Illegal Syntax Expecting valid start name character

Question

How do I escape the & in the app settings? I've tried \ but didn't work?

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<configuration>
    <appSettings>
        <add key="preset" value="iPhone & iPod Touch"/>
    </appSettings>
</configuration>

The & in the preset key value causes error Illegal Syntax Expecting valid start name character

Answer 1

You shouldn't escape it, bur rather encode it to &:

<add key="preset" value="iPhone &amp; iPod Touch"/>

Answer 2

Try &

Try the above the string instead of &