Copy local music to iPhone with KDE Connect

Updated: December 6, 2024

Okay, okay. First, lemme tell you. I unpeasanted myself. I got an iPhone. But hold your horses. It ain't a new one. Far from it. My friend got himself a brand new device, so he gave me - for free - his old iPhone 11, which was released back in 2019. Essentially, it's identical to the same model I tested on Dedoimedo a while back. Well, now that I have it, my first order of business is customization, testing, tweaking, and you guessed it, putting some fine LOCAL music onto the device. Usually, easier said than done.

But wait. I've already shown you how to do this using VLC. This amazing program slash app allows you to upload your media into its folder, on the iPhone. And that's it. You don't need to bother with any cloud stuff, any subscriptions or anything like that. Today, I will "extend" the article and show you how to use KDE Connect, another great program, to pair with your iPhone, and send content and whatnot to and fro. Let's begin with this experiment, shall we then? After me.

Teaser

Recipe: one iPhone, one KDE Connect

The nice thing about this tutorial, I'd like to believe, is that you can achieve the desired results by using a Linux machine, w00t. Now, KDE Connect is available for other operating systems, but essentially, preferably, if you're running a Plasma-based distro, like I do (Kubuntu 22.04), then it's all there, integrated into the desktop, waiting for you. The only thing remaining is to install KDE Connect on your iPhone and give it access to your local network.

Permissions

App, overview App, paired

Once both devices are on the same Wireless network, they ought to see each other. You will need to allow the pairing on the iPhone, and trust your (computer) device. Once this step is complete, your iPhone will show in the KDE Connect menu on your desktop, and you will be able to do all sorts of things, depending on which plugins you have enabled. But most importantly, you can send files. These do NOT have to be just music files. You can upload movies, documents, anything - and this is what makes it even more useful than VLC in that regard.

Paired

Share files

Copy files, enjoy yourself

Select what you want to "ferry" over to the iPhone, and let it run. The transfer speed will be limited by your Wireless connectivity. Furthermore, there may be bugs. For example, I noticed that if you switch away from KDE Connect, the copy/transfer will abort (files already copied will be on your iPhone). However, unlike the VLC exercise, where it's advisable to copy small chunks of files, here, you can select as many as you like. You can also send files from the iPhone to your desktop/laptop. Really neat.

Copying files

Once the files are copied, you still have one more step. The files will all reside inside the KDE Connect folder on your iPhone. As such, they will not be accessible in VLC. You will need to open the file manager app (Files) on your device, select the songs (or any media) you've just copied inside the the KDE Connect folder, mark them for copy/move, and then paste them in the VLC folder. And now, you can enjoy your music!

Copy files VLC

Conclusion

For many years, I've struggled with the concept of being able to upload my own music to an iPhone. And then, all of a sudden, there's not one but two methods available, both open-source, both Linux-friendly, and as it happens, utilizing some of my favorite tools. With KDE Connect, you can do a lot of useful things, and there's no need for any extravagant cloud stuff or jumping through weird hoops.

Hopefully, this tutorial will help you enjoy your music, on an iPhone. I am still not 100% convinced that this ecosystem is suitable for me, but then, it might be, as it does offer more peace and quiet and a bit more order than the equivalent Android. But that's not the topic today. We wanted to copy a bunch of MP3 songs onto an iPhone, old school style, and we did it. Take care.

Cheers.