Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Apple Music Sync Error: 'Genius results can’t be updated right now. The network connection was lost.'

I'm trying to sync my Apple Music library with the Music app on a 2018 Mac mini.


I keep getting the error: 'Genius results can’t be updated right now. The network connection was lost.' even though my network connection is fine.


I tried logging out/in to Apple Music, Reauthorizing my Mac with Apple Music, restarting...nothing worked. My Mac mini is completely up to date. Running Big Sur 11.0.1


I can't access any of my playlists or library in my Mac, because the sync isn't working.

Mac mini, macOS 11.0

Posted on Nov 22, 2020 7:34 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Nov 25, 2020 9:49 AM

Finally everything looks fine, though it has been tough to get it fixed. I am not sure if it is me or the apple side that get it fixed, but this is what I did:


  1. I do remember I have output my library and one playlist that disappeared on my other devices but is still on my mac to file. But perhaps we can find a library file before I did this. I did this when the apple music is syncing forever with error messages for tons of songs, but at this moment the output files are complete.
  2. I find it is the step "" that hangs forever, and this is what I find https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3534198?answerId=16908298022#16908298022 (see tmksnyder's answer, sorry I do not know how to properly cite this). The apple music is using extremely high CPU, but I am still not sure which file is wrong.
  3. Sign out, quit music, sign in again. Now the cloud library is not syncing at all and the error code is 9039
  4. Finally, I tried this https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/15533 (Max's answer). And I choose create a new library, and import the files (library and the disappeared playlist) I mentioned in the first step. And now everything looks good and I can also upload my own music to the cloud right now. The disappeared playlist also shows up on my other devices. Then it looks that the original problem was caused by something crashed in the original library.
Opening iTunes while you hold the option key (shift key for Windows) if it works, this will create a new library and you can copy/move your music etc. over by using the "Add to Library" option under the file menu.

Similar questions

176 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Nov 25, 2020 9:49 AM in response to astro_nightingale

Finally everything looks fine, though it has been tough to get it fixed. I am not sure if it is me or the apple side that get it fixed, but this is what I did:


  1. I do remember I have output my library and one playlist that disappeared on my other devices but is still on my mac to file. But perhaps we can find a library file before I did this. I did this when the apple music is syncing forever with error messages for tons of songs, but at this moment the output files are complete.
  2. I find it is the step "" that hangs forever, and this is what I find https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3534198?answerId=16908298022#16908298022 (see tmksnyder's answer, sorry I do not know how to properly cite this). The apple music is using extremely high CPU, but I am still not sure which file is wrong.
  3. Sign out, quit music, sign in again. Now the cloud library is not syncing at all and the error code is 9039
  4. Finally, I tried this https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/15533 (Max's answer). And I choose create a new library, and import the files (library and the disappeared playlist) I mentioned in the first step. And now everything looks good and I can also upload my own music to the cloud right now. The disappeared playlist also shows up on my other devices. Then it looks that the original problem was caused by something crashed in the original library.
Opening iTunes while you hold the option key (shift key for Windows) if it works, this will create a new library and you can copy/move your music etc. over by using the "Add to Library" option under the file menu.

Nov 23, 2020 9:11 PM in response to FeelGoodLost

Just gonna leave this here => https://audirvana.com $100 (still on trial ATM)



Installed Audirvana on my 2018 Mac Mini running Catalina, and I also installed it on my 2020 MacBook Air running Big Sur. Dragged in my legally purchased music from my HD that was also being used as my holding folder for Apple Music and kapow! Album artwork and all! Peace out Apple Music!


This is absolutely, and 100% an ongoing issue now, and in the past that's met with the same amount of frustration by users (who also pay $$$ for the streaming part). You're not a service company Apple; stick to computers.


Also as a side note my treasured, and highly organized library of music I OWN (some of it even had custom album artwork) was completely wiped from the app's library due to this syncing garbage. That's a real kick in the crotch. My music is still on my HD, but it def screwed with my lib in the app, and as a result a TON of my personally owned music won't show up now. NOT COOL.



For those still reading…


A Few Alternatives (I'm sure there are more depending on needs)


  1. https://www.mywinamp.com/winamp-for-mac
  2. https://getnightingale.com
  3. https://github.com/nukeop/nuclear
  4. https://www.clementine-player.org
  5. https://vox.rocks/mac-music-player
  6. https://tidal.com
  7. https://ionica.app - works w/Poopify if that's your jam

Nov 24, 2020 6:02 PM in response to rokt

Here is my current plan to fix the mess. Note that my laptop has my entire library downloaded and I have some ALAC versions locally. So I always want to keep my local files and remove any duplicates created by this cloud merge mess.


  1. For any replicated playlist, make a NEW playlist with a similar name. Example: if I have "Rock" and "Rock1" playlists, I make a new one called "Rock merged".
  2. Copy all of the replicated lists into the new "merged" list. Example: Copy all the songs from "Rock" into "Rock merged". Then copy all the songs from "Rock1" into "Rock merged". If you get a message about Cloud playlists only containing cloud songs, choose "Remove from Cloud" (you will add it back after pruning). Then when you get a message about duplicates being added to the playlist, choose "Skip"—even if you "Skip" it will show duplicated songs where you have a local version and a (bad) cloud version.
  3. DO THIS FOR ALL REPLICATED PLAYLISTS FIRST BEFORE GOING ON. If you start pruning before creating all the merged lists, you will miss cases where a song is in multiple playlists.
  4. In each new merged list ("Rock merged"), view by Song (cmd-J to choose) and then make sure to also show (in the cmd-J dialog for view options) the columns: Song name, length, artist, album, Cloud Download and Cloud Status.
  5. Sort the merged playlist by Artist. Scan through the playlist for icons in the Cloud Download—this will identify weirdness when you have a local (good) version plus a cloud (bad) copy. In my case I always want to resolve the errors by removing the cloud version. (If you don't have local copies of everything you would need to look for duplicates by reading the song name column). Make sure that the local copy is correct and/or choose which one you want by looking at the metadata.
  6. Once you've gone through all the playlists like this, it should be safe to remove the duplicated ones and keep the "merged" ones. You can also convert them back into Cloud playlists. I'm not positive but if you are sync'ing playlists to your phone, you may want to first sync the merged playlist and then delete the old playlists. If you remove a playlist that you're sync'ing it's possible your phone will decide to clean up its storage and be required to re-download the merged list even though the songs are already on your phone.
  7. Now you've cleaned up the playlists. You would have to do something similar by looking through all of your songs


Hm does that make sense?

Nov 24, 2020 6:50 PM in response to FeelGoodLost

OK, so I had the same issue and communicated with Apple but got no useful answers... But I was able to fix it myself! I hope I remember correctly what I did (macOS Catalina 10.15.7):


  1. Deauthorize/reauthorize computer (Account > Authorizations). This action unsynced my library from the cloud...
  2. Turn Genius on (File > Library > Turn On Genius). It started the information gathering process so I let it do its thing.
  3. Sync library (Preferences > General). It then started what it’s supposed to do when updating the library...


And that’s it. Pretty sure it’s what I did and it’s working properly now.


But not sure it fixed this issue or the issue was resolved on Apple side on the same time I was trying... Oh well :-)



Nov 22, 2020 10:01 PM in response to FeelGoodLost

Same here. This issue just creeps up constantly, and is not the first time it has happened nor do I suspect it to be the last time it will. FWIW Apple Music is trash, and I personally have reached my boiling point with the app itself. I've decided to move away entirely from it and just listen to music I've purchased legally using a player that does 1 thing really well; store and play my music.


Nov 23, 2020 9:24 AM in response to FeelGoodLost

Same issue here... I've tried restarting the music app, restarting the computer, signing out and back in, deauthorizing then reauthorizing the computer, disabling the cybersecurity program I use...nothing seems to work and I just keep getting the same thing and I can't access my cloud music library.


Until now I had never turned on cloud music library on my iPad and just to see if would work I turned it on and I'm able to see my library on my iPad. It's also still working on my iPhone. I'm guessing this is just limited to the Apple Music app on Mac computers.


I checked the system status page and it says that Apple Music is up...it would be really nice if they would fix this...



Nov 24, 2020 10:22 AM in response to FarrukhJavaid

Further to my last post, I actually see a glimmer of hope...not over until done though. I'll let you know if it works. I must add, I didn't do anything that you all seem to have done, if it works, it just 'fixed itself' - Apple has form for this.


It is pretty annoying if so many people have an issue that Apple don't issue some kind of response to say they're working on it, Just think, collectively, the amount of time all of us around the world have spent on this problem alone.


Nov 23, 2020 7:55 AM in response to FeelGoodLost

Same. After buying an iphone 12 pro, then a Big Sur update on my computers, I also lost music off of my phone. It said I needed to sync my libraries, using my computer to initiate the sync. Except whether I try that with my desktop or laptop the geneius message appears after a while, and then the syncing gives an error notice in the lower left corner of Music app as well.


Lots of error messages and very slow computer after Big Sur update. Very buggy.

Apple Music Sync Error: 'Genius results can’t be updated right now. The network connection was lost.'

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.