Some of you might have read one or the other article at Tweaking4All, related to moving Audio and/or Video files to your beloved iOS device (iPod, iPad or iPhone) without the use of iTunes. Not many of us like iTunes, and that includes me.
As a response to one of these articles, one of the Tweaking4All visitors recommended WALTR, a new application available for the Mac OS X and Windows platform, which allows copying music, ringtones and video files to your iOS device without iTunes.
As usual, I was pretty skeptical as we have all seen too many of these “miracle apps”, especially when they are not free.
WALTR is not free either and initially, $29.95 sounds pretty steep for such an application, but I promise you: it’s worth it! It makes transferring audio and video to your iOS super fast and super simple.
So if you frequently want to transfer audio and/or video files to your iOS device, then I can highly recommend this application!
If you want to do it only once or twice, then at least consider using the free trial version.
In this article I’ll discuss the Mac OS X version, and will give you a quick overview how to get started, and what it does and does not do, and some tips and tricks that might be helpful. I have also written a Windows version of this same article.
Transfer Video, Music and Ringtones to iOS
So what does WALTR offer?
WALTR is a simple drag-and-drop style application, available for Mac OS X and Windows, which allows you to transfer most common Video and Audio formats to your iOS device – like an iPhone, iPad or iPod. It even supports Ringtones (more about this later, you’ll need a M4R file for that, which is in essence a M4A file, just with a different extension).
I’m pleasantly impressed by how well WALTR works and if you’re frequently transferring files to your iOS device then I can highly recommend it. Occasional users and users not yet familiar with WALTR can start by using the Trial version which is not crippled like some of the other goofball tools.
WALTR is so easy to use that I’m actually a little embarrassed that I’m writing article about it … what am I supposed to write? Install, start and drag and drop … that’s really all there is to it …
WALTR FAQ
Please keep an eye on the WALTR FAQ page on the Softorino website, you’ll find some interesting information there as well …
Getting Started with WALTR
Getting started with WALTR is easy. Installing WALTR is easy, and obvious, but I’ll go through the steps anyway.
Please keep in mind that you can use the free 14 day trial, which is a fully functional version of WALTR. I highly recommend starting with that. If you’r an one time user, you’ve transferred the desired files and be done with it. However, if you’re a frequent user, you’ll be sold on this application in no-time.
Download WALTR.
You can download the free trial version from the Softorino website.
Keep in mind that this is also the full version, once you’ve entered your registration info.
Once you’ve completed the download, open the DMG by double clicking it.
Install WALTR
In the upcoming window you’ll see the usual scenario – Drag “Waltr” to the “Applications” folder displayed next to it.
WALTR – Open the DMG file, and Drag WALTR to Applications
Once your computer copied WALTR to your Applications, you can Eject the DMG.
Eject the WALTR DMG
WALTR – First run
In the first startup you will have to watch the very helpful 49 second introduction video by Josh.
During the video, Josh will guide you through some of the basic features, setup, subscribe to their newsletter (totally optional – you can skip it) etc.
It will first ask you to disable Auto iTunes Sync – click the box and you’re good to go.
In the next step, you can subscribe to the optional newsletter (you can skip this one). I have done this and have to say that I have not been spammed silly so far, just received one very helpful tip – I’ll be looking forward to new tips and announcements.
Once you’ve completed these steps, connect your iOS device.
WALTR will ask you to tap the “Trust” button with the “Trust This Computer” message on your iPad, iPhone or iPod.
Note that you’ll need to UNLOCK your iOS device before you can “trust” this computer or even see the message.
WALTR – Click the “Trust” button on your iOS device
Tap the “Trust” button on your iOS device
Once you’ve tapped “Trust“, all is good and WALTR will be ready for drag and drop of your Music, Videos and Ringtones.
WALTR is ready for you to drag and drop your media files on!
Registration
If you have a WALTR license, then this would be a good time to register WALTR (menu: “WALTR” “Registration“).
WALTR Supported Audio and Video Formats for transfer to iOS
WALTR supports all commonly used (and some quite uncommonly used) file formats – which is good for us users 
.
Current vs Future supported file formats
The following formats are support at the time of writing this article. A conversation with Josh however made clear that Softorino plans to add support for more formats in the future … so definitely stay tuned!
The only thing I’m missing so far is pictures and PDF’s – hopefully Softorino will implement these in the near future.
Supported Audio and Music Formats
The following file formats can simple be dropped on WALTR, conversion (if needed) will be done automatically and so called lossless codecs will remain lossless (converted to ALAC).
Supported Ringtone Formats
In contrast to Android phones, iOS only supports M4R as a file format for ringtones.
If you have a ringtone in MP3 format, then you’d have to convert it to M4R first.
Supported Ringtone Formats
| File extension |
Name |
Information Link |
| M4R |
MPEG 4 Ringtones |
M4R Wiki |
Tip: How to Convert almost any Audio file to M4R
To convert an audio file, for example a MP3 file, to an M4R is relatively easy.
Open the file with “Quick time Player“, and from the menu “File” choose: “Export” “Audio Only“.
Give your file a name and click “Save“. You will now have a “M4A” file. Rename it to an “M4R” file and you’re good to go.
For example, open “test.mp3“, save it as “test“, which results in “test.m4a“, and then rename it to “test.m4r“.
You could also use an online service, like ZamZar which can convert MP3 straight to M4R for free.
Tip: Where to get Ringtone for free ..?
A good website to find pretty much any ringtone you can come up with is Zedge.
Supported Video Formats
For videos (Movies, TV-Shows, home made movies), the following formats are supported.
Supported Video Formats
| File Extension |
Name |
Information link |
| 3GP |
Third Generation Partnership |
3GP Wiki |
| AVI |
Audio Video Interleave |
AVI Wiki |
| M4V |
MPEG 4 Video file, with optional DRM |
M4V Wiki |
| MKV |
Matroska Multimedia Container |
MKV Wiki |
| MP4 |
MPEG 4 |
MP4 Wiki |
| MPEG |
MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 |
MPEG Wiki |
| WMV |
Windows Media Video |
WMV Wiki |
| Experimental: FLV |
Flash Video (Adobe/Macromedia) |
FLV Wiki |
| Experimental: M2TS |
MPEG-2 Transport Stream (BluRay) |
M2TS Wiki |
| Experimental: TS |
MPEG transport stream (Sat, DVB) |
TS Wiki |
About 4K and Subtitles …
- WALTR does support 4K video files (on an iPhone 6 – read this FAQ) and …
- WALTR supports subtitles (SRT and ASS formats, but also embedded subtitles)!
Tip: Convert DVD or BluRay to your iPad/iPhone
If you’d like to copy your DVD or BluRay movie to you iPad, then we recommend using HandBrake or MakeMKV to “rip” it first to an MP4 or MKV file – for this we have several guides at Tweaking4All:
Transfer Video, Music or Ringtones to your iOS device
It’s so simple that it’s actually weird to have to write about it 
….
Simply grab your media file and drop it on WALTR. Transfer is very fast and if conversion is needed, then that happens very fast as well.
You can drop multiple files at once, and they do not even ned to be of the same kind – for example: drop a ringtone, music and a video all at once. WALTR handles it like a champ!
All files will be sorted properly on your phone. Just keep in mind that if you’d like to use an MP3 as a ringtone, that you first need to converted it (as described above) to an M4R file. Some screenshot can be seen below.
WALTR preparing for upload
WALTR completed the upload of a Ringtone
WALTR is showing artwork, if available, during upload
WALTR finished uploading a song
How to add Subtitles to your videos?
Well, WALTR allows you to do this in 2 ways …
One option is by dropping at the same time, the video file and the SRT file (or ASS file), which both should have the same or very similar name, on WALTR. Obviously, it’s hard for WALTR to guess the language of the subtitle when you do it this way.
For example, the files “mymovie.avi” and “mymovie.srt“. But if a language code is added, then it’s accepted as well, for example “mymovie.avi” and “mymovie.en.srt“.
Note that Dropping multiple subtitles will not work … and uploading a subtitle later does not work either – you’ll have to drag them on WALTR at the same time!
The other and better option is when a subtitle is already embedded in the video file, which is not uncommon amongst MKV files. Simply grab the file and drop it on WALTR.
Videos – Tap the subtitles button
Videos – Select the desired language
Videos – Subtitles show crispy clear
Where will I find my files on my iOS device?
As you may have noticed: once WALTR completes a transfer, it will show an icon indicating in what application you can expect to find your media file that you’ve just uploaded.
Audio/Music can be found in the “Music” app on your iOS device.
Movies/TVShows/Videos can be found in the “Video” app.
Ringtones can be found in your settings menu (“Settings” “Sounds” “Sounds and Vibration Patterns“).
Conclusion
I started as a skeptic and I’m totally sold on WALTR …
I can highly recommend it … It’s easy, fast, and supports everything I need.
Now, again, if you’re a one time user $29.95 might sound steep. And maybe it is.
However, if you frequently want to upload media files to your iOS device(s) then it’s more than worth it.
The application feels very solid, looks very clean and does what is advertised … fast!
Comments
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This review is very informative and useful:))I enjoyed reading it
Thanks a lot!!!i like WALTR too:P
Jake
Thanks Jake!
hans