with a company called 7digital, so which means that after streaming a song you really really liked, you could download it and play it on your iPod. However, those days are gone as everyone uses streaming now and they removed the downloading feature.. The old iPod feature still remains for those users who are still using them since..

because if this feature is removed, when you connect back to iTunes, you would have to resync the entire device again as iTunes will not understand the synchronization format/structure of Spotify.

Thats why this feature is more or less grey elephant..

@tpalmercurl

[tpalmercurl]

Thanks. It all makes sense to me now, but I am still pissed at Spotify for making it seem easy. Sure, "your MP3s" are technically files I own, but really that prominent iPod message should not even be on the Devices page. It's deliberately misleading, and that is what pisses me off. I appreciate your advice re the Nano. You know, all I wanted was a device (NOT my phone) to listen to my Spotify playlists in the gym. Doesn't exist, I suppose. 

[jeremygoh]

@tpalmercurl

Great that it clears things up for you why not get a iPod Touch than.. Lots of choices available for refurbished on the apple website.. All comes with one year warranty anyway.

[jeremygoh]

@tpalmercurl Hey i just saw that the ipod touch is dropping their prices to $199 today.. so it's probably this or some cheap android phone 🙂

http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/26/5845196/apple-199-ipod-touch-introduced-with-camera-colors

[mespey]

I have no clue how you guys are seeing this policy as being decitful in any way.  If you understood how they handle the media at all you would see how foolish that sounds.  They use fully encryped files (why they need the app to read them) so they can protect the songs from being stolen. They say very clearly that you need to use their app in order to use the service, they say what devices are supported in plain text that can be found with a simple search. But I will just leave it HERE. Although from a basic level the service you are proposing would never fly as a buisness model!

Please do your research before you set your expectations from a service (much less saying the service is falsely advertized).

You can lead a horse(all of you) to water(spotify) but you cannot make it learn how to properly use it...

Hopes this help to clarify your confusion.

[tpalmercurl]

@jeremygoh helped "clarify my confusion," in a much more constructive and gracious way. Thanks anyway.

Under "Devices," Spotify says boldly, "Take your music everywhere: Connect your iPod with a USB cable to let Spotify sync your MP3s." Now, to a casual user, sync-ing means one thing -- moving music from one device to the other. "Your MP3s" is the rub, and it took a good deal of research to find anyplace where Spotify makes it explicit that you cannot, in fact, sync your Spotify playlists with an iPod. I called that deceitful; @jeremygoh used the word "misleading," and it is clearly that, at the very least. The number of similar queries on the message boards is proof of that. Not being the obvious technical expert that you are, I did come away understanding Spotify better than I had, so this was a good learning experience.

Just one other response to your rude post: You suggest I do my research. I suggest you use spell-check. Or a dictionary. Four misspelled words in your post (see if you can find them all) does nothing for your credibility. I won't even get into the punctuation issues.

[mespey]

"Take YOUR music everywhere" sync YOUR MP3's to your devices. It says nowhere in that statement that the user can use Spotify's music on any device. (BTW Spotify does not use the MP3 standard to begin with. Soooo yeah, there is that) My post was not rude, I was not making attacks on someone (unlike yourself) I was just giving information where there was misunderstanding, backing up opinion with fact.

Just one other response to your petty reply: If you call "a good deal of research" one Google search (or just using the given search menus). Just because you do not understand a statement does not mean you have been duped, only that you simply did not understand.

I found the words by the way..."encryped"->encrypted..."advertized"->advertised..."buisness"->business..."decitful"->deceitful
3/4 included order changes or omissions...get of that high horse already.

Sorry, I typed it on my phone. Not the best for proof reading as I am sure you can imagine! Furthermore, I didn't know this was a peer reviewed study on petty ass holes, take the hint, not a good look for you.

I will just apologize for any simple mistakes that I may have mistakenly typed this round to try to regain some of my tattered credibility on this ONLINE FORUM that I consider so crucial to success in this life!