Voicemail

iTunes doesn't recognize my iPhone. What will i lose if i upgrade?

iTunes doesn't recognize my iPhone. What will i lose if i upgrade? I have a first generation iPhone. [software vers 1.1.2] Never unlocked or jailbroken. I always sync manually. When I try to upgrade the software it tells me I am not synched to the current iTunes library and wants to erase the phone. What will I lose if I say yes? If i'ts just the music, no problem, it's backed up. So are bookmarks, mail and photo's. I found software to get sms's and notes [without iPhone formatting]. But if I lose the voicemail or somethong else I can't think of beforehand I'll cry. Some websites tell me I should have backups in my var directory, but I don't. I asked Apple and AT&T. Three different answers. Why is there no way to completely back up an iPhone? I can do it with an ipod. Why does the iPhone have to sync to iTunes before an upgrade? How does it keep track of which iTunes library I am synched to? [I can't!] btw I tried using a jailbreak app to enable ssh [I have no idea what this means], but it requires me to sync the phone first, so no help there either. Help! ps "my iTunes doesn't recognize my iPhone"… kinda sounds like a country song written by a geek, eh? the Silicon Valley [sung to the tune of "Red River Valley*"] From my iphone they say you are going I will miss my voicemail and the rest For they say you are taking the settings That have given my life all the best Come on upgrade my phone you love me But don't hasten to bid me adieu Just remember the Silicon Valley And the Mac boy who loved you so true Won't you think of the iPhone you're leaving Oh how lonely, how sad it will be? Please just think of the fond heart you're breaking And the grief that you're causing to me As you vanish and go to the ether I will never forget those sweet hours That we had cuz the Silicon Valley Screwed me royally in seach of bigger profits [sorry if the last line doesn't rhyme, it doesn't make sense either.] * pps if you don't know the tune it's here http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/lyrics/redriver.htm

Public Comments

1. You will pretty much lose everything; contacts, text messages, calendar events, notes, bookmarks, photos, music, and any other settings you have on your phone. If you could sync to your computer then you could avoid losing contacts, calendar events and bookmarks but since you can't... If you have another computer you can use then you can authorize your phone on that computer, and backup the information on your phone to that computer, then upgrade on your primary computer, and then go back to the other computer and sync your information from there. Assuming you can't do the whole 2 computer backup thing then you will just have to make do with losing your info. You will not however, I repeat you will NOT lose your voicemail messages, those messages are handled by the carrier not the phone directly.
2. you will lose everything on your iphone if you say yes you need backup your iPhone content to computer first.Then adds to your iTunes from computer. Get the tool from here: http://www.ipod-to-computer.net/iphone-to-pc.html