How to Change iPod Owner’s Name
I’ve got a couple of emails asking me how to change the iPod owner’s name. At first, I thought that it is kind of weird that anyone would want to change their iPod names; until I realised that there are instances where pre-owned iPods were purchased or a spelling mistake happened or for whatever outrageous reasons.
For my beloved iPod, I have named it Juicy Boxy. However, for this post, I’ve changed it to Jim’s iPod strictly for demonstration purposes. Assume that Jim was the original owner that sold his iPod to Amos. The new owner would therefore, want his name displayed on the iPod (in this instance, Amos’ iPod).
To start things off, you will need to start iTunes with the iPod attached. You will notice that iTunes will display Jim’s iPod; showing the original owner. Using your mouse, highlight the device as shown below:
After highlighting the device, wait for a couple of seconds, then click on the device name again (be careful not to click too fast as your computer may interpret it as a double-click). You will now notice that your iPod owner’s name is now in edit mode. Key in the desired name and press the Enter key.
Voila…. You are now officially the proud owner of the iPod. Do this as many times as you want until you found the perfect name for your iPod. In my case, Juicy Boxy.
darya said,
August 2, 2006 @ 12:50 pm
i still dont understand how to do!
can you send me an e-mail and taking me threw the prosess
cuzz i dont understand
plz i really need to change the name of the ipod
i have a Question
where did you go to get to source? cuzz i saw that on top of the owners ipod it says source and so where didja go to get to it and that was what i was struggling with to change the name!
so plz write me back on myspace or my e-mail but it would be better on myspace cuzz i don go on my e-mail that often!!
PLZ AND THANK YOU!!
=]]
Mary said,
December 1, 2006 @ 8:20 am
thank you soo much..
I renamed mine Winston Irving!!!
amos said,
December 1, 2006 @ 10:53 am
Interesting… I’ve changed mine to Amos’ Music Machine…
sarah said,
December 2, 2006 @ 11:59 pm
thanx uz soooooooooooooooooooo much u rox !!
hannah said,
January 2, 2007 @ 1:25 pm
i did that and it is now changed on my itunes but my ipod still has it displayed as iPod do you know how to change that?? please answer me
beanie said,
January 21, 2007 @ 10:17 am
I am forever in your debt
amos said,
January 21, 2007 @ 10:26 am
Hi hannah,
Is your iPod reflecting the change you made on iTunes?
If it’s not, try shutting down your PC and reattach your iPod. See if the changes has been effected.
Hi beanie,
Glad that you stopped by. Thanks for the kind words.
Mcdanije said,
January 23, 2007 @ 11:45 am
Amos,
I’ve purchased an Ipod second hand and I want to install it on my computer. However, I already have an ipod installed on my computer. I want to use one i-pod at my office and another i-pod at home. Can I control them both from my computer and make different playlists for each? I want my I tunes purchases and pre-existing music library to be available on both i-pods.
Also, how do I delete everything off the purchased i-pod in a manner as to install it on my computer as if it were brand new?
Thanks in advance for the help!
T-DOG said,
February 14, 2007 @ 8:22 am
you are the friggin mac(K?) bro
Jenny said,
April 13, 2007 @ 10:37 pm
FAntastic! Thanks for your help
Hatoqai,Husni said,
May 5, 2007 @ 4:34 pm
hi all i cahnged the ipod name in itunes but and at the itunes it works just fine but when i eject the ipod and check the name on the ipod it still the old one SO WHO CAN HELP ME TO CHANGE IT ????????
shan said,
May 5, 2007 @ 7:11 pm
hii
i’ve tried to change my owners name using the steps given in the information above
however, instead of coming up in edit mode, it opened a seperate window despite leaving a few seconds between the clicks.
please help me
thankss
amos said,
May 5, 2007 @ 8:38 pm
Hi Hatoqai,
Try performing a sync.
Hi Shan,
Instead of clicking the second time, try pressing F2 key instead.
esil said,
May 6, 2007 @ 3:29 am
I changed my ipod’s name in this manner and now i can’t move any music onto it. I reset everything and still can’t do anything with it. Any ideas???
Kelley said,
May 11, 2007 @ 8:22 am
thank you so much cuz mine was pre owned and i could not get this boys name off my ipod and none of my friends could tell me how to do it, but thanks 2 you i got it done
Peter said,
May 20, 2007 @ 9:03 am
thanks this helped alot
Sean said,
June 1, 2007 @ 10:40 am
You Da Man!! Worked great. If you cant do it…. Put it back in the box and take it back to the store.
G said,
June 16, 2007 @ 12:14 am
Thank you. I feel less incompetent
bob said,
June 20, 2007 @ 5:43 am
after i changed it and i connected my ipod it still didnt change
jim said said,
July 15, 2007 @ 11:11 pm
thanks did what you said and got the name changed to jim’s ipod instead of just the word ipod
jarrod said,
July 20, 2007 @ 7:46 pm
i did that. it changed my name in itunes but not on my ipod plz email me tellin me how
Bob said,
July 22, 2007 @ 8:38 am
umm for all u guys that the new name doesnt show up on your ipod…well just change the name using the instructions and the go up to file and click ’sync songs on (name’s) ipod’ and t6hat should do it.
kgmayhem said,
August 1, 2007 @ 2:27 pm
thanks so much! your a genius! so simple, yet i would have never guessed
big hall said,
August 2, 2007 @ 1:36 am
i followed the step an it was sucessful
thanks
Robert said,
August 21, 2007 @ 1:15 am
I bought my ipod off my brother in law who has put his own songs on there off his computer. Now my ipod only will allow his computer to be the master computer to put songs onto. I know there are programs out there that allow you to change the master computer so i can put my cd’s and songs onto the ipod. Do you know of any free programs that would allow me to do that? Or ones that you can pay a small price? Thank you, Robert
amos said,
August 21, 2007 @ 8:06 pm
Hi Robert,
Actually you do not need any special programs if you don’t mind erasing the current iPod contents. Simply plug the iPod into your computer (installed with iTunes) and let iTunes erase the iPod contents and assign your computer as the master.
Jim said,
September 5, 2007 @ 9:22 am
It works for me, thanks
Papdog said,
September 14, 2007 @ 11:11 pm
Fantastic, worked wonderful for me!
galnoir said,
September 26, 2007 @ 9:16 pm
Wow. That’s way easier than I thought it would be. Thanks for the tip!
suresh said,
October 15, 2007 @ 11:56 am
hi thank you so much i chaged my name.. thank sooooooooooo much . really a good one . .
Anmev said,
October 24, 2007 @ 9:35 pm
good work Amos, thx for helping everyone here. appreciate.
iheartmusic said,
October 31, 2007 @ 1:50 am
Hi Amos,
I have the same issue as Mcdanije…. I’d appreciate your help!
amos said,
October 31, 2007 @ 9:15 pm
Hi iheartmusic,
If you choose automatic sync, you will not be able to have 2 different ipods on the same computer. If you want to control both ipods, the first time you attach an ipod, you should set to manual sync. Manual sync allows you to control multiple ipods.
To refresh an ipod, you should refer to this link:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61671
Hope that helps..
reddogg said,
November 11, 2007 @ 11:15 am
thank you!
Mike Richard said,
November 15, 2007 @ 12:08 am
You rock worked great
joeb said,
November 19, 2007 @ 4:28 am
i am preparing to give away my new ipod nano 3gen. what are te steps i perform to
- clean it out entirely…i..e reset to empty
- set up for another person on their PC
Rhona said,
November 23, 2007 @ 2:14 am
Thanks!!!!!
Maria said,
December 17, 2007 @ 10:58 am
so easy to do!! thanks so much for the info!!
CATHERINE said,
December 23, 2007 @ 4:40 am
I AM HAVING A PROBLEM WITH GETTING MY IPOD 2ND GENERATION TO PLAY THRU THE HEADPHONES I GET NO SOUND WHEN I PLUG IT INTO THE COMPUTER IT PLAYS WITH THE SPEAKERS. COULD YOU TELL WHAT I MAY BE DOING WRONG.
amos said,
December 25, 2007 @ 12:46 am
Hi Catherine,
Give your headphones a check. If it’s not the headphones, could be the RCA plug.
Marie said,
December 28, 2007 @ 8:32 pm
Thank you so much! I asked all of my friends and they was like… I dunno? But thanks.
wilmer said,
December 30, 2007 @ 11:04 am
i am having a problem with my ipod nano it is a 2gb “black” it is the one with the sliver back case but when i changed my ipod’s name it says it on my itunes but NOT
on my ipod PLZ TELL ME WHY!!
dan said,
January 10, 2008 @ 6:03 am
Great!!!!! Thanx
rissa said,
January 19, 2008 @ 8:14 am
thanks for the help, but what if you dont go through i-tunes because i didn’t go throw itunes and i had todownload it so email me and let me no! thank youi
SAMi said,
January 23, 2008 @ 6:14 am
THANK YOU SO MUCH!
MY STUPiD SISTER ERASED EVERYTHiNG OFF MiNES
SO iT WAS NAMED AFTER HER BOYFRiEND! =/
SiiiiCK!!!!
SO,
MUCHOS GRACiAS.
BUH-BYE!
=]
Brandon said,
February 7, 2008 @ 2:48 am
Thanks so much,
Very helpful, I named my iPod “EscPod”
get it? (Escape Pod)
Desi said,
February 14, 2008 @ 12:21 am
Thank you
JC said,
February 17, 2008 @ 1:21 pm
I now feel like an idiot; thank you for your help.
You don't need to know my name said,
February 18, 2008 @ 11:43 am
Thanks - very helpful
Josie said,
February 22, 2008 @ 12:36 pm
Thanks so much for the help! Worked perfectly.
Emily said,
February 24, 2008 @ 9:18 am
Thank you, this was extremely helpful!
Henry said,
March 5, 2008 @ 2:20 am
Than Que!
I was wonderin how to go about it, I had an iPod Nano stolen from me but I managed to get it back, in the mean time, I bought another iPod Nano and gave the the returned Nano to my young niece and wanted to change it to her name. Your method worked great.
Thanks a lot!
amos replied,
Hi Henry, you are most welcomed. I wonder how you got your stolen Nano back.
Tami said,
March 11, 2008 @ 7:46 am
THANKS!@!!
Karen said,
March 19, 2008 @ 12:21 pm
Merci beaucoup (thanks very much).
amos replied,
You are welcomed, Karen.
Deisy said,
March 28, 2008 @ 2:50 am
thanxz! my brother gave his ipod after
buying an ipod touch. && i didnt know how to
change it to my name
but finally.
katte said,
March 30, 2008 @ 5:47 am
thank you sooooo much!
Sue said,
April 1, 2008 @ 3:14 am
Thank you. Doesn’t get any easier than this.
Josh said,
April 3, 2008 @ 9:20 am
I recently bought a used ipod. I am neither a member of Itunes or do i know much about them. However I would like to erase everything that is on it, and change the name. They put my own on it. What is the best way to go about that.
amos replied,
Hi Josh, you will need iTunes to manage songs in your iPod. No need to be a member, simply download the software and install it into your PC/Mac. Once you synchronise your iPod with your computer, you will have an option to erase everything on it.
Amos B. KAWREH said,
April 8, 2008 @ 6:52 am
Thanks for your great idea. It works perfectly. Thanks a million.
John said,
April 8, 2008 @ 8:23 pm
Thank you so much!!!!
Charles said,
April 18, 2008 @ 5:58 am
Thankx Bro…. I Manage to change my name…. Stay Cool….
antoinyia said,
April 23, 2008 @ 9:45 am
thank u so much for ya help…..it was quite easy……..i named mine pink panther
Heart Allure said,
April 28, 2008 @ 6:27 pm
Thank you. It is very helpful.
roger bautista said,
May 16, 2008 @ 3:13 am
i tried to remove the name of the previous owner from the ipod i bought from ebay but the prescibed method didn’t work. is there another way? thanks!
Jules said,
May 23, 2008 @ 7:58 am
so excited! I just got a used ipod in the mail, named it Musica Ahava (music love in italian and hebrew respectively) for my trip to Italy and Israel! Thanks for the help! So easy and so perfect!
ashley said,
June 1, 2008 @ 12:57 pm
Hi i cant find that name thing on itunes
Paul said,
June 8, 2008 @ 11:02 am
I lost my usb cord anybody have oneee
Jesse H. said,
June 16, 2008 @ 8:22 am
Hey, thanks so much my friend !!!!
Christy said,
June 19, 2008 @ 5:09 am
How do I transfer the songs from my ipod onto a diferent computer? The songs are on the laptop, but I would like them on the desktop.
Thanks…I’m a ipo semi-newbie, so speak slowly : )
Dads iPod said,
June 23, 2008 @ 1:16 am
Thank you so much i bought a silver iPod and my daughter wanted to swap me as hers was black i was cool with that but we needed to change the iPod names cause i didn’t real’y like sexy girls iPod this worked for me thankyou again my iPod is now Old Farts iPod. lol
RNB said,
June 30, 2008 @ 2:12 pm
Thanks so MUCH!
KoolKidsRule said,
July 1, 2008 @ 6:05 am
i have one question. i’m getting an Ipod nano 3rd generation for my birthday. my question is if i change the name on Itunes will it also change on the Ipod itself?
KoolKidsRule said,
July 1, 2008 @ 6:07 am
this is the second part. if someone does answer my question can they e-mail me at kaneafos@yahoo.com.
Dylon said,
July 12, 2008 @ 5:47 am
i did that but it keeps on syncing
Bazz Silver said,
July 20, 2008 @ 2:59 am
Thanks got that done no problems, easy when you now how.
Thanks again
jessy said,
July 21, 2008 @ 11:19 pm
After charging my ipod all night the screen is black. We can hear the music playing we just cant see the screen. Any suggestions besides buy a new one?
honey said,
July 29, 2008 @ 8:49 pm
Okay you now what? There’s a much simple way.
Just press two buttons.
First. Highlight as shown.
Two. Press F2.
Done.
Eli23 said,
August 8, 2008 @ 12:13 pm
Amos,
my buddy gave me his ipod touch and it has all his songs on it. How do i import the songs onto my itunes as if it was my own and keep everything on it as well as be abble to put my own items on it?
Zixx said,
August 21, 2008 @ 5:27 am
Simply silly that I spent an hour trying to change my ipod’s name, until I came upon this thread and now changing it every 5 minutes ever since. thanks!!!!!
mush said,
August 27, 2008 @ 7:37 am
hey i tried every method discussed in here..
and i get the name changed when my ipod is connected and it syncs it after i hit enter but when i disconnect and reconnect it goes back to the old name.
can anyone help?
thank you.
Emmie said,
September 6, 2008 @ 12:29 am
This was so helpful! THANKS!
well said,
September 10, 2008 @ 10:53 pm
it works, gosh tnx, now i have change it 2 a new cool ipod name
jonnyjon91 said,
September 12, 2008 @ 2:41 am
cheers m8
newwife said,
October 6, 2008 @ 3:50 am
Thank you!…you helped me get rid of my evil ex husbands last name off my ipod!
Logy said,
October 12, 2008 @ 1:05 am
Thank you so so so muchh….
Joey Poe said,
October 22, 2008 @ 12:56 pm
Thanks, I bought my niece a new Ipod Nano and I preloaded it with my Itune gift card. But I entered my name on it and this is suppose to be a gift. Thanks I changed the Ipod name to my niece name. Very good explanation. I think people should wait a few seconds. That is what happened to my Ipod and it then changed to a new name.
Juz said,
October 22, 2008 @ 3:10 pm
Thanks! I was begining to feel like a huge idiot! This is almost too easy!
tommy said,
October 29, 2008 @ 6:56 am
thank you
mina said,
November 29, 2008 @ 1:45 am
but shouldnt there be some kind of security measures involved when changing the name of ur iPod? because if someone steals an iPod, they could just rewrite the name to theirs..
amrit said,
December 3, 2008 @ 10:56 am
It worked thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Robin said,
December 15, 2008 @ 9:36 pm
I bought a used iPod. I want to change the name on it, but not the music. I don’t know a thing about these things. The previous owner zipped through the instructions so fast that I’m lost. Can you help me change the name of the iPod and the name of the playlist? Thanks
holly said,
December 19, 2008 @ 1:19 am
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!
Davie said,
December 19, 2008 @ 3:03 am
Thanx Amos, tried in vain for a week to solve this,its so easy when you know how.
chicken1294 said,
December 24, 2008 @ 7:51 am
thnx this really helped
finn said,
December 25, 2008 @ 8:20 pm
ty m8
i tried for about 5 mins
then realised some sad person would have written pages about how to do it
but thank you for beng that person!
you make the world go round
Nikita said,
December 25, 2008 @ 10:39 pm
Thanks haha, I forgot how to change the name on my Ipod. I use to have one and I knew how, but it was like a year ago so I forgot. But I just got a new one, from my cousin, so I had to change the name.
By the way, for people who don’t understand,
you plug your ipod into the computer and then Itunes comes up,
and It has your name saying “Blanks Ipod”
Just click on it ONCE,
alrightt.
Byee.
Dan said,
December 30, 2008 @ 10:53 pm
Thank You! It works!
hinal said,
December 31, 2008 @ 1:27 am
MWAHAHAHAHA I have my brother’s iPod now!!!! >=]
hinal said,
December 31, 2008 @ 1:27 am
oh yea, thanks =)
Dan said,
January 8, 2009 @ 2:54 am
lol, thanks… Why i didnt try that i dont know… But why Apple doesnt just give it a feature as simple as a right click rename is even more of a mystery =p… at least pressing the “F2″ key also works in windows as it is also a standard rename hotkey.
Inominate said,
January 14, 2009 @ 9:41 pm
THANK YOU!!!!!
Sylar said,
January 20, 2009 @ 4:13 am
A Big Thanks for this tutorial!!!!!!!!
Pauline said,
January 21, 2009 @ 4:58 am
Thank you SO much. Your advice really worked!!!!
Jade said,
January 28, 2009 @ 4:04 am
I’m now painfully aware of how simple that was.
Thank you though, it’s the obvious things you forget.
Jessica said,
February 6, 2009 @ 6:53 am
Thank you so much! I forgot how to and kept on right clicking.
Leigh-ski said,
February 7, 2009 @ 8:09 am
Thanks A Million…..Who knew it could be that easy! U Rock!
Javier Zea said,
February 11, 2009 @ 1:42 am
THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
much!!!
susan said,
February 19, 2009 @ 11:33 am
I have tried this method an it doesnt work for me i still have the previous owners name on it.is there another way i can put my name on it thanks
krisstopher said,
March 7, 2009 @ 8:29 am
whoever can help me i cant get itunes icon up in my documents can you tel me how
plz write back thanx
Julz said,
March 8, 2009 @ 6:55 am
dude - thanks - so friggin easy - feel somewhat blonde!
HAS said,
March 13, 2009 @ 3:03 am
Hi All.
@ last i was able to do that ,
He he I did it
Thank U
eugenio said,
March 13, 2009 @ 4:16 am
Thanks a lot… I set my name and my phone number just in case I lose it and someone can retrieve a call
rory said,
March 17, 2009 @ 12:02 pm
thank you v much ,you rock!
Randi said,
March 22, 2009 @ 4:43 am
thanks
Shelly said,
March 25, 2009 @ 8:15 am
This was so easy! I changed the name of mine to JumpNJive. (Had to get rid of my ex-s last name.)
Gawar said,
March 29, 2009 @ 9:56 am
Thank you so much ! (a french Ipod user !)
J. Davis said,
April 4, 2009 @ 1:43 pm
Thank you so much! =)
Dude said,
April 5, 2009 @ 12:11 am
Thaaaaaaaaaaannnkkk Youuuu!
:):):)
It WORKED!
franz said,
April 10, 2009 @ 9:26 pm
hi and thanks for the tut…i did it and it went perfect.
untili cant access my device again on the comp says usb device not recognized and its not shown in itunes anymore! il try to use it on other pc but if you have any idea how to fix this that would be nice please mail me thanks
Ann said,
April 12, 2009 @ 2:16 am
HI Iv got a preowned ipod and im trying to sync it to my comp but it wont let me. its saying it is joined to another computer. Because i got it from a second hand electrical shop i do not have the previous owners details to get the password.
is there any way to clear the previous owners details off of it with out loosing the media files already loaded onto it?
Sorry if this is a lot!!!!
Michael said,
April 12, 2009 @ 9:23 am
Thanks very much for the information on changing the name on the iPod it worked.
Chris said,
April 17, 2009 @ 10:38 pm
Thanks so much! You really helped me out!
Mashilo said,
April 24, 2009 @ 1:13 am
HA HA HA HA THIS IS EASY . . . . .THANKS DUDE
lex said,
April 24, 2009 @ 3:18 am
Thanks so much!
Tim said,
April 25, 2009 @ 12:00 am
Jim,
It’s so simple I almost laughed out loud when I read it.
Thanks!
Lil-Fairman said,
May 3, 2009 @ 8:51 pm
thank you!!!!
my nickname is Lil-Fairman so i named it Lil-BoomBox
Regina said,
May 5, 2009 @ 3:02 am
Thank you so much! Very helpful information!!!!
Melodie said,
May 14, 2009 @ 12:27 am
Thanks so much! I was trying to figure that out
for the longest time.
Steve. said,
May 15, 2009 @ 9:53 am
My friend gave me her old ipod, i plug it in to my computer and nothing happens. What should i do?
tymir said,
May 16, 2009 @ 8:49 pm
thank you so much
stan said,
May 20, 2009 @ 9:29 am
worked great
Jessie said,
May 31, 2009 @ 5:15 am
My sister gave me her old iPod, a nice video one
But I want to keep some of her songs and add my own, do I have to erase the whole iPod or can I just erase songs? And manual adding won’t get rid of the song on it already?
Please Answer!!
amos replied:
Hi Jessie, you can manage your songs using iTunes with your PC or your Mac. You don’t have to erase the whole iPod.
Debbie said,
June 9, 2009 @ 12:33 am
This is perfect. No wonder you have so many reply’s, I will try it now
Keith said,
June 22, 2009 @ 3:03 am
I had trouble getting into edit mode to change my ipod name despite Amos’ great instructions. I finally figured out that my device was synched with another machine. I went into Settings, (in iTune v8, it shows up at the bottom of the window when a device is attached, but maybe only when the device is not synched with this computer). I checked the box that said “Replace all on Autofill” or something like that, then clicked on Autofill down at the bottom of the screen. I got a message that the ipd was already synched with another library — did I want to erase it completely and synch it with this library?” I answered yes and let it synch, and after, I could go in and edit the ipod name.
I hope this helps some people who are having trouble following Amos’ instructions.
sesa said,
June 25, 2009 @ 4:50 am
hi amos
i was worndering
can i chang my name with out using itunes?
pleas answer!!!!
mason said,
June 27, 2009 @ 10:05 am
You’re okay.
sakis said,
June 30, 2009 @ 8:11 pm
thanks man!!very usefull
jose said,
July 3, 2009 @ 12:45 am
thanks
Marissa said,
July 3, 2009 @ 8:34 pm
Thanks a bunch! I thought I would never be able to change it.