Q: Did you lose music when you upgraded to iTunes 12.2? I did and I'm furious

If you stop the ranting and tell us exactly what you did maybe we can help. Threats against Apple will get you nowhere.

First determine if the media files are still present in the iTunes > Media folder. If they are not you will have to restore them from the backup you of course made of your computer before installing new software. If they are still there then try one of the following methods to rebuild the database which tells iTunes what media you have in your collection and where it is.

ASC user turingtest2 help document: Empty/corrupt iTunes library after upgrade/crash - https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6561

Here are the two main methods. Method 1 does revert your library list (but not media files) to the state it was at the time indicated on the file but all metadata are preserved.  Method 2 may permit using a more recent version (.xml) of your iTunes library than a previous .itl version but you have to be willing to accept loss of some metadata.

1) iTunes: How to re-create your iTunes library and playlists - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201561 - These instructions have you open iTunes with an old iTunes library file archived at the time you last updated iTunes.  This will revert your library content list and appearance to what it was at the date indicated on the file. Newer media not in this list will still be in your media folder. You can re-add these by dragging your media folders to the Automatically Add To iTunes folder but they will regarded as brand new items.

A method 1 shortcut that seems to work with more recent iTunes versions - https://discussions.apple.com/message/28484935#28484935 - However, I have not tried this and would want to make sure it didn't start creating additional files and folders inside the "previous libraries" folder that doing things the official way would avoid.

2) If you don't see your content after updating iTunes - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203225 - These instructions use a trimmed-down version of your library file to rebuild your primary library file. You lose some metadata (ratings, play count, date added) but the listing should be fairly up to date.

same happened to me i had 10,000 song in my library now all gone!!

You trust any corporation???  I have been using Macs for 25 years but I always make backups before I install any new software (and the same applied when I used DOS before that).

Chichart wrote:

 

But I will never trust Apple again.

I know this may sound stupid, but I have a question. What does trusting Apple have to do with this? You installed software on your computer and experienced an error. This has never occurred to you before? I've been using computers for a long time, from the Commodore 64 days, to DOS as Limnos referred to, to all versions of Windows. I religiously backup my devices and make sure I'm aware of what I'm doing when I install new software and/or update existing programs.

There may have also been additional information available in one of turingtest2's set of iTunes and Windows help files for restoring your library before you resorted to the manual entry of your library again. I experienced a problem with the latest update of iTunes myself, and found that it broke my sync with Outlook. After about 3 tries of removing and reinstalling iTunes, I finally had to use the iTunes for Windows for older video cards to re-enable my syncing. However, at no time did it affect my music library or other settings in iTunes. However, if it did, I could go back to a restore point on the computer before the installation of the update and take it back to preparing to install the new updated software.

I have everything in the Cloud so i don't have to worry about losing it- and then I seem to no longer have access to it on my phone and there are no settings I can find or support items on the website that help me address this issue.  All but perhaps 1% of my music is accessible via the cloud outside of my computer.

Apples' QE/QA was lacking on this update and they do appear to be making poorer and poorer choices in design. We all have high expectations of Apple- so the frustration is double when they fail so miserably by hiding customer cheese so well.  I don't think it is very kind to beat up on the customer who is frustrated because Apple updated and failed in their update.

Hello,

Could you please elaborate on what you did to resolve this issue? I too am missing music, playlists, movies, etc. Thanks!

I had the same issue. All my music was saved on an external hard drive. When I upgraded the most recent iTunes, it seems that all my files were transferred to iCloud. They are GONE from the external hard drive. I've started to download everything from iCloud again, except that about 1/3 of my songs are greyed out, with the "Available for Download" iCloud icon but "Waiting" status and no option to "Make Available Offline." I've tried:

1) restarting iTunes with a previous library

2) restarting iTunes, pressing "Option" and making a new library and forcing a full re-population from iCloud

3) toggling "iCloud" on and off in Preferences

4) "Updating iCloud Music Library" from the menu bar

NOTHING seems to force those songs to go from "Waiting" to "Available".

I can't delete them all and try again, because, as I mentioned, the back up copy of everything on my hard drive was removed when iCloud took over.

Has anyone else had this problem? Any solutions?

I agree with doing backups.

I have an expectation that when I upgrade it should still work. I don't expect to lose all of my songs and then have to scramble and waste my time fixing the problem caused by the upgrade.

I am also frustrated with the loss of all of my music. I am lucky that when my ipad upgraded it did not lose all of my music.

If I wanted my music player to be a streaming player, I would have downloaded an app to do that. When I am on a plane and want to listen to "my music" I want to listen to it not the only songs i downloaded. I don't feel the need to pay for WiFi to listen to music.

I can fix it or buy another phone. As this isn't the first time that I have experienced this with losing my music after an upgrade. I would be foolish to use the same company.

I'm not upgrading again until I buy another phone. With the battery life as bad as it is with apple, it won't be long.

I never said that one should have the expectation to lose their music library. However, whenever any update/upgrade is made to any computing device, one should be sure to have a backup of important information. I still have my complete library, and since I did not select to use any of the Apple services, iTunes did not make any changes to my library. Unfortunately, a great deal of misunderstanding of how Apple's music services worked caused many people to have their music replaced. Again, the ability to remove ones self from that music service is there, and with a backup of the iTunes library would be able to recover music.

Your choice to use another brand of phone is just that, your choice. It does not affect me, and I fault no one for making their own choices. I'm a user like you, and your statement about purchasing another device does not make a difference to me. I would hope you would make informed choices. However, make sure you understand how these other devices and their software work before making your choices.

The choice should be more upfront and not hidden in some back room somewhere.

I think it is dishonest to hide options that most users don't know or can't find easily. We all aren't experts like yourself.

as an example, I had shut off the metadata on my phone, but now it is back to being enabled. I would expect to keep the same options to be left intact after an upgrade and not defaulted to what the company prefers. i wonder what other setting have they changed? I am sick of playing hide and seek with my phone options.

I will make an informed decision about my new phone. I fully understand it doesn't impact you at all.