I just got a new Motorola SLVR cellphone from Cingular and it’s very cool, but somehow I can’t figure out how to use the iPod area of it. How do I hook it up to my Mac and download some songs onto it, and, for that matter, how many songs can it hold anyway?
Thanks to a great PR person at Motorola, I too have a Moto SLVR phone to test, and I’ve figured out how to use it as a mini-iPod through the Mac iTunes system. Of course, it’s pretty easy, so I’m a bit surprised that you’re having any problems. Let me step through what I did, and I bet you can do the same thing too.
First off, you need to hook the SLVR up to your Mac via USB. Then launch Apple’s iTunes program and just a few seconds later you should see the phone show up on your desktop and iTunes promptly pops up a cheery welcome screen:
Notice on the top it says “Mobile Phone Update is Complete”. Good.
Next step is to determine what you want to call the iPod side of your SLVR and determine a couple of options:
If you want to have the phone “autofilled” you can select the first of the two options, but it’s pretty darn easy to autofill your phone later: don’t select it here. The second option is interesting to know about: perhaps you’d like to have a meg or two of disk storage hidden on your phone. If so, selecting “Enable disk use” is how you do that.
Now before you go any further, it’s important to maximize how many songs you can put on your SLVR by ensuring that you use the smallest possible audio sample on copied tracks. This is easier to do than it is to explain: click on the little iPod icon on the bottom of the iTunes window and you’ll see the iPod preferences. In this case, it’s your phone!
The key setting to ensure: “Convert higher bit rate songs to 128 kbps AAC”. While we’re here, notice this is also where you can adjust the songs / data balance if you want to use your phone for data storage too. That only works, however, if you selected “Enable disk use” earlier.
Now, finally, you can copy some songs onto your Motorola SLVR by simply dragging and dropping them onto the phone’s name on the left column. I picked up a few Spyro Gyra albums and dropped them onto “SLVR”, then waited. Get a cup of tea at this point, the USB copies onto the phone very slowly. It took about ten minutes to copy two CDs onto my SLVR.
Notice on the bottom the “Autofill” option too. it’s an easy way to randomly dump 100 songs onto your Motorola SLVR. It’s a really cool idea and, y’know what? If you have a large enough iTunes library, you could well have new music on your phone every few days without ever having a duplicate.
Once the copying is done the top display will say “Okay to disconnect” and you can simply click on the “eject” icon (the tiny triangle over the dash adjacent to the cellphone name on the left column).
Before I leave this topic, however, let me point out that every Verizon customer who suffers through the Verizon version of the Motorola operating system on their RAZR will drool in envy that Cingular doesn’t cripple its phones to sell more ringtones. While the SLVR is connected to the Mac, here’s what you see if you open it in the Finder:
Want to drop a new ringtone onto your phone? Just drag and drop the MIDI file into “ringtone”. New video? Drop it into “video”. Photographs? Put them in “picture” and you’ll be good to go.
With these steps in mind, you should be able to easily sync your SLVR with your Macintosh, and easily transfer songs onto your phone at any time!
And, by the way, I thought that the Motorola RAZR was a cool phone, but the Motorola SLVR is far cooler and more capable. I feel comfortable recommending it to anyone!
Hi, ive got a separate guide and am using non-traditional software on my Motorola SLVR but accidentally plugged it in b4hand and now i cant get the “Found New Hardware” Box to pop up..and i need it to install drivers. Ne idea on how to get it to appear again? thanx
yes also when i hook my SLVR up to my iTunes, a box comes up that says that it cannot be updated because the file or directory is corrupted and unreadable. How do i get iTunes to recognize my phone?
I am having a problem others seem to be having. I got the SLVR v7 and at first the USB cable worked fine but now my computer is not responding to it. I take that back, it responds to it for about 2 seconds and then it disconnects without me even touching it…
when i hook my SLVR up to my iTunes, a box comes up that says that it cannot be updated because the file or directory is corrupted and unreadable. How do i get iTunes to recognize my phone?
DO I HAVE TO HAVE THE MICRO SD CARD TO PUT MUSIC ON MY MOTOSLVR??
hey guys when i hook my usb cord to my slivr a screen comes up saying “some files and applications are not accessible”.. what does this mean? and after i hook up the usb cord to my phone and go into itunes, the device does not show up. anyone have any idea whats going on?
thanks,
nathan
Is there a way to convert your iTunes files to midi files? The midi files seem to be a lot smaller and that way I would be able to move my songs from my card to my phone with out the “insufficient storage” window popping up,
yeah i would like to ask is i tunes the only piece of software the is able to transfer music on to a mtorola v3i i have the moto phone tools and thats is a laugh because it takes 1 day for it to pick up my phone so is i tunes the better option or would i be correct in thinking that i should stay with my bluetooth dongle??:S please help me
My Slvr can no longer upload any songs onto its iTunes. All it says is error: This disk cannot be read from nor stored to. Does anyone know how to fix this. Is the memory card just trashed? or is there something i can do options wise?
hi guys,i bought a motoslvr just yesterday and its great.i hav got some doubts to clear.can i put other mp3 players like ultra mp3 into the phone?if yes, how?i think in motorola cellphones we cant minimize the mp3 players and do some other things like messaging as in nokia and sony ericsson.can i delete the ringtones which are preloaded in the phone?so that i get some space to put some extra songs?
any one know a website to download the cd cus i didnt get the cd
When I plug my SLVR into the usb. A yellow pop up window comes up saying, “Itunes:iTunes.exe-Corrupt File… The file directory Itunes control/itunesdb is corrupt or unreadable, please run chkdsk utility”… simultaneously, Itunes comes up automatically and tells me “[my] phone is synced with another itunes library… do you wish to erase and sinc the data on this phone with this library”.. I’m really confused because once i click “erase and sync” anything I drag and drop to my phone (ipod style) doesnt appear in my playlist after i disconnect and view my phone. All in all, a very confusing and frustrating situation that neither 1. Cingular, 2. Apple, or 3. Motorola have been able to help me with. One interesting hint I have is that when I had a friend put his mini SD card into my phone, I could view and play all his music with no problem. Please please, help me out.
Hey I have a slvr v7 and I was wondering how to load songs onto the phones itunes from itunes on my pc. Wat u said to do was on a mac and its not wrking on my pc can u help me?
oh and this is a great site thnx, JLock
How can I use iTunes to apply part of a song as a ringtone on my SLVR?
Gracias,
Jami
I just got a Slvr and I followed the directions on how to upload ringtones in the link posted. I have uploaded all files to mobile/ringtone but my ringtones are not on my phone. I even tried uploading one under audio, but nothing. Help please??
have the same problem than T-ball and fabrice who says “Hey I got my slvr about 6 months ago on ebay and i was wondoring is there a way i can get itunes onto my phone because i have a program on there now called digitall audio player soooo ”
please help me !!!
hello
i have the same problem than T-ball who says “Hey I got my slvr about 6 months ago on ebay and i was wondoring is there a way i can get itunes onto my phone because i have a program on there now called digitall audio player soooo ”
please help me !!!
here is my mail : fabricepsb16@mac.com
thanks
I’ve bought SLVR L7 3 months ago. However, there is no itune in the mobile???
and even when I plug it to the PC, itune will start but without any feature for my mobile???
Can i get itune from somewhere or i am doing something wrong here?
Hey I got my slvr about 6 months ago on ebay and i was wondoring is there a way i can get itunes onto my phone because i have a program on there now called digitall audio player soooo if you know how email at Balller91@cs.com
Thanks
p.s. Subject line SLVR HELP
I just bought a SLVR L7, but it is the UK version without itunes. The phone has a MP3 player, but it is not itunes. I cannot seem to get my itunes MP3’s onto it. Can someone help me either download itunes to my phone, or get the songs onto my phone?
I have a razr v3 and im trying to upload pictures onto my computer (windows xp) and my computer isn’t responding to the usb plug. I need help!! thax
i have a pink mototrola razr v3 from verizon wireless and i don’t know how to transfer my pictures from my phone to my windows computer. when i hook up my phone with the USB cable, it tells me that it can’t find the proper software. please tell me how i can transfer my pics to my comp!!! = ]
Since you’re not allowed to buy a hacked L7 I’m not going to post the link here. But this is one of those things you can google at your own risk.
cmart22@gmail.com
I bought a european slvr unlocked to use on tmobile. How can I download itunes to sync with my mac. It plays mp3, but not in itunes application.
i just bought the new L7 from a dealer (not telling) unlocked. I put my sim-card in and was jsut wondering howi can get itunes on it? I mean, i have the motorola interface (iTunes with the motorola “skin”) but i can not seem to get a know-how to get iTunes on my phone? Im fine w/o it, its just with the killer proce i get it for….it doesn’t even have AIM or the “Chat” feature, nor does it have VOICE RECORD (what the hell is up with that)
so i’d like to know if i can go to a dealer “or go to the hacker’s maket) and get:
1. iTunes
2.Voice Record
3. AIM
4.Chat
on my phone?
otherwise, i love the “updated” gui with the SLVR, rather than my old v3.-black. If i can get those 4 items on my phone, i’d be braggin day and night with my killer deal…
thanks much…jason
oh yeah, my simcard belongs to my old v3 from cingular…
-jason
I Have the new Slvr 7 And I know how to use the i tunes and stuff but im trying to upload the pictures on my phone to my computer but i just dont know can you please help me dave thanx
I have the motorola razor and am trying to move a song from another razor ont mine. When I do it, it says transfer failed. What am I doing wrong. I select the song using the “0”, then hit the menu button, then “move marked files”, then it says transfer failed.
@XBear95 – What version of windows are you using? How long ago did you buy the Phone?
When I connect mine It pops up iTunes and bam its working. Do you have an iPod? It works just like the same way.
@Donald – Read my post made near the top, You have to do a little more than just drop the file into the Ringtone folder.
I should add that I have itunes 6.0.4 (3), it may be useful to my situation. Love the phone, but ohhhh the headache…
I’ve been trying to get my SLVR to sync w/itunes for several days now. I have tried everything I can think of. I tried attaching phone and then launching itunes. I tried attaching phone and then rebooting computer. I tried turning phone off then launching itunes then turning phone on. NO LUCK. Any advise?
i have a windows, and how come i cant put the ringtones in the folder?
Frank, I had the same problem with iTunes and a couple of my songs. The problem lies in how the MP3 was made, chances are that they are in LAME encoding or somthing on that order.
There is a simple fix for this, takes the songs that are giving you problems and put them in a playlist and burn them to a CD (you can use iTunes to do this) and when your finished put the CD back into your computer and then re-encode with iTunes, this removes the encodeing or any other problems you might have. iTunes will actaully ask if you want to replace the versions of the songs in your library, just click yes and the problem will be solved permantly.
Hope this helps!
HEy i have aa razor V3 And i wanted to know how can i get my pictures off my phone to get on my computer wen i put the usb cord and hook it to the computet i just dont really know what to do from there it say it cannot find the sortware can you please help me thanx
I have a razr v3. I spent a good hour taking a song, breaking it down for the perfect ringtone(124kbs, mp3), when I transfer it to my phone, it plays it beautifully. When I go to save it, the phone tells me the file is corrupt. What am I doing wrong? I have tryed multiple times, changing little things here and there, no luck.
the itune feature on the slvr is great but ive been running into a issue in which i am unable to transfer certain mp3 files to my computer. some songs from my itune library can be dragged into the phone while others bring up a crossedout circle when i try to drag it onto my phone, all of these files are listed as mp3… im not very familiar with itune, ive only started using it to utilize the feature on the slvr. ny insights onto this weird issue? thanks a bunch
I cant download a few songs from my library and i only have 40 songs on my slvr. i have no problem downloading songs but its just those certain ones. you have any idea whats going on?
I have a motorola v3 and when i hook the USB onto my mac nothing show’s up. What do i do and how do i sort it ?
Please reply back with an email,
I have a question, and if possible please reply by e-mail:
There isn’t any detailed description on the instruction manual for this phone concerning the importing of video files from computer to SLVR. I think all it says is that it is possible to transfer files from machine to machine.
I would like to compile a small library of watchable film on this cellular phone, so that I will be able to watch clips while waiting or doing something mundane.
How is it possible to upload mpeg files onto this phone? Must I perform a conversion process for picture ratio and cut it to fit a specified time span?
Oh, and what does this mean?:
“you relinquish any subsequent rights of ownership to your material by submitting it on this site.”
Thanks for your help,
LM
If you have two SLVR L7’s (or ROKR) yes, it will recognize them as differnt phones, you can change the label of the phone, I see my phone show up as Chris’s SLVR since thats what I set it to.
can i put itunes one two phones with one computer?
Sorry to report that you can’t just “download and install” the iTunes program on a Motorola phone or any other phone. If you didn’t get an iTunes-compatible phone (e.g. ROKR or SLVR) then I think you’re out of luck, Brandon.
ok…..i am so upset right now…i have the cosmic blue razr v3….and my friend has the slvr L7. I just found out that her phone has itunes…and mines has squat. I should have never purchased this phone in the first place. But anyway….do u know any ways that I can download the software onto a v3? or a mp3 software? PLEASE HELP ME OUT.
I have a Verizon V3 Phone and I want to transfer ringtones from my computer. (I have a sony computer) Can You Please help me Thank You!
I just got a motorola SLVR but its from Europe, and it doesn’t have i-tunes. I was wondering if there is a way i can add the program I-tunes to the phone?
To get your mp3’s as ringtones you just have to follow what it says in the review.
*The key is that you song needs to be smaller than 3.5mbs!
1. Find your MP3 in Windows Explorer
2. Then find your phone in “My Computer” mine is the I drive so the link is “I:/mobile/ringtone”
3. Copy the song you want to this folder
4. Eject it from your computer after it has transfered.
5. Goto My Stuff – > Sounds and then Press the Menu button.
6. Select the “Switch Storage Device” and change this to “Card” (should be the first one there)
7. Highlight (select) the song you have transfered out of the list there. (there will only be the songs you have transfered)
8. Press the Menu button again and goto “Copy” and copy the song to your phone.
9. After all of that you can goto your “Audio” Options in your “Settings” and set your newly transfered MP3 as your very own ringtone.
Note if your favorite new track is to large then it will give you an error that you don’t have enough space. Try finding an audio editor to cut off after the first 30 seconds of the song, thats all your going to be using anyways.
i got a razr v3 and i was wondering how do i transfer ringtones/songs from my computer onto my phone using itunes or whatever else i can. and would a regular USB cord for like a digital camera work?
Hello, can you tell me if you can put audio books on the slvr via itunes? I love listening to books as well as songs when I travel. Thanks and your site is great!!
Karen 🙂
Pat, you shouldn’t be having that problem. Take your phone in to Cingular (or whatever your carrier is) and see if they have any ideas what’s going on.
Jerimy, you can’t use the iTunes songs as ringtones. Moto has carefully made sure that wasn’t possible… :-\
once u have songs on your SLVR are u able to use them as ringtones and how do u do this. Been trying for 3 days now and cant figure it out, any help will much appreciated.
thank jerimy
I just got the SLVR and I was able to get it to sync with iTunes, but I’m having trouble downloading and uploading data from it.
The SLVR volume disappears if iTunes is not syncing with it.
Does this sound familiar?