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I'm missing a ton of music that I had after factory reset

I recently did a factory reset on my IPhone X due to another problem I was having. I then noticed that I'm missing a ton of music that I had on my phone which I'd had for years. The music was not purchased from ITunes store but was stuff that I had ripped from cd's. When I did the restore of my phone everything else seemed to come back just fine. Since I no longer own a Mac (just a chromebook), I don't have ITunes at my disposal either.


Its impossible for me to tell how much music is gone but regardless I'd like to recover it. Is there anything I can try? HELP! I'm desperate!


[Re-Titled by Moderator]

iPhone XR

Posted on Sep 21, 2019 6:25 AM

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Posted on Sep 21, 2019 6:31 AM

Music is not part of the backup.

You would have to re-sync it from your iTunes library.

Unfortunately, you don't seem to have an iTunes library any more.

You would have to obtain a Windows PC or Mac and re-rip your CDs or re-import the ripped MP3 files, then sync the music back to your phone.


Note that if you no longer own the CDs the music was ripped from to begin with, you no longer own the music at all.

6 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Sep 21, 2019 6:31 AM in response to rfiddy

Music is not part of the backup.

You would have to re-sync it from your iTunes library.

Unfortunately, you don't seem to have an iTunes library any more.

You would have to obtain a Windows PC or Mac and re-rip your CDs or re-import the ripped MP3 files, then sync the music back to your phone.


Note that if you no longer own the CDs the music was ripped from to begin with, you no longer own the music at all.

Sep 21, 2019 12:48 PM in response to rfiddy

You may be better off at this point looking at the Apple Music subscription service instead of purchasing a lot of music. That gives you access to a great deal of music and you pay a monthly subscription rate instead of paying for each individual song/album. If you lost your iTunes library, it may be a viable alternative. See this for information about Apple Music. Listen to music and more in the Music app - Apple Support

Sep 21, 2019 11:38 AM in response to rfiddy

Because it is not part of the backup.

Backing up the music on your phone would be redundant and wouldn't accomplish anything other than chewing up unnecessary space since it is all either re-downloadable at no charge from the iTunes Store or can be synced back to the device from your iTunes library.


The iPhone is not a backup device or a data transfer device.

I'm missing a ton of music that I had after factory reset

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