iPad Air 2 problems with iTunes due to 'obsolete Mac Pro

[AndyPS]

I have been told by Apple Support that my iPad Air 2 can no longer be recognised through iTunes by my (obsolete!) Mac Pro as its too old to update from iTunes 12.2. Sadly i don't have the funds to get a new Mac at the moment so I hoped someone could suggest an alternative way of transferring data, like MP4 movies, stored on my Mac Pro to iPad via a USB cable. I have tried to do as much research online as possible but I'm still none the wiser! I'd really appreciate it if anyone was able to help at all. Many thanks

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

had you just upgraded the iPad Air to iOS10? Is this why you have this issue?

 

[AndyPS]

Thanks for your response. Much appreciated. My iPad software is iOS 10.0.2
When I connect to my Mac, iTunes won't connect to iPad as my home Mac's software needs updating to latest iTunes (currently 12.2.2)
Sadly my Mac is too old to support latest version of iTunes. Apple Support basically said there's nothing I can do to get my iPad to sync with my Mac Pro through iTunes. Hence my desperate search for alternatives ;–) Sorry if I've not been very clear. My knowledge of this kind of stuff is sadly limited!

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

you have been very clear, would you consider downgrading back to iOS 9.3.5? I have just downgraded my iPhone for the very reason that it is crucial for me to have iTunes sync with the iPhone as my old iMac is at the end of it's road OS wise ...

 

[AndyPS]

Sounds a great plan presuming there's not any major issues in doing so. As you've done it yourself I'm guessing not too many!

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

I did a lot of research into finding iTunes replacements but unfortunately there was nothing for Mac OS 10.7.5 which is the maximum OS my iMac can run. While I loved iOS10 I couldn't live without iTunes sync & eventually downgraded.

Have you a backup from when your iPad was running iOS9? Either to iTunes or to the cloud?

What Mac OS version are you running on your Mac Pro.

That is the only major issue ... if you have never backed up to either source then downgrading will wipe your phone of pretty much everything bar the iOS.

If you had backed up then when the downgrade is complete iTunes will ask if you want to restore from a backup. This is what I chose so I only lost a few whatsapp messages from the date of the upgrade to the date of the downgrade.

 

[AndyPS]

I'm also running 10.7.5
Sadly I don't think I've done a proper back-up! Oops.
I have lots of photos/videos in 'Camera' and MP4 files in 'Videos' I wouldn't want to lose just yet.
No music on iPad at least!
I can certainly look at down grading later on.
You've been really helpful, thank you.

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

Apple only allow a certain window for downgrading, I'm not sure how long ... you can keep track at this link you just have to work out which ipsw is for your device.

http://api.ineal.me/tss/status#

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

Also Dropbox is good for transferring your files from the iPad onto your Mac Pro ... if you have mail or contacts etc you should enable iCloud to back these up so they would always re-download regardless if you'd backed up to iTunes as I mentioned before ... your apps too wouldn't be lost with iCloud enabled.