News
iPhone OS 2.1 requires Sync to add Genius feature
By Charles Starrett
Senior Editor, iLounge
Published: Friday, September 12, 2008
News Category: iPhone
While Genius playlist creation is listed as a new feature in the release notes of the iPhone 2.1 Software Update, iLounge has confirmed that the feature will not appear unless the user performs a sync following installation of the 2.1 software. First seen on the new iPod touch, the Genius playlist creation button is supposed to sit below the audio scrub bar on the Now Playing screen beside buttons for toggling shuffle and looped playback on and off. Normally, the bar and buttons can be accessed by tapping the screen while a song is playing.
If the iPhone is not synchronized after applying the 2.1 software update, the Genius button never materializes, leaving a sizable gap between the shuffle and repeat buttons. The feature is also missing from the top of the Playlists menu, where it would normally appear. Synchronizing the iPhone with the Sync button in iTunes fixes this issue, bringing the button and menu choices back.
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1
Doesn’t it automatically sync after updating?
Posted by domarch on September 12, 2008 at 8:58 AM (PDT)
2
Not surprising. Looks like the iPhones/iPods get a matrix of some form, from iTunes during sync, with pointers to what songs are related to each other. Has anyone tested to see if the iPod form of Genius works if the iTunes form of Genius hasn’t been enabled? I bet it doesn’t…
Posted by jamesn on September 12, 2008 at 9:35 AM (PDT)
3
I’m not surprised by this, especially after listening to Buzz Out Loud yesterday. Someone commented that they couldn’t get the Genius to work with Beatles songs which may reflect that iTunes may only be looking at songs that are in the store catalog. I checked it and sure enough, I couldn’t make a Genius playlist from actual Beatles songs. So out of curiosity I tried this on my Touch to find the same error message I was getting on iTunes that the Genius couldn’t make a playlist because it had no data on that song. I’d say the iPod’s Genius, and iTunes Genius do indeed share the same brain cell.
Posted by Phoenixfury on September 12, 2008 at 10:18 AM (PDT)
4
Unrelated to the Genius feature but am I losing it or did the update change the icon which indicates you are on EDGE on the first generation iPhone? I swear it was not just an E as it is now.
Posted by TosaDeac on September 12, 2008 at 11:08 AM (PDT)
5
Just to clarify something in this article, you have to sync with the computer you use to manage your music on the iPhone. So, for example, I updated my iPhone to 2.1 using my work computer this morning. However, I sync (manually manage) my music on my home computer. I DO have Genius enabled on my work computer. I do not have the Genius “Atom” icon on my scrub bar of my iPhone because I have not been home yet after the update.
Contrary to what the article states, I do have the Genius option as the first entry in my playlist menu. However, selecting it states that Genius is not enabled and that I need to sync with iTunes which has Genius enabled. Obviously this is not 100% correct… it also must be the computer that you use to manage your music.
Posted by Bob Reck in Baltimore, MD on September 12, 2008 at 11:10 AM (PDT)
6
Yes, the icons for both EDGE and 3G have changed. The box around the letters is now gone.
Posted by Bob Reck in Baltimore, MD on September 12, 2008 at 11:11 AM (PDT)
7
I am totally confused. After reading this, I noticed I had no genius icon below the scrubber, so I sync’d, and it showed up as expected.
I then discovered that the Genius Playlists warning pops up when I select it on the iPhone: “Genius playlists are not enabled. Use iTunes to enable Genius Playlists.” I did this in iTunes, and still get the same message regardless of the song. On iTunes, the Genius function works because I enabled it and transferred music on my iPhone to my work computer.
Posted by Flippy Hambone on September 12, 2008 at 12:10 PM (PDT)
8
I would enable on iTunes first then sync.
Posted by Tom on September 12, 2008 at 5:37 PM (PDT)
9
I have the following case, similar to post #7, but a little different. My wife and I both have iPhones and share an iTunes account. I downloaded and installed iTunes 8 today, enabled Genius (which is great, BTW), installed the 2.1 firmware, and sync’d my iPhone (a 2G model not that I suspect this matters). All was well.
Then, on the same computer, I updated my wife’s 3G iPhone with the 2.1 firmware, and sync’d. I am getting the message “Genius playlists are not enabled ...” as in post #7.
I have synced several times, I have logged in to the iTunes account from the iPhone. Still, not working on the second iPhone.
Posted by Tom Harrison on September 12, 2008 at 7:28 PM (PDT)
10
Found a bug. It appears that if you have more than 20 audiobooks. The player would crash and go back to the home screen.
Posted by Itsik Aviad on September 12, 2008 at 8:06 PM (PDT)
11
I cannot install the OS 2.1. This message is driving me crazy:iphone update restore error (-30).
Posted by Carlos F Suarez Doriga on September 13, 2008 at 3:22 PM (PDT)
12
Hi everyone,
I have updated the latest OS on my iphone 3G, and genius has not appeared on my menu screen or on the artwork display screen, even after sync’ing a number of times, can anyone help?
Posted by Rick Toogood on September 25, 2008 at 1:40 AM (PDT)