How to Put MP3 Files on an MP3 Player or Old iPod

Dedicated music players are having a comeback: no notifications, weeks of battery, a headphone jack, and nothing to distract you on a run or in class. Getting MP3s onto them is easy once you know whether your player is “drag-and-drop” or needs syncing. Here is how.

Step 1: get your music as MP3

MP3 is the one format every player reads. If your music is in Spotify playlists, Spot Downloader saves songs, albums and whole playlists as MP3s with their album covers; at 128 kbps they fit plenty on a small player. Keep the files in one folder per album or playlist on your computer.

Drag-and-drop players (most brands)

Most players from Sony, SanDisk, FiiO, Shanling, AGPTEK and others appear as a USB drive when you plug them in:

1. Connect the player to your computer with its USB cable.
2. Open it in File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac; some players need Android File Transfer or the free OpenMTP app on Mac).
3. Open the Music folder on the player.
4. Drag your album or playlist folders into it.
5. Eject the player safely before unplugging.

The player scans the new files and lists them by artist, album and genre using the tags inside each MP3.

iPod classic, nano and shuffle

Older iPods only accept music synced from a computer:

Mac (macOS Catalina or later):

1. Open the Music app and choose File → Import to add your MP3s.
2. Connect the iPod; it appears in Finder’s sidebar.
3. Select it, open the Music tab, tick Sync music and choose all music or selected playlists.
4. Click Apply.

Windows:

1. Install iTunes (or the Apple Devices app where it supports your model).
2. Add your MP3s to the library (File → Add Folder to Library).
3. Connect the iPod, select it, go to Music, tick Sync Music and click Apply.

Don’t drag files directly onto an iPod: it won’t show them.

Running watches and sports players

Many running watches (Garmin, some Suunto, Coros and others) store MP3s for phone-free runs. Use the brand’s desktop app (for example Garmin Express) to add music, or drag files into the watch’s Music folder if it appears as a drive. Check your watch’s manual for the supported format and storage.

Playlists

Most players read M3U playlist files. Music apps like MusicBee, foobar2000 and the Mac Music app can export playlists as M3U; copy the playlist file into the player’s Music or Playlists folder along with the songs.

Troubleshooting

Songs show as “Unknown artist”. The files lack tags. Fix them with a tag editor; see how to organise your MP3 library.

Covers don’t appear. Some players only show embedded covers smaller than 500 × 500 pixels. A tag editor can resize them.

The player doesn’t appear on the computer. Try another cable (some are charge-only) and, for Mac with non-Apple players, install OpenMTP.

Not all songs fit. Choose 128 kbps files for big collections: 1,000 songs take about 4 GB instead of 10 GB at 320 kbps. See 128 vs 320 kbps.

Enjoy your distraction-free music, and keep supporting the artists you listen to.