iTunes/Apple Music on Windows 10

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iTunes/Apple Music on Windows 10

I am trying to listen to Apple Music on Windows 10 (Education, Version 1909, on a Dell Latitude 7400), and I'm having recurring problems, such as:

Clicking "Browse" leads to a blank screen
Songs won't play -- I click the Play button and nothing happens
My Library won't load, even though I'm logged into my account
If I can get my Library to load, and get a song to play, there will sometimes be gaps of 10-20 second before playing the next song on the album/playlist

I have installed iTunes from Apple and from the Microsoft store, and these problems occur with both. Sometimes restarting my laptop will get it to work, but even then, it only works for an hour or so. My wi-fi signal is fine, and I'm easily able to stream from Amazon Music's app (I use that on all my devices -- I'm just considering a move to Apple Music, but this is keeping me from switching).

While I was writing this post I clicked play on a song, and after probably three minutes it has finally begun playing.

Posted on Jun 23, 2021 3:00 PM

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Answer 1

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turingtest2

Level 10

277,991 points

Jun 24, 2021 3:24 AM in response to garaj

If iTunes is apparently installed correctly try the following in turn until iTunes opens/closes/reopens/connects to the store normally:

Remove any SD card that might be in a card reader.
Exit the BTTray.exe Bluetooth utility if installed.
Locate the shortcut for iTunes, right-click on it, and select Run as administrator. Doing this once may fix certain launch issues. Some users were finding that with the 12.6.1.25 build, for example, they had to use this method every time and modified the shortcut accordingly.
Try holding ctrl+shift as you launch iTunes so it opens in safe-mode. Again doing this once may sometimes help.
Try disconnecting your computer from the Internet before running iTunes.
Delete the iTunes shortcuts from the start menu, desktop, task bar, or similar, then repair iTunes from the programs and features control panel.
Try Fix unexpected quits or launch issues in iTunes for Windows - Apple Support (document retired, archived copy) and test the behaviour in a different user profile or with a different library. If the problem only exists in your profile it may be possible to delete some of the iTunes preference files which it would seem that iTunes may be choking on. We can go into details later if the issue is limited to your own profile.
Temporarily disable any non-Microsoft anti-virus and see if that has any impact on the behaviour.
See the second box in Troubleshooting issues with iTunes for Windows updates for detailed tear down and rebuild advice. Disable any non-Microsoft anti-virus software when reinstalling and run the installer as the administrator.
If you installed iTunes from the Microsoft Store you may find the traditional iTunesSetup.exe installer works better for you, or vice versa.
Or see the iTunes installers section of the troubleshooting tip and reinstall the last version that worked correctly for you. Links to the latest builds are now at the very bottom of the user tip.

tt2

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Answer 2

turingtest2

Level 10

277,991 points

Jun 24, 2021 9:40 AM in response to garaj

Do you have any third-party security software (anti-virus, firewall, or VPN) and if so which? Any of these could potentially interfere with the way that iTunes fetches data.

tt2

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Answer 3

garaj Author

Level 1

9 points

Jun 24, 2021 9:20 AM in response to turingtest2

I didn't have an SD card installed, and I could not find BTTray.exe, so I tried "Run as administrator" this morning. It worked long enough for me to listen to one album all the way through without issues (I was listening via Bluetooth headphones). After that album was over I turned off the Bluetooth headphones and stepped away from my computer for about 20 minutes. When I came back I could view my Library, but clicking "Browse" or "For You" just led to a blank screen. Clicking play on music in my Library got no response at all.

Then I tried opening iTunes in safe mode, and that didn't have any obvious positive effect. I turned off wi-fi, opened iTunes, the closed iTunes, restarted wi-fi, and that did not fix it. Next I tried the Repair option and opened iTunes -- still not working. I closed iTunes again, started it back up, and for now it is working (I'm streaming music not downloaded to my laptop).

It seems like I can get it to work for a while, but if I stop streaming music for a while, iTunes stops working. I know I'm not being scientific here (what constitutes "a while"?) -- and yet, I feel like software should just work. As a medium-intelligent end user, the steps you lay out above feel like too big an ask (I'm not criticizing you at all, please know that. I really appreciate the input and the fact that you want to help.)

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Answer 4

garaj Author

Level 1

9 points

Jun 24, 2021 10:35 AM in response to turingtest2

I'm sure there is -- I'll need to check with IT (I confess, it's a work issued laptop). Our IT people have helped me troubleshoot previous issues with BT headphones, so me streaming music shouldn't raise too many eyebrows. As of now, iTunes has continued to work for me today, with both wired earbuds and BT headphones. If it continues like this, I'll raise a glass to you this evening.

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iTunes/Apple Music on Windows 10

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