Renaming your iPod

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Renaming your iPod

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Q: I bought a new iPod and am giving my old one to my granddaughter. Is there any way I can change the name of the iPod?

- Maren

A: If you’re giving away your iPod, your best option is actually just to use the iTunes “Restore” feature to return the iPod to its factory settings. This will erase everything on the iPod, returning it to the original settings that it was using when it originally came out of the box. When your granddaughter then hooks up the iPod to her iTunes library for the first time, she will be presented with the standard new iPod setup wizard, which will give her an opportunity to name the iPod and choose her own synchronization settings.

To restore the iPod, simply connect it to your iTunes library, select it in the left-hand source list, and then choose the “Restore” button from the Summary tab:

Note that if you don’t want to erase the content on your iPod, but rather just want to change the name, this is certainly possible as well. To do this, simply double-click on the iPod in the iTunes source pane. The name will change to an editable field, and you can simply type in a new name for the iPod.

Note that in this case, the iPod will be renamed and will retain all of your content. However, if you’ve been using automatic synchronization against your own iTunes library, your granddaughter will be prompted as to whether she wants to erase the iPod when she first connects it to her own computer. If she selects “Erase and Sync” any content that is already on the iPod will be removed and replaced with what is in her own library. If she wants to retain any content that you may have loaded onto the iPod for her, she will need to switch it into manual mode, as described in the first question above.

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