How do I install iTunes on Ubuntu?

Question

I've tried different ways to install iTunes, but to no avail. I tried with Wine, but it didn't work. Is it possible to have iTunes on Ubuntu?

Solution 1

You can try using PlayOnLinux.

PlayOnLinux is a graphical tool supplementing Wine.

To install PlayOnLinux on Ubuntu follow the below steps:

sudo wget -q "http://deb.playonlinux.com/public.gpg" -O- | sudo apt-key add -

Add playonlinux repository and install it

sudo wget http://deb.playonlinux.com/playonlinux_precise.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/playonlinux.list
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install playonlinux

In case you get an error, do this else skip to next

sudo apt-get install curl p7zip-full p7zip-rar

Now run it

sudo playonlinux

iTunes on Ubuntu

• Download iTunes
• Navigate to the already open PlayOnLinux window and click on Install a non-listed program as shown below.
• Browse to the iTunes setup file.
• Click on Next and follow the installation instructions

source

Solution 2

These solutions are in more detail and have screenshots here:
http://web.archive.org/web/20150511192215/http://www.ubuntuka.com/itunes-ubuntu-linux

It is possible to run iTunes using Wine but you may have to download an older version and certain things will not work however these steps should allow you to at least get the program up and running:

1. Go to Ubuntu menu and select

   System –> Administration –> Synaptic Package Manager

   then type ‘wine’ in quick search and select wine package.

2. Hit Ctrl+I to mark it for installation or set a checkbox left to package name (it will also ask to mark several dependency packages).

3. Press Apply button or hit Ctrl+P and confirm the installation.

4. In a few minutes Ubuntu will download and install wine.

5. After a confirmation message that packages were installed close Synaptic Package Manager. From this point wine is installed on your Ubuntu and you can run various windows applications including itunes.

6. Download the latest version of iTunes from www.apple.com (today it is iTunes 9.2) or download one of previous versions from www.oldapps.com if the latest one poses problems or just refuses to install under wine emulator (this happens so be prepared for this situation).

7. Open folder with downloaded itunes.exe (if you use Firefox as browser it’ll be saved directly to the desktop), select file and enter to file properties (right click –> Properties).

8. Save changes and execute the file by double click. Follow itunes installation steps until it shows that installation is successfully finished.

9. Once installation is finished you will be able to start itunes by clicking corresponding shortcut on Ubuntu desktop or running the following command in terminal (go to Ubuntu menu and select System –> Accessories –> Terminal):

   wine ~/.wine/dosdevices/c\:/Program Files/iTunes/iTunes.exe
   

The second and less popular way of getting iTunes running is by using a Virtualbox, and this way all of the features are available. To do so follow the steps provided here:

1. Go to www.virtualbox.org and download the latest version of Virtualbox binary deb package for Ubuntu.

2. Open downloaded package with GDebi Package Installer — it comes with Ubuntu by default and is associated with .deb files from the beginning so just double click Virtualbox deb package.

3. Press ‘Install Package’ button and follow easy instructions to get Virtualbox package installed. Once finished you will get ‘Oracle VM Virtualbox’ item in Applications –> System Tools menu.

4. Open

   Applications –> System Tools –> Oracle VM Virtualbox

   and press button ‘New’ to create virtual machine, and prepare virtual machine for Windows XP (you can also use other versions of Windows) operating system that will be used to run iTunes. You may need to look into Virtualbox's documents on setting up a virtual machine as they can be kinda tricky sometimes.

5. Insert your preferred version of Windows media (disc, iso, or usb and I personally currently recommend Windows 7) and press ‘Start’ button to boot virtual machine. Install a copy of Windows to virtual machine and logon to the Windows desktop.

6. In Windows inside virtual machine go to apple.com, download and install the latest version of iTunes. Once finished you will get workable itunes with all those terrific features it supports.

Another way to keep iTunes in your life is dual-booting Windows and Ubuntu.

And these are some alternatives to iTunes that work great in Ubuntu

1. Rhythmbox — this one comes with Ubuntu by default so it’s even not necessary to install it, just go to

   Applications –> Sound and Video –> Rhythmbox Music Player.

   It provides powerful and easy music browser, can sort/search music of almost all known formats including streaming audio, can play and rip CDs and DVDs. One of the most important features of Rhythmbox is iPod support meaning e.g. I can connect my favourite ipod classic 160GB and transfer music to it without itunes at all. Developers say that Rhythmbox was inspired by Apple’s itunes. I believe them.

2. Amarok — music player and manager with impressive list of features.

   Currently this is the most powerful music engine available for Ubuntu and Linux on the whole. Amarok makes it possible to transfer files to iPod and other mp3 players, to buy legal music from Magnatune (www.Magnatune.com) store, to create dynamic playlists, to import itunes music database and much-much more. Amarok was designed for KDE (while Ubuntu runs Gnome) desktop manager so it requires a lot of dependencies when you install it — be prepared to download 200 MB of staff to get Amarok installed.

3. Banshee — is open source media player supported by Novel. It brings a lot of useful features to user starting from ability to manage music library and media art and ending with full support of video and podcasts. Banshee is one of the most pretty-looking application of this list, it took a lot of features from itunes and can also sync ipod and other media devices with your music and video library. I’m using Banshee for several years and still believe this is the best itunes-like music player for Ubuntu.

4. Exaile — is very fast and easy-to-use music player for Gnome window manager. Currently it is on its early stage of development and didn’t reach 1.0 version but brings very powerful list of features like album art management, lyrics fetching or ipod device support. Exaile was designed as an alternative to Amarok and iTunes so you will find many features from them.

Buy legal music in Ubuntu without itunes

There are two major alternatives to iTunes Music Store in Ubuntu which can be used in the same way — Jamendo, Magnatune. Ubuntu applications Rhythmbox, Banshee, Amarok and Exaile supports mentioned music stores and make it possible to navigate the music store and buy the music as easily as in itunes music store. Also there are a lot of music stores like Amazon which makes it possible to preview and buy music using any browser like Firefox, Opera or Chromimum which are supported by Ubuntu.

Solution 3

1. Install VirtualBox: https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Linux_Downloads
2. Create a Windows VM
3. Install iTunes in the running VM: https://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

Solution 4

tl;dr:

Tunesviewer: Lightweight, easy-to-use app for university podcast access.

---

I might be a little bit late, and this solution does not provide all iTunes functionalities but its enough for streaming/downloading podcasts and iTunesU content.

Solution 5

You don't need to install the repo to get PlayOnLinux, as the standard repos contain it. It can be found by using the following command:

sudo apt-get install playonlinux

You will also need to do install curl and 7zip as mentioned above:

sudo apt-get install curl p7zip-full p7zip-rar

View more solutions

Comments

[NoBugs]

Why do you need to install iTunes?

[Ben Mordecai]

@NoBugs To properly manage an iOS device

[NoBugs]

@BenMordecai You can move documents on/off the device with the instructions here: askubuntu.com/questions/685268

[Ben Mordecai]

@NoBugs but you can't manage music, audiobooks, podcasts, and iTunes U audio from computer to device through the native apps, right?

[NoBugs]

You can manage music, audiobooks, podcasts, that are on VLC app, you can share to any app that supports iTunes-document-sharing.

[Ben Mordecai]

There is very real value in having a dedicated app or section of app for the various kinds of media, including features specific to that kind (speed shift, shuffle, smart playlists, smart syncing, logical sorting) which cannot be replicated by document sharing and aren't readily available in third party apps (depending on the immediate state of the app store).

[Pablo]

Are you using ubuntu 16.04 or 14.10? that might be the problem

[flyingdrifter]

The very best solution is not to use "walled garden" products like those made by apple. I sold my iphone and ipod for a Nexus 5x and havn't looked back. And if an open source phone hits the market with good specs I will embrace that as well.

[NoBugs]

@flyingdrifter Yes! you mean like the Librem 5 puri.sm/shop/librem-5 ?

[jrh]

While libmobiledevice is pretty impressive, note that there are some pretty significant gaps in its feature set, contacts and calendar synchronization is in the experimental phase. Also... FWIW regarding the whole "why Apple" question, just off the top of my head, there's some form factors that only Apple offered in the past (e.g., iPhone SE), some people are forced to use iOS devices for work purposes, and Apple in general has a longer support cycle than Android (5 years instead of 2), and Apple doesn't come with cell provider or handset bloatware.

[user243028]

it didnt work do you reckon you could do a video on it?

[installero]

Didn't manage to find a version of iTunes that would install on Ubuntu 12.04. Niether 32bit nor 64bit.

[αғsнιη]

While this link may answer the question, it is better to include the essential parts of the answer here and provide the link for reference. Link-only answers can become invalid if the linked page changes.

[Daniel]

Okay hmm, it's a pretty long and thorough page I guess I'll try to

[Thomas Ward]

This should be redone - suggesting the use of XP is dangerous as XP is no longer supported. You also assume the user has a disk

[Daniel]

This is alot of work :)

[Thomas Ward]

This will not work with the latest iPhones and iOS software.

[Thomas Ward]

Also, the use of Wine for iTunes is bad - it doesn't effectively run anymore and can't actually be used with the mobile devices ("Mobile Device Support could not be initialized" is the error it throws). I have tested this multiple times too and confirmed this.

[blade19899]

@ThomasW. Tested with iPod Touch 1G/2G/3G/4G/5G, iPhone 1G/2G/3G/3GS/4/4S/5/5C/5S/6/6+, iPad 1/2/3/4/Mini/Mini 3/Air/Air 2 and Apple TV 2G/3G running up to firmware 8.1.2 on Linux, Mac OS X and Windows.

[Thomas Ward]

Tried yesterday, still a no-go - you need the Debian Sid packaging or newer I believe to make it truly work

[blade19899]

@ThomasW. You could try to compile the latest version? If only I still had an Iphone... wait, scratch that last part. I might compile the latest version myself. Make a deb, and post it on-line.

[isomorphismes]

I don't think this is correct, and furthermore following these instructions and then running sudo apt-get -f install caused some crucial-sounding programs like upower and gnome-power-manager to be removed.

[Paul Bissex]

First link in this answer has been hijacked.

[NoBugs]

@ThomasW. It does work with the latest iOS. If it doesn't work for you did you have the latest version? There is a PPA if you don't want to compile: launchpad.net/~martin-salbaba/+archive/ubuntu/…

[NoBugs]

Install a separate, bloated OS to run bloated iTunes software, just to move some files onto iDevice? Why not use libimobiledevice? I use it to transfer books, audio and view the shared-documents on apps that support it.

[Thomas Ward]

@NoBugs on which version of Ubuntu? Note that I'm still mentioning Trusty, and 'out of the box' - there's a "trust" factor in PPAs that means you can't just blindly trust all PPAs.

[NoBugs]

Does Banshee sync the music to VLC or other players, because I hear Apple decided a few versions ago that no-one should be able to add music to the main iTunes-player on device.

[NoBugs]

@ThomasW. Yes I'm on 14.04 and it works. I checked included-files of those packages and it just installs libimobiledevice files (mostly /usr/lib) and docs, if you're worried about it including some other unwanted software.

[alex]

Just what I needed! Cheers.

[orschiro]

That looks like a promising solution! Does it allow the user to leave a review (rating) for a podcast shown on iTunes?

[Yan Foto]

@orschiro not that I know of!

[orschiro]

What a bummer. I appreciate your response! Let me know if you are aware of any way to submit a rating or review to a podcast on iTunes.

[NoBugs]

@BenMordecai You can move audio to and from VLC and any other apps that support document sharing.

[Ben Mordecai]

But not any of the native apps.

[Toby Bartels]

I replaced the hijacked link with the latest version on archive.org (although I don't have enough karma here to do that without requiring review).

[Abs]

syncing with i devices does not work

[bonh]

Definitely a good point! Could you move this to a comment on the top answer so it's more visible?

[Nateowami]

sudo wget -q "http://deb.playonlinux.com/public.gpg" -O- | sudo apt-key add - Requesting over http defeats the purpose of a public key. Over https that page returns 404. Seriously, what do the playonlinux folks think a public key is for anyway?

[user8675309]

@BenMordecai I agree; it's pretty funky. However, it does work. I personally use this just to make iPhone backups.

[brandones]

You can just sudo apt install playonlinux in Ubuntu 18.04.

[rbj]

This helped - along w/ not running planonlinux as root