Sync content between your Mac and iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch over Wi-Fi (2024)

Sync content between your Mac and iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch over Wi-Fi (1)

You can sync your Mac and device when they’re connected to the same Wi-Fi network. To set up Wi-Fi syncing, first connect your device to your Mac using a USB or USB-C cable. You then turn on Wi-Fi syncing and choose the settings you want. Whenever your device connects to your Mac over Wi-Fi, you can select it in the sidebar and sync it. (You can turn on automatic syncing if you want.) Your device must have iOS5 or later or iPadOS 13 or later.

See Intro to syncing your Mac and your devices.

Connect your device to your Mac using a USB or USB-C cable.
Click in the Dock to open a Finder window, then select the device in the Finder sidebar.
If you connect your device to your Mac using a USB cable and don’t see the device in the Finder sidebar, see If your device doesn’t appear in the sidebar.
See Also
Here are the devices that will support Apple Intelligence — no older iPhones allowed
In the row near the top, click General.
Select the “Show this [device] when on Wi-Fi” checkbox.
Use the options across the top of the window to turn on and select sync settings.
Click Apply.

Whenever your device connects to your Mac, the device’s icon appears in the sidebar. Select the device in the Finder sidebar to view or change syncing options.

Important: If you don’t see your device in the sidebar, choose Finder > Settings, then select the CDs, DVDs, and iOS Devices checkbox.

You can choose to sync your Mac and your device automatically whenever you connect them. See Turn automatic syncing on or off on Mac.

Before disconnecting your device from your Mac, click in the Finder sidebar. The device icon disappears, but Wi-Fi syncing remains turned on. The icon reappears automatically the next time your Mac and device are connected to the same WI-Fi network.

Note: To restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and revert it to its factory settings, you must connect the device to your Mac using a USB or USB-C cable.

Syncing over Wi-Fi is slower than syncing over a cable. If you connect a device to your Mac while the device is syncing over Wi-Fi, syncing continues over the cable. If you disconnect the device’s cable from the Mac while syncing, syncing stops, even if Wi-Fi syncing is on. Syncing resumes when you reconnect the device using a cable or over Wi-Fi.