You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

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

How can I download lossless audio? Must I have Big Sur or Monterey or can I use Catalina?

Regarding the following article: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212183


I just signed up for Apple Music because I want to download all of my songs in ALAC. This is the relevant bit from the aforementioned article:


What you need to know about lossless in Apple Music

  • Streaming lossless audio over a cellular or Wi-Fi network consumes significantly more data. And downloading lossless audio uses significantly more space on your device. Higher resolutions use more data than lower ones.
  • AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, AirPods (3rd generation), and Beats wireless headphones use Apple AAC Bluetooth Codec to ensure excellent audio quality. However, Bluetooth connections aren't lossless.
  • To get a lossless version of music that you already downloaded from Apple Music, just delete the music and redownload it from the Apple Music catalog.


The third bullet point states that I must delete the song and then redownload it. I tried this on my Mac 16" running Catalina with two songs and when I look at "Kind" in Finder, the file is still "Apple MPEG-4 audio" instead of ALAC.


Question: So, why didn't this work? Do I need to "upgrade" to Big Sur or later?


And yes, I have Lossless downloads enabled in my Apple Music app on my iPhone. I also have the latest software versions on my Mac and iPhone.

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Feb 12, 2022 6:07 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Feb 13, 2022 12:02 AM

Yes, Catalina doesn’t support Lossless.

Similar questions

1 reply

How can I download lossless audio? Must I have Big Sur or Monterey or can I use Catalina?

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