# iOS

Related articles

- Audiobook
- iPhone tethering

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The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the use of an iPad, iPod or iPhone with Arch Linux.

## Connecting to a device

Applications which use GVFS, such as some file managers (GNOME Files, Thunar) or media players (Rhythmbox) can interact with iOS devices after installing the gvfs-afc package. Restarting the file manager or application might be needed.

## Changing iPod mountpoint

Traditional iPods are accessed just like a normal USB storage device containing a vfat file system (in rare cases `hfsplus`), and can be accessed as such. See the USB storage devices article for detailed instructions.

If udisks2 is running, it will mount an attached iPod to `/run/media/$USER/iPod_name`.

If the volume label of your iPod is long, or contains a mixture of spaces, and/or lower-case and capital letters, it may present an inconvenience. You may easily change the volume label for more expedient access using `dosfslabel` from the dosfstools package:

- Get and confirm the current volume label:

    # dosfslabel /dev/sdXY

- Set the new volume label:

    # dosfslabel /dev/sdXY ArchPod

- Unmount the device:

    $ udisksctl unmount -b /dev/sdXY

- Mount it again:

    $ udisksctl mount -b /dev/sdXY

where `/dev/sdxx` is the current device node of your iPod.

## Importing videos and pictures

Both videos and photos can be found in typically in `<mountpoint>/DCIM/100APPLE`.

### HTML5 videos

Typically you want to convert MOV files to a HTML5 video format like OGV using ffmpeg2theora. Note that the creation date metadata is not in the converted video, so you need to use a script like:

    #!/usr/bin/sh

    find -name "*.MOV" | while read mov
    do
        d=$(gst-discoverer-1.0 -v $mov | awk '/datetime:/{print $2}' | tr -d \")
        base=${mov%.*}
        if test -f $base.ogv
        then
            touch -d${d} $base.ogv
            ls -l $base.ogv
        else
            echo $base.ogv missing
        fi
    done

And use `cp -a` or `rsync -t` in order to preserve the file's date & time.

### Importing pictures and deleting them

You can move photos and videos out of `<mountpoint>/DCIM/100APPLE`, however you need to trigger a rebuild of the "Camera Roll" database by deleting the old databases.

    # rm Photos* com.apple.photos.caches_metadata.plist

## Converting video for devices

### Handbrake

Handbrake is a nifty tool with presets for a variety of iPod versions. CLI and GTK versions are available with the handbrake-cli and handbrake packages respectively.

If you do decide to take the CLI way, a good guide is available at http://trac.handbrake.fr/wiki/CLIGuide.

### Avidemux

Install the avidemux-qt package.

This can convert to mp4 files. If you enforce a hard max of bit rate @ 700ish and keep the video size to 720x480 or 320x240 than it works fine for video file exporting.

### Mencoder

Install the mplayer package.

Has extremely comprehensive configuration support, which will be able to spit out iPod-compatible video files. Check out `man mencoder`; a lot of MPlayer opts will also affect encoding.

A basic guide is also available at MEncoder.

An example command to encode iPhone/iPod Touch-compatible video:

    mencoder INPUT -o output.mp4 \
    -vf scale=480:-10,harddup \
    -oac faac -faacopts mpeg=4:object=2:raw:br=128 \
    -of lavf -lavfopts format=mp4 \
    -ovc x264 -x264encopts nocabac:level_idc=30:bframes=0

### FFMpeg

Install the ffmpeg package from the official repositories.

Another encoder with comprehensive configuration support. Example command to encode for 5G iPod:

    $ ffmpeg -vcodec xvid -b 300 -qmin 3 -qmax 5 -bufsize 4096 \
    -g 300 -acodec aac -ab 96 -i INPUT -s 320x240 \
    -aspect 4:3 output.mp4

or iPod Touch/iPhone compatible video output:

    $ ffmpeg -f mp4 -vcodec mpeg4 -maxrate 1000 -b 700 -qmin 3 -qmax 5\
    -bufsize 4096 -g 300 -acodec aac -ab 192 -s 480×320 -aspect 4:3 -i INPUT output.mp4

## Device specific

### iPhone/iPod Touch

#### Introduction

By default, neither the iPhone nor the iPod Touch present mass storage capability over USB, though there exist two solutions for accessing your files.

The second is to use a FUSE file system called ifuse, which allows you to mount your device through USB, as you normally would. After installing ifuse, for instance, you should see your iPhone appear in the left navigation of Gnome Files and other supporting file managers. This method requires no hacking and is in general the better solution, though be aware that the software is still under heavy development. As of late, however, it has proven to be rather reliable and stable.

Note: The current releases of libgpod and gtkpod support the iPod Touch and the iPhone OS 3.1.x up to iOS 4.3.x. It is possible to transfer pictures and music without limitations.

Refer to this page:[1]

#### The iFuse Way

Note: If your device has a screen password, one must unlock the device to gain access through the USB interface.

Install the ifuse, usbmuxd and libplist packages.

Now make sure that you have the fuse module loaded by doing `modprobe fuse`, assuming that you do not have it in `/etc/modules-load.d/` already.

You can now mount your device. Make sure it is unlocked before you plug it in, or it will not be recognized.

    # ifuse <mountpoint>

The mountpoint field is where you want to have it mounted.

And you are done! You should be able to point your syncing software of choice to the mount point and be able to transfer files.

To unmount your device:

    # umount <mountpoint>

##### iPhone OS 3.x, iOS 3.x and iOS 4.x

Install libplist, libimobiledevice, libgpod, usbmuxd and ifuse packges.

Now make sure that you have the fuse module loaded by doing `modprobe fuse`. Make sure your user is in the usbmux group.

Run as root:

    # usbmuxd

Now you should the be able to mount your device by running

    $ ifuse ~/ipod

or similar. Make sure the directory used exists and is accessible to your user.

Mount the device and create the iTunes_Control/Device directory. Then, get your UUID. It should be in the syslog from usbmuxd, or you can find it by running

    $ lsusb -v | egrep "iSerial.*[a-f0-9]{40}"

It should be 40 characters long. Then, run

    $ ipod-read-sysinfo-extended <uuid> <mountpoint>.

This should generate a file named `iTunes_Control/Device/SysInfoExtended`.

Now, start up your favourite app such as gtkpod.

Note: If gtkpod seems to work only from root/sudo while your user only gets the slash screen, you can delete your `~/.gtkpod` folder and retry. Note that gtkpod will forget your preferences.

#### Generating HashInfo file

If you have not previously synced your device using iTunes specifically, you will get error messages telling you that the HashInfo file is missing. This can be fixed by making an iTunes installation on MacOS or Windows create it (by plugging in the iPod there). Alternatively you can create this file yourself, instructions can be found on this website.

#### Unobfuscating the Database

Since firmware version 2.0, Apple has obfuscated the music database. If you are using recent firmware, the file `/System/Library/Lockdown/Checkpoint.xml` can be modified to enable use of the older, non-obfuscated database. Replace:

    <key>DBVersion</key>
    <integer>4</integer>

with:

    <key>DBVersion</key>
    <integer>2</integer>

Then reboot your device.

If syncing fails with "ERROR: Unsupported checksum type '0' in cbk file generation!", you may need to leave this at 4. libgpod seems to expect a hashed database.

#### Syncing

Use your favourite iPod-compatible program. Individual configuration will vary, but in general, pointing your program to your specified mount point should yield good results.

After you have synced, run `ipod-touch-umount` (or `iphone-umount`, depending on your taste) to unmount the SSHFS file system and restart the `MobileMusicPlayer` process on the device, so that the new music database is read.

If you used iFuse, simply type:

    # umount <mountpoint>

You will still need to reload the MobileMusicPlayer process. If your device is not jailbroken, then you are stuck restarting it.

### iPod Classic/Nano (3rd generation)

You need to set up the iPod to make libgpod able to find its FireWire ID. For this, you will need to get your FireWire ID manually

1) Mount the iPod as a rw mount point. In the following example, I will use `/mnt/ipod`.

2 ) Find the serial number by typing

    # lsusb -v | grep -i Serial

this should print a 16 character long string like 00A1234567891231 (it will have no colons or hyphens)

3) Once you have that number, create or edit `/mnt/ipod/iPod_Control/Device/SysInfo`. Add to that file the line below:

      FirewireGuid: 0xffffffffffffffff

(replace ffffffffffffffff with the 16 digit string you obtained at the previous step and do not forget the leading 0x before the string)

Your iPod can now be managed with Amarok or gtkpod.

### iPod Shuffle 1st and 2nd generation

Due to the simple structure of the Shuffle (compared to the "big" iPods), it is possible to use the player almost like any other USB flash MP3 player. What is necessary is rebuild_db.py file stored in the iPod's root directory. Simply copy MP3 files onto the iPod Shuffle (sub-folders are allowed too) and run:

    $ python2 /path/to/rebuild_db.py

Source

### iPod Shuffle 4th generation

To use your ipod shuffle 4g under linux you can use the python based command line tool ipod-shuffle-4gAUR. It also provides advanced voiceover and (auto)playlist generation support.

## iPod management apps

- Rhythmbox
  - GTK interface (GNOME)
  - Is part of the official GNOME projects.
  - Fast, light interface.
  - Manage music on your computer and iPod
  - Download or stream podcasts and video podcasts
  - Queue up songs and podcasts
  - Last.fm integration
  - Live radio stations
  - Jamendo and Magnatune support
  - Audio CD burning
  - Album cover display
  - Song lyrics display
  - DAAP sharing

- Banshee
  - GTK interface (GNOME)
  - Uses Mono so it is slower and more resource hogging than rhythmbox
  - Device Sync: Sync your music and videos to your Android, iPod, or other device - or import its media
  - Podcasts: Download or stream podcasts and video podcasts
  - Play Queue: Queue up songs, videos, and podcasts, or let the Auto DJ take over
  - Shuffle Modes: Shuffle (or Auto DJ) by artist, album, rating, or even songs' acoustic similarity
  - Album Art: Artwork is automatically fetched as you listen
  - Powerful Search, Smart Playlists: Find exactly what you want, fast
  - Video Support: All the power of Banshee, now for your videos

- Yamipod
  - GTK interface (GNOME)
  - super lightweight application for managing ONLY music on your iPod (not on your computer)
  - easy ratings edit
  - PC to iPod synchronization
  - News RSS and podcasts to iPod upload
  - Last.fm support
  - playlist support

- gtkpod
  - GTK interface (GNOME)
  - Read your existing iTunesDB (i.e. import the existing contents of your iPod including play counts, ratings and on-the-go playlists).
  - Add MP3, WAV, M4A (non-protected AAC), M4B (audio book), podcasts, and various video files (single files, directories or existing playlists) to the **iPod. You need a third party product to download podcasts, like 'bashpodder' or 'gpodder'
  - View, add and modify Cover Art
  - Browse the contents of your local hard disk by album/artist/genre by adding all your songs to the 'local' database. From there the tracks can be **dragged over to the iPod/Shuffle easily.
  - Create and modify playlists, including smart playlists.
  - You can choose the charset the ID3 tags are encoded in from within gtkpod. The default is the charset currently used by your locale setting.
  - Extract tag information (artist, album, title...) from the filename if you supply a template.
  - Detect duplicates when adding songs (optional).
  - Remove and export tracks from your iPod.
  - Modify ID3 tags -- changes are also updated in the original file (optional).
  - Refresh ID3 tags from file (if you have changed the tags in the original file).
  - Sync directories.
  - Normalize the volume of your tracks (uses mp3gain or the replay-gain tag)
  - Write the updated iTunesDB and added songs to your iPod.
  - Work offline and synchronize your new playlists / songs with the iPod at a later time.
  - Export your korganizer/kaddressbook/Thunderbird/evocalendar/evolution/webcalendar... data to the iPod (scripts for other programs can be added).

- Floola
  - GTK interface (GNOME)

- Amarok
  - KDE/qt interface

- qPod
  - KDE/qt interface
  - front-end for GNUpod

- GNUpod
  - command-line only

- jakpod
  - JakPod is based on Java and allows you to copy music and video files to your iPod.
  - iPod Nano 6th support
  - jakpodAUR

## See also

- More information about iPhone/iPod Touch support
- Apple trailers downloader script

Category:

- Mobile devices

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