How to Get Podcast Playlists to Sync in iTunes 9.0

Why don't my podcast playlists show up on my iPhone (or iPod) when using iTunes 9.0?

by Doug Updated May 31, 2012

To get Podcast playlists to sync, uncheck "Automatically include" box. Then in the Include Episodes from Playlists section be sure to check the Podcast playlists that you want to sync.

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You can sync podcast playlists in iTunes 9.0 when 'Automatically include...' is checked as long as the 'episodes of' drop-down list is set to 'selected podcasts' (if it's set to 'all podcasts' the sync does not seem to work).

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So yesterday I downloaded the new version of iTunes 9, and updated my iPhone with OS version 3.1. Everything seemed to be working great until I went to play my podcast playlists on my iPhone. The podcast playlists were not syncing to my iPhone for some reason. I'm not sure if it's a bug in iTunes 9 or what, but here's how to get Podcast Playlists to sync to an iPhone (or iPod).

Connect your iPhone (or iPod) and sync to iTunes 9.
Now in iTunes in the left hand menu under 'Devices', click on your iPhone (or iPod).
Then click the 'Podcasts' tab.
Leave 'Sync Podcasts' checked.
UNCHECK 'Automatically include...'
Check the appropriate playlists to sync in the 'Include Episodes from Playlists' section.
Then click the 'Apply' (or 'Sync') button.

Those are the seven steps that did the trick for me. It's certainly not intuitive (on Apples part), but it did get my podcast playlists to sync to my iPhone in iTunes 9.

UPDATE 9/18/2009: I just wanted to give quick update to let you know what I believe is the cause for podcast playlists not syncing. When 'Automatically include...' is checked and the 'episodes of' drop-down list is set to 'all podcasts', it appears that podcast playlists do NOT sync.

However, I am able to keep 'Automatically include...' checked and get podcasts to sync when the 'episodes of' drop down list is set to 'selected podcasts'. You then just need to place checkmarks next to the Podcasts that you want to sync in the 'Podcasts' list box section (within the 'Podcasts' tab). Here's what I did:

Connect your iPhone (or iPod) and sync to iTunes 9.
Now in iTunes in the left hand menu under 'Devices', click on your iPhone (or iPod).
Then click the 'Summary' tab, CHECK 'Sync only checked songs and videos'.
Click the 'Podcasts' tab and CHECK 'Automatically include...' (then I chose '3 most recent'). Now in the 'episodes of' drop down box be sure to choose 'selected podcasts'.
In the 'Podcasts' list box section, CHECK all the podcasts you want to have synced.
Check the appropriate playlists to sync in the 'Include Episodes from Playlists' section.
Click the 'Apply' button and if you iPhone is connected it should start automatically syncing.

The downside of this second approach is that when you add a new podcast in iTunes, you will have to go in to the Podcasts tab and then find the new podcast in the Podcasts list box section and make sure the new podcast is checked, in order for it to be included when you sync your iphone or ipod.

This definitely appears to be a bug on Apples part, because when the 'episodes of' drop down list is set to 'all podcasts' it should be syncing all podcasts, but it's not. So hopefully, in the next iTunes update, they will have this issue corrected.

UPDATE 9/23/2009: Apple just released iTunes 9.0.1 which has a number of bug fixes for iTunes 9.0. I just installed it and updated my iPhone and it appears to have fixed some the podcast playlist issue from iTunes 9.0. So I would highly recommend you go and update your iTunes to the latest version (iTunes 9.0.1).

On second thought, there still seems to be some playlist syncing problems that Apple needs to fix with iTunes 9.0.1. Here's what I determined:

When 'Automatically include' is checked, be sure to set the drop-down list to "all" or "1 most recent" etc. for classic playlists to sync properly. However, if you have the 'Automatically include' drop-down box set to "all unplayed" or "all new", classic playlists do not seem to sync, when the 'episodes of' drop-down box is set to "all podcasts".

NOTE: If you're still having trouble syncing, try re-creating your iTunes Library and playlists.

90 Comments

by MBisson on 9/12/2009 Had exactly the same problem with Classic ipod. Your solution is great, Thank you, You also need to go through all the other podcasts and select the other podcasts you want on the pod too or they won't be included. Each list can be multi selected using cmd click on one of the check boxes this will have to do until they fix the bug.
by iprof on 9/12/2009 Thanks for the work around! I've put it on the Apple forums for others who are having this problem.
by John on 9/13/2009 Thanks, my life has been in shambles the past two days until finding this helpful hint.
by nordbig on 9/13/2009 Fantastic. Many thanks.
by Daniel Kendall on 9/13/2009 Thanks guys, saved me hours of torment!! In the meantime - Apple, FIX THIS!
by Jen on 9/13/2009 This worked for my nano 3G - thanks!!!!
by Twist on 9/13/2009 A good solution to an annoying bug that may not be a bug in Apple's opinion. A quick way to get all of your podcasts on your iPod plus specific playlists of podcast is to create a Smart Playlist with "Media Kind is Podcast". Set this to sync as well as any other podcast playlists you use and all is back to pre-iTunes 9.0 functionality.
by EMG on 9/13/2009 Yeah - c'mon, Apple, I'm disappointed. Making a new release WORSE than the one before is supposed to be a WINDOWS thing - not Apple! Don't get sloppy. Test for these bugs before releasing so we can maintain the Apple quality to which we've become accustomed.
by John on 9/13/2009 This was a great fix. Thank you. Apple should have fixed it or at least better documented it. I look forward to a software update in the near future.
by Bill on 9/13/2009 Thank you, thank you, thank you! I've spent days thinking my iPod had gone nuts. I can now resume a normal life.
by Ste Turner on 9/14/2009 Well spotted, I can now catch up with my podcasts in the car
by Rob on 9/14/2009 Thanks for this I am having this exact problem with my iPod classic. Strange behavior for sure.
by Sarah on 9/14/2009 Thanks a million for posting this!
by Jeff on 9/14/2009 Thanks, I've had a horrible weekend looking for a work around! haha.
by Kurt_eh on 9/14/2009 Playlists now load, BUT, the playlist orders are all FUBAR! So much for listening to podiobooks in order by chapter. Apparently Chapter 8 is the most logical choice to follow Chapter 1.
by Richard on 9/14/2009 I had to go back and change the settings on my Podcast so they wouldn't be skipped on shuffle. Please Apple, stop rewriting my preferences! Again, a Microsoft thing to do
by luke on 9/14/2009 thank you so very kindly.
by Mike on 9/14/2009 Thank you, I too was lost with out my podcast play list. I did find the podcasts and I had to manually go through them. I am so glad you showed us how to fix it so I can go back to enjoying them instead of fighting with them.
by mlmeyer2 on 9/14/2009 Worked great. I tried everything and then I tried your advice and it worked like a charm.
by Caro32 on 9/15/2009 Thanks a million!!!
by RICHARD on 9/15/2009 fab !!!!
by Perry Wilson on 9/15/2009 Thanks, I'm a PC and I have to say I don't think much of the quality control at Apple, this isn't the first time a release has screwed up my sync.
by Simon on 9/15/2009 Thanks! Now Ijust have to wait for itunes to write back 40GB of files to the ipod . . .
by Tom on 9/16/2009 Thanks for pointing this out. It was driving me nuts. Now it's back to the way it was before. Of course, the way the smart playlists appear on iTunes is different than the way it shows up on the iPod, but it's no more broken now than it was before. Take yourself out for some waffles. You've earned it.
by MarkP on 9/16/2009 Many, many thanks! I've been googling 'smart playlists not working after sync "Itunes 9"' all morning, but your answer actually solved my problem!
by Tedric on 9/16/2009 Thanks - much appreciated.
by LillyVee on 9/16/2009 Thank you so much!
by AH on 9/16/2009 Just the fix i needed - thanks. I can't believe apple made that change...
by John V. on 9/16/2009 I don't have a devices menu on my itunes. How do I get it to show it so i can follow the rest of the directions? please help?.
by John V. on 9/16/2009 Please disregard my last comment. I have figured it out. THANKS
by catquas on 9/16/2009 Thank you!
by catquas on 9/16/2009 This works with iTunes U also. First you have to enable iPod syn with iTunes U - for some reason this is not automatic anymore.
by pyritz on 9/16/2009 I like to automatically sync the oldest episode of every podcast I subscribe to, but I also make playlists for when I want to listen to many episodes of the same podcast in a row (like a podcast novel, for example). It seems like I can EITHER sync one episode from all podcasts OR I can sync playlists with more than one episode. I think Apple just made some incorrect assumptions about people's listening habits.
by Jen on 9/16/2009 Oh thank goodness, I thought it was just something I did!
by EMG on 9/16/2009 I'm the same EMG that posted earlier. Unfortunately, the original (Doug's) suggestion that started this thread did not work for me - it still would not sync podcasts for me no matter how many times I tried. However, I did just find another workaround that worked. First, select/highlight the podcast(s) you want from the list (you can select multiples by clicking on the first one you want, then holding down the shift key as you select the last one you want) and then ctrl + mouse click, then mouse click on the "get info" option. Then click on the "options" tab and within there, change the "media kind" from "podcast" to "music." This will immediately remove your podcasts from the podcast section and mix them in with your music and you will have to go to the "music" section to find them. So obviously this works best if the selected podcast(s) have something in common in their name that you can search for to find them again. However, once you have changed their type from "podcast" to "music," then iTunes will treat them just like any other "songs" and you will be able to move them to playlists and they will sync properly.
by Ken on 9/17/2009 Saved my life... searching for podcasts while behind the wheel NOT a good idea...
by Peter on 9/17/2009 Thank you so much! I was pulling my hair out!
by Paul on 9/17/2009 Thanks .. This happend to me everyother iTunes update. Very frustrating.. thinking where did i screw up.. When in fact it was apples update the whole time.. Thanks very much
by same problem, awful solution on 9/18/2009 this does not help, i need the one new episode of every podcast to sync, PLUS a playlist of old podcasts. help?
by Green Gordon on 9/18/2009 I think leaving it on 'automatically sync selected podcasts', and then ticking all your playlists may work better.
by Anne on 9/18/2009 Thanks for posting the solution up! I was half strangling myself out of frustration.
by rachelattack on 9/18/2009 awesome, I was confused.
by podcast addict on 9/19/2009 I first experienced this problem with my wife's 3rd gen Nano on an older version of iTunes. When it happened to my 1st gen today, my head exploded. Gonna see if we can fix hers now. I always assumed this was a firmware glitch on Nano3s
by Jeff on 9/19/2009 Thank you. You are a genius! My runs would have been a loss without you.
by Runner on 9/19/2009 This works great BUT....do you have any experience with Nike+ for the iTouch? I have my Podcast playlist in my list of Playlists, but it doesn't show up in Nike+
by Boso on 9/19/2009 Thanks, works a treat !! @_
by Alberto on 9/20/2009 THANKS A LOT! I wasted 1/2 of my weekend trying to fix this on my iPod G5, and I was about to give up... Apple, shame on you for releasing untested software with buggy BASIC functionality!!! You are going to lose an old customer to Zune.
by Mary on 9/20/2009 Thank you soooooooooo much. I was very, very frustrated but you have saved the day!
by Keith on 9/20/2009 Thanks much!
by Eric on 9/21/2009 Thank you VERY VERY much. This was ruining my life. I can move on now.
by Iolanthe on 9/21/2009 This bug ruined my day! Thank you so much for this easy workaround. I hope Apple coughs up a patch sooner rather than later.
by Shannon on 9/21/2009 thank you! I had been trying to get this to work for a while also. I got the Smart Playlist to work, but it wouldn't display in the order I selected (only some FUBAR order as another person commented.) This works much better!
by Addis on 9/21/2009 Many thank - my trip to the gym tomorrow was going to be very quiet before your advice got me sorted. Still a shame that the uploaded podcasts seem to be totally missing from "Recently Added".
by Jon on 9/22/2009 Thanks - I had spent a day looking for my problem on my 60gb Classic. Totally reloaded it from Itunes. I still have one problem..... some of my playlists transferred....but a good number of them did not. So I am still going nuts. Shame on you Apple. Get this fixed. For every one of us who has time to solve the problem, I bet there are a dozen pulling their hair out.
by Robertv on 9/22/2009 A very annoying fault now fixed. Thankfully IT9 fixed it's "8 minutes to load" problem within a few hours. I think they've screwed something up there too, as this is a common problem around my group of friends.
by Doug on 9/23/2009 Hey Guys, Apple just released a new iTunes update, which fixes a number of bugs in iTunes 9.0, including the podcast playlist issue. So I'd highly recommend you go and update your iTunes to the newest version (iTunes 9.0.1) right away...!!!
by TomWE on 9/23/2009 Hi is anyone still having this problem even with the iTunes update? This is my predicament. I followed your instructions above doug, and then after the update came out I put it all back. Now the playlists don't show up again. Might require some more fiddling...
by Che on 9/23/2009 Updating to iTunes 9.0.1 worked for me, but iTunes was crashing every time I clicked on the podcasts tab. If you also have that problem, on Windows computers, go to add/remove programs, Quicktime, Change, Repair. After that, the crashes should stop. See also http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageI...
by TomWE on 9/23/2009 Nope, it seems I still must have the "update selected podcasts" option picked in order to get my podcast playlists included in the sync. Not fixed whatsoever. For the record i've a 3G 16GB associated with my iMac running Leopard & latest iTunes / iPhone software. oh well at least i know how to make it work thanks to the ORIGINAL POSTING HERE....
by pacman on 9/23/2009 9.0.1 did not fix it directly, but changing podcast settings to all instead of all unplayed did sync my classic playlist.
by Doug on 9/23/2009 Hey pacman, thanks for that tip. I just tested things out and ran into the same problem as you. It still looks like iTunes 9.0.1 has some bugs to work out. Here's what I determined: When 'Automatically include' is checked be sure to set the drop down list to "all" or "1 most recent" etc. for classic playlists to sync properly. If you have the 'Automatically include' drop down box set to "all unplayed" or "all new", classic playlists do not seem to sync when the 'episodes of' drop down box is set to "all podcasts".
by GT on 9/29/2009 Thanks ever so much I was pulling my hair out and I don't have a lot to spare :)
by HairPuller on 10/4/2009 Thank you for researching so many workarounds. Unfortunately, none of them worked for me. The playlist order of my "smart" playlist on my iPod could not be controlled by ordering it in iTunes. The workaround was to select all the podcasts in the smart playlist and paste them into a conventional playlist. The order of conventional lists is preserved. Here's my source: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=...
by Cathy on 10/5/2009 Thanks so much, it was such a dull day at work with no podcasts. I am loaded up for tomorrow. Thanks again.
by josh s on 10/5/2009 thank you very much - this solved it for me on my classic 160 as well!
by rach on 10/12/2009 wow. looks like everyone else had same prob as me. thanks for the help. now have podcasts for tomorrow's run.
by Kim on 10/18/2009 THANKS SO MUCH!
by Kay on 10/23/2009 Thanks so much. This was making me crazy.
by Punch the Computer Screen! on 10/29/2009 That is lovely! I was pissed for a second...minutes actually. I almost hate to update the sofware fearing things like this but you saved the day. Especially for someone like me who is not inclined to do all the legwork on computer type problems. I'm much more inclined to punch the screen. That does not work though. And you may need a new computer. Ha! CHEERS!
by Jon on 11/16/2009 I have a workaround that is slightly different. I changed the Media Kind (under Get Info....Options) to "audiobook" instead of "podcast". This seemed to fix it. Its also easier to implement. Note this is not the genre or category of "podcast" that is causing the problem
by james on 12/21/2009 I've built smart playlists for my podcasts, and by using the "Sync Podcasts" but then skipping all the individual podcasts but clicking on my selected playlists I have a clean solution. Makes it easier when I add or delete podcasts to my playlists, too, don't have to change any sync options. Thanks for the find here!
by Dave on 1/3/2010 Thank you!!!!
by Carlos on 1/10/2010 Found this explanation in iLunge forum: http://forums.ilounge.com/showthread.php?t=250664 Read the entry writen by Code Monkey on 09/10. He points out the following: if you CLICK on your device, then CLICK on Podcasts tab and then SCROLL DOWN the main window, THEN you see a whole section under the title "Include Episodes from Playlists". This section works just like the previous version´s playlist selection checkboxes. Hope this helps.
by Chazz on 1/21/2010 Thanks so much- this has been bothering me for months!
by zamraam on 1/28/2010 Brilliant!
by Ray on 2/6/2010 Thanks for your article. I have been struggling for a week now trying to figure out how to get these playlists to sync on my ipod classic. Now I get it. Not the most intuitive application design on apple's part. Thanks again for your insight.
by Cana on 2/26/2010 Excellent advice, thanks very much.
by Cheonast on 2/26/2010 I echo Cana: This solved a problem that had perplexed me for quite some time. Thanks!
by Steve on 3/4/2010 Well done. Many thanks
by Chrisl on 3/15/2010 Hallelujah! No more suicidal fiddling to select podcasts individually in the car!
by dreamdecay on 3/22/2010 Thanks so much for the information. I was angry and confused untill I read your solution!
by Kyle on 5/2/2010 Very helpful. Thank you.
by Nina on 5/4/2010 Thank you so much-now my kids can listen too!
by NB on 6/9/2010 Thank you. Easy fix, but very unintuitive software.
by Heather on 9/17/2010 THANK YOU!!
by Ashley on 1/8/2012 Had the exact same issue with classic IPOD with newest version of ITUNES (as of 1/2012), Went through same steps as listed and did have to select the desired podcast episodes but had success. Thank you so much to whoever posted this solution! :) God bless!
by Dan on 1/21/2012 You are amaz-balls!! Thank you
by damien on 5/5/2012 Note this issue started in 2009, and 3 YEARS later, it still hasn't been fixed! What the hell? Weird thing is, I've got one playlist that does sync with "podcast" as the media kind. But it's the only one. All other podcast playlists, I have had to change the media kind to "music" in order for them to sync. How is this inconsistency explained I wonder?
by HeatherB on 1/6/2013 Sweet. THANK YOU!
by mb on 1/13/2013 Great post! Thanks. I have an old ipod 3G which I use in my car. I can now listen to podcasts again.

by MBisson on 9/12/2009

Had exactly the same problem with Classic ipod. Your solution is great, Thank you, You also need to go through all the other podcasts and select the other podcasts you want on the pod too or they won't be included. Each list can be multi selected using cmd click on one of the check boxes this will have to do until they fix the bug.

by iprof on 9/12/2009

Thanks for the work around! I've put it on the Apple forums for others who are having this problem.

by John on 9/13/2009

Thanks, my life has been in shambles the past two days until finding this helpful hint.

by nordbig on 9/13/2009

Fantastic. Many thanks.

by Daniel Kendall on 9/13/2009

Thanks guys, saved me hours of torment!! In the meantime - Apple, FIX THIS!

by Jen on 9/13/2009

This worked for my nano 3G - thanks!!!!

by Twist on 9/13/2009

A good solution to an annoying bug that may not be a bug in Apple's opinion.

A quick way to get all of your podcasts on your iPod plus specific playlists of podcast is to create a Smart Playlist with "Media Kind is Podcast". Set this to sync as well as any other podcast playlists you use and all is back to pre-iTunes 9.0 functionality.

by EMG on 9/13/2009

Yeah - c'mon, Apple, I'm disappointed. Making a new release WORSE than the one before is supposed to be a WINDOWS thing - not Apple! Don't get sloppy. Test for these bugs before releasing so we can maintain the Apple quality to which we've become accustomed.

by John on 9/13/2009

This was a great fix. Thank you.

Apple should have fixed it or at least better documented it. I look forward to a software update in the near future.

by Bill on 9/13/2009

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I've spent days thinking my iPod had gone nuts. I can now resume a normal life.

by Ste Turner on 9/14/2009

Well spotted, I can now catch up with my podcasts in the car

by Rob on 9/14/2009

Thanks for this I am having this exact problem with my iPod classic. Strange behavior for sure.

by Sarah on 9/14/2009

Thanks a million for posting this!

by Jeff on 9/14/2009

Thanks, I've had a horrible weekend looking for a work around! haha.

by Kurt_eh on 9/14/2009

Playlists now load, BUT, the playlist orders are all FUBAR!

So much for listening to podiobooks in order by chapter. Apparently Chapter 8 is the most logical choice to follow Chapter 1.

by Richard on 9/14/2009

I had to go back and change the settings on my Podcast so they wouldn't be skipped on shuffle. Please Apple, stop rewriting my preferences! Again, a Microsoft thing to do

by luke on 9/14/2009

thank you so very kindly.

by Mike on 9/14/2009

Thank you, I too was lost with out my podcast play list. I did find the podcasts and I had to manually go through them. I am so glad you showed us how to fix it so I can go back to enjoying them instead of fighting with them.

by mlmeyer2 on 9/14/2009

Worked great. I tried everything and then I tried your advice and it worked like a charm.

by Caro32 on 9/15/2009

Thanks a million!!!

by RICHARD on 9/15/2009

fab !!!!

by Perry Wilson on 9/15/2009

Thanks, I'm a PC and I have to say I don't think much of the quality control at Apple, this isn't the first time a release has screwed up my sync.

by Simon on 9/15/2009

Thanks! Now Ijust have to wait for itunes to write back 40GB of files to the ipod . . .

by Tom on 9/16/2009

Thanks for pointing this out. It was driving me nuts. Now it's back to the way it was before. Of course, the way the smart playlists appear on iTunes is different than the way it shows up on the iPod, but it's no more broken now than it was before.

Take yourself out for some waffles. You've earned it.

by MarkP on 9/16/2009

Many, many thanks! I've been googling 'smart playlists not working after sync "Itunes 9"' all morning, but your answer actually solved my problem!

by Tedric on 9/16/2009

Thanks - much appreciated.

by LillyVee on 9/16/2009

Thank you so much!

by AH on 9/16/2009

Just the fix i needed - thanks. I can't believe apple made that change...

by John V. on 9/16/2009

I don't have a devices menu on my itunes. How do I get it to show it so i can follow the rest of the directions? please help?.

by John V. on 9/16/2009

Please disregard my last comment. I have figured it out. THANKS

by catquas on 9/16/2009

Thank you!

by catquas on 9/16/2009

This works with iTunes U also. First you have to enable iPod syn with iTunes U - for some reason this is not automatic anymore.

by pyritz on 9/16/2009

I like to automatically sync the oldest episode of every podcast I subscribe to, but I also make playlists for when I want to listen to many episodes of the same podcast in a row (like a podcast novel, for example). It seems like I can EITHER sync one episode from all podcasts OR I can sync playlists with more than one episode. I think Apple just made some incorrect assumptions about people's listening habits.

by Jen on 9/16/2009

Oh thank goodness, I thought it was just something I did!

by EMG on 9/16/2009

I'm the same EMG that posted earlier.

Unfortunately, the original (Doug's) suggestion that started this thread did not work for me - it still would not sync podcasts for me no matter how many times I tried. However, I did just find another workaround that worked.

First, select/highlight the podcast(s) you want from the list (you can select multiples by clicking on the first one you want, then holding down the shift key as you select the last one you want) and then ctrl + mouse click, then mouse click on the "get info" option.

Then click on the "options" tab and within there, change the "media kind" from "podcast" to "music."

This will immediately remove your podcasts from the podcast section and mix them in with your music and you will have to go to the "music" section to find them. So obviously this works best if the selected podcast(s) have something in common in their name that you can search for to find them again.

However, once you have changed their type from "podcast" to "music," then iTunes will treat them just like any other "songs" and you will be able to move them to playlists and they will sync properly.

by Ken on 9/17/2009

Saved my life... searching for podcasts while behind the wheel NOT a good idea...

by Peter on 9/17/2009

Thank you so much! I was pulling my hair out!

by Paul on 9/17/2009

Thanks .. This happend to me everyother iTunes update. Very frustrating.. thinking where did i screw up.. When in fact it was apples update the whole time.. Thanks very much

by same problem, awful solution on 9/18/2009

this does not help, i need the one new episode of every podcast to sync, PLUS a playlist of old podcasts. help?

by Green Gordon on 9/18/2009

I think leaving it on 'automatically sync selected podcasts', and then ticking all your playlists may work better.

by Anne on 9/18/2009

Thanks for posting the solution up! I was half strangling myself out of frustration.

by rachelattack on 9/18/2009

awesome, I was confused.

by podcast addict on 9/19/2009

I first experienced this problem with my wife's 3rd gen Nano on an older version of iTunes. When it happened to my 1st gen today, my head exploded. Gonna see if we can fix hers now. I always assumed this was a firmware glitch on Nano3s

by Jeff on 9/19/2009

Thank you. You are a genius! My runs would have been a loss without you.

by Runner on 9/19/2009

This works great BUT....do you have any experience with Nike+ for the iTouch? I have my Podcast playlist in my list of Playlists, but it doesn't show up in Nike+

by Boso on 9/19/2009

Thanks, works a treat !! @_

by Alberto on 9/20/2009

THANKS A LOT! I wasted 1/2 of my weekend trying to fix this on my iPod G5, and I was about to give up... Apple, shame on you for releasing untested software with buggy BASIC functionality!!! You are going to lose an old customer to Zune.

by Mary on 9/20/2009

Thank you soooooooooo much. I was very, very frustrated but you have saved the day!

by Keith on 9/20/2009

Thanks much!

by Eric on 9/21/2009

Thank you VERY VERY much. This was ruining my life. I can move on now.

by Iolanthe on 9/21/2009

This bug ruined my day! Thank you so much for this easy workaround. I hope Apple coughs up a patch sooner rather than later.

by Shannon on 9/21/2009

thank you! I had been trying to get this to work for a while also. I got the Smart Playlist to work, but it wouldn't display in the order I selected (only some FUBAR order as another person commented.) This works much better!

by Addis on 9/21/2009

Many thank - my trip to the gym tomorrow was going to be very quiet before your advice got me sorted. Still a shame that the uploaded podcasts seem to be totally missing from "Recently Added".

by Jon on 9/22/2009

Thanks - I had spent a day looking for my problem on my 60gb Classic. Totally reloaded it from Itunes.

I still have one problem..... some of my playlists transferred....but a good number of them did not. So I am still going nuts.

Shame on you Apple. Get this fixed. For every one of us who has time to solve the problem, I bet there are a dozen pulling their hair out.

by Robertv on 9/22/2009

A very annoying fault now fixed. Thankfully IT9 fixed it's "8 minutes to load" problem within a few hours. I think they've screwed something up there too, as this is a common problem around my group of friends.

by Doug on 9/23/2009

Hey Guys,

Apple just released a new iTunes update, which fixes a number of bugs in iTunes 9.0, including the podcast playlist issue. So I'd highly recommend you go and update your iTunes to the newest version (iTunes 9.0.1) right away...!!!

by TomWE on 9/23/2009

Hi is anyone still having this problem even with the iTunes update? This is my predicament. I followed your instructions above doug, and then after the update came out I put it all back. Now the playlists don't show up again. Might require some more fiddling...

by Che on 9/23/2009

Updating to iTunes 9.0.1 worked for me, but iTunes was crashing every time I clicked on the podcasts tab.

If you also have that problem, on Windows computers, go to add/remove programs, Quicktime, Change, Repair. After that, the crashes should stop. See also http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageI...

by TomWE on 9/23/2009

Nope, it seems I still must have the "update selected podcasts" option picked in order to get my podcast playlists included in the sync. Not fixed whatsoever. For the record i've a 3G 16GB associated with my iMac running Leopard & latest iTunes / iPhone software. oh well at least i know how to make it work thanks to the ORIGINAL POSTING HERE....

by pacman on 9/23/2009

9.0.1 did not fix it directly, but changing podcast settings to all instead of all unplayed did sync my classic playlist.

by Doug on 9/23/2009

Hey pacman, thanks for that tip. I just tested things out and ran into the same problem as you. It still looks like iTunes 9.0.1 has some bugs to work out.

Here's what I determined:

When 'Automatically include' is checked be sure to set the drop down list to "all" or "1 most recent" etc. for classic playlists to sync properly. If you have the 'Automatically include' drop down box set to "all unplayed" or "all new", classic playlists do not seem to sync when the 'episodes of' drop down box is set to "all podcasts".

by GT on 9/29/2009

Thanks ever so much I was pulling my hair out and I don't have a lot to spare :)

by HairPuller on 10/4/2009

Thank you for researching so many workarounds. Unfortunately, none of them worked for me. The playlist order of my "smart" playlist on my iPod could not be controlled by ordering it in iTunes. The workaround was to select all the podcasts in the smart playlist and paste them into a conventional playlist. The order of conventional lists is preserved. Here's my source:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=...

by Cathy on 10/5/2009

Thanks so much, it was such a dull day at work with no podcasts. I am loaded up for tomorrow.
Thanks again.

by josh s on 10/5/2009

thank you very much - this solved it for me on my classic 160 as well!

by rach on 10/12/2009

wow. looks like everyone else had same prob as me. thanks for the help. now have podcasts for tomorrow's run.

by Kim on 10/18/2009

THANKS SO MUCH!

by Kay on 10/23/2009

Thanks so much. This was making me crazy.

by Punch the Computer Screen! on 10/29/2009

That is lovely! I was pissed for a second...minutes actually. I almost hate to update the sofware fearing things like this but you saved the day. Especially for someone like me who is not inclined to do all the legwork on computer type problems. I'm much more inclined to punch the screen. That does not work though. And you may need a new computer. Ha! CHEERS!

by Jon on 11/16/2009

I have a workaround that is slightly different. I changed the Media Kind (under Get Info....Options) to "audiobook" instead of "podcast". This seemed to fix it. Its also easier to implement.

Note this is not the genre or category of "podcast" that is causing the problem

by james on 12/21/2009

I've built smart playlists for my podcasts, and by using the "Sync Podcasts" but then skipping all the individual podcasts but clicking on my selected playlists I have a clean solution. Makes it easier when I add or delete podcasts to my playlists, too, don't have to change any sync options. Thanks for the find here!

by Dave on 1/3/2010

Thank you!!!!

by Carlos on 1/10/2010

Found this explanation in iLunge forum:

http://forums.ilounge.com/showthread.php?t=250664

Read the entry writen by Code Monkey on 09/10.
He points out the following: if you CLICK on your device, then CLICK on Podcasts tab and then SCROLL DOWN the main window, THEN you see a whole section under the title "Include Episodes from Playlists". This section works just like the previous version´s playlist selection checkboxes.

Hope this helps.

by Chazz on 1/21/2010

Thanks so much- this has been bothering me for months!

by zamraam on 1/28/2010

Brilliant!

by Ray on 2/6/2010

Thanks for your article. I have been struggling for a week now trying to figure out how to get these playlists to sync on my ipod classic. Now I get it. Not the most intuitive application design on apple's part.
Thanks again for your insight.

by Cana on 2/26/2010

Excellent advice, thanks very much.

by Cheonast on 2/26/2010

I echo Cana: This solved a problem that had perplexed me for quite some time. Thanks!

by Steve on 3/4/2010

Well done. Many thanks

by Chrisl on 3/15/2010

Hallelujah! No more suicidal fiddling to select podcasts individually in the car!

by dreamdecay on 3/22/2010

Thanks so much for the information. I was angry and confused untill I read your solution!

by Kyle on 5/2/2010

Very helpful. Thank you.

by Nina on 5/4/2010

Thank you so much-now my kids can listen too!

by NB on 6/9/2010

Thank you. Easy fix, but very unintuitive software.

by Heather on 9/17/2010

THANK YOU!!

by Ashley on 1/8/2012

Had the exact same issue with classic IPOD with newest version of ITUNES (as of 1/2012), Went through same steps as listed and did have to select the desired podcast episodes but had success. Thank you so much to whoever posted this solution! :) God bless!

by Dan on 1/21/2012

You are amaz-balls!! Thank you

by damien on 5/5/2012

Note this issue started in 2009, and 3 YEARS later, it still hasn't been fixed! What the hell? Weird thing is, I've got one playlist that does sync with "podcast" as the media kind. But it's the only one. All other podcast playlists, I have had to change the media kind to "music" in order for them to sync. How is this inconsistency explained I wonder?

by HeatherB on 1/6/2013

Sweet. THANK YOU!

by mb on 1/13/2013

Great post! Thanks. I have an old ipod 3G which I use in my car. I can now listen to podcasts again.

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How to Get Podcast Playlists to Sync in iTunes 9.0

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