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iTunes remote for iPhone dont work with Catalina

How do you get iTunes remote for iPhone to work i Catalina ?

Posted on Oct 8, 2019 1:48 PM

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Posted on Dec 11, 2019 3:57 AM

Terrible, non-intuitive UI...

Here's how I got it to work. (on Catalina 10.15.2 and iOS 13.3):


  1. Have the Phone and Mac on the same network.
  2. (on the iPhone) Open "iTunes Remote" App
  3. In upper right, tap [Settings]
  4. Tap "Add an iTunes Library". (It will show a 4 digit code) LEAVE THE IPHONE ON THIS SCREEN
  5. (on the Mac) Open iTunes... oops, I mean the "Music" app
  6. Look under the heading "Devices" for the name of your Phone (with a black square "play" icon next to it). Your phone will probably also be listed below it with a "phone" icon... ignore that.
  7. Click on the "Play" icon and name of your phone.
  8. The Mac will now show you a screen where you can enter the 4 digit code from Step 4. Enter the code.
  9. Done. You can now control Music from your Mac with your Phone.


Oh, what a terrible road this has been.

Hope this helps.

327 replies

Dec 15, 2019 7:35 AM in response to Jefflager

Jefflager wrote:

If you use an Apple Watch, does it stay connected to a library? All of my other devices work minus the watch(watchOS 6.1.1)


Not working smoothly on my Apple Watch. I can sometimes get connected if I add a device and then enter the code in Music, but the automatic home shared connection doesn't work, and sometimes the manual connection won't take either.


tt2

Dec 15, 2019 11:57 AM in response to corpuser

Yay!!!!! Lets all sing, dance, wiggle our belly's! And we can do it all to any tune our little minds desire! I can only hope that for all those who still have troubles with it, that it will resolve soon. I hate to sound like the techies I speak with every so often; but did you try restarting the device; deleting it and re-installing it, then restarting the device, backing up your date and re-downloading your OS; backing up your data and doing a full re-install?


Those are the only suggestions I have at this point. I've since cancelled my subscription to Apple Music because I could find no resolution to the multiple duplicates. I unscubscribed, and the whole issue disappeared...vanished! All that is left to do is listen to all the tracks with Shazam to determine who they are, what they are, etc., since Apple Music completely destroyed the tag information on many of them. Oh, and I suffered this for at least 4 years. Now I am happy. Problem solved.

Dec 17, 2019 3:43 AM in response to Ike_Nassi

It's not a new version of Music, Anthony, it's the update to Catalina and iOS that allows the fix. Music still needs to be updated to a new version to fix all the other bugs in the current version - clicking in the elevator bar not working in the song list, not staying on the same song or album when switching back to another view, etc. A list of bugs has also been discussed earlier in this thread and none of them have been fixed yet. At least the remote app does work, even if they've managed to make the setup more clumsy than before!

Dec 17, 2019 7:26 AM in response to turingtest2

tt2, Agreed! I have noticed the same. Some of the regressions with Music have been resolved on the latest release. Overall much progress has been made. It shouldn't have taken so long, but the wheels of the corporate giants turn slowly. Regardless, it was a satisfactory development. I'll take it (not that we had a choice in the matter)! Definitely backwards movement with the Apple Watch though, I can control Music only if adding the library manually on the watch each time (if you hit the menu bar top left in the watch Remote app or close it, you have to manually add the library again).

Dec 17, 2019 10:18 AM in response to AnthonyFasolo

I have a similar issue with the remote app.


I've upgraded my Macbook Air to Catalina 10.15.2, my iPhone 8 to iOS 13.3, and the Remote App to the latest version.


I've turned on Home Sharing (on the Mac and on the phone). Both Mac and Phone are on the same network.


I've followed the steps listed above to link the remote app to my library - all seems good. The Remote App on the phone shows my library, and in the Music App preferences on the Mac I can see that "Music app is paired with 1 remote".


When I open the Remote App on the phone, tapping my library does not do anything - not sure whether it's supposed to.


When I open the Music App on the phone and go to Home Sharing->[my]Library, it is unable to connect, with the error "Unable to turn on Home Sharing".


Am I missing something? If so, instructions are incomplete - the process is not intuitive, to say the least.

Dec 17, 2019 10:59 AM in response to corpuser

Yep, done that about 50 times, get a different code each time, the phone shows up, insert the code, says the remote app can now control my library, remote app fails to connect.


Every time.


Tried with Home Sharing enabled everywhere, and disabled everywhere.


Tried uninstalling the remote app several times and starting afresh, still not working.


There must be something else.


The removal of iTunes has been incredibly frustrating.

Dec 17, 2019 7:39 PM in response to SteveWH

Oh man, I had prematurely become excited when I saw that Remote actually brought up my music library this afternoon but found that I was not able to do anything with it. I just didn't have the time this past week to fuss over it anymore. I know there is an update sitting up there for Catalina but that will have to wait until tonight or next week, or whenever. Seems each new update is little better than before.


But that is my beef with all this. Most people either are too busy, or don't have the knowledge or ability to tinker with the specifics of the OS, the libraries, or the applications themselves, etc. I mean isn't that why we pay the big bucks for Apple products in the first place? Because they, "just work"? Well in the past few years I'm finding that that clever tag line to be infuriating. What angers me more is how people can be so compliant and almost submissive with Apple. Nothing gets me going more than when I see a reply like, "oh thank you Apple", or " I knew if I just waiting you would help us out. . ."


I mean, common! We are paying Apple massive amounts of money here for their products. They are not supplying them freely out of their good graces. And to have to depend on the good will of other more experienced users to figure out a work around and then take their own personal time to write it up and post here is even more sickening. Its as if Apple is some exclusive social club that only grants membership to the most deserving and there is fear of being shut out or having your membership canceled for complaining. We pay them, not the other way around.


I will be highly surprised if this reply makes it through the night as I too often receive a curt email from Apple that they've "Edited", or "Deleted", my posts or replies. They hate passionately anything that points out the obvious and may be tarnishing of their "Brand". But really, I would like to believe that most people are not that stupid that they need someone like me to point these things out. Oh, and as an aside, nothing has made my Music experience so much easier, less tedious, and enjoyable than finally canceling my Apple Music subscription. I no longer wait forever for start ups, simple library navigating and other simple tasks as before. Having that subscription just was not worth the continued aggravation. It centered too much on their having their store being upfront and foremost rather than my own library. I have enough spam callers on my phone and in my email. I don't need it in my music app.


I really still would like to believe in Apple. I still believe their produtcts to be supperior to Microsoft but in the past few years I have been having serous doubts about that. And the decision to have to return to PC's is not a happy one. But under the current management/leadership I just can't afford to shell out premium dollars for sub-par results. I no longer trust them to sincerely have our user experience as a priority. I believe it has totally crossed over into profit and bottom line only land. Don't promise me the world and then hand me a teaspoon of dirt. Just don't.


Dec 19, 2019 3:07 AM in response to ZebraNetwork

I initially had the same problem as everyone else above until I tried the steps outlined above. Now my iPhone and iPad work with Apple Remote no problem. My steps did not include "click on Add Manually." I turned on Home Sharing on both the Mac and on the Apple Remote and then mine connected automatically. Are you signed on the same Apple ID on both your Mac and your iPhone, and then restarted both your Apple Music and Apple Remote App? After reading your post I tried the "Add a Media Library" from the Apple Remote Settings out of curiosity on both my iPad and iPhone. A "Devices" line pops up on the left side of Apple Music between the Library List and the Playlist. When I click on that it does ask for the passcode displayed on my devices. The only other thing that I can think of is I am using MacOs10.15.2, iOS13.3, and iPadOS13.3. Good Luck!

Dec 19, 2019 7:15 AM in response to DriftyBart

Turn off and then turning back on the FIREWALL seems to be the key issue. I had posted previously that everything seemed to be working except my Apple Watch. With the Watch, it would work if the FIREWALL was off but then stop working when the firewall was turned back ON and the Library reselected.


I called Apple. Did not get far with them apart from being transferred 5 different times. Yet, this morning the Watch seems to be working (firewall is on). Why??? Have no clue. No new updates have been applied. No changes were made by be me apart from turn off and then back on the firewall. I guess, I should take it as a Christmas miracle! 🎄🎅🏽



Dec 19, 2019 7:19 AM in response to corpuser

Did the firewall add a rule automatically? That's the only reason I can imagine it's working. I mean, it would be a security flaw if the firewall, after being turned on, somehow "remembered" previous connections it allowed through when it was turned off.


I added a rule as I don't want to the firewall turned off, so did not test your scenario.

iTunes remote for iPhone dont work with Catalina

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