Downloaded songs disappear

Hello friends. I download songs from Apple Music onto my iPhone and add them to a playlist. When I go back to the playlist weeks or days later, some of the songs will be gone. Once a song reappeared, but usually they stay gone. I just want to download songs and have them stay on my iphone13. Thoughts? I’m not short on storage space.

Posted on Aug 9, 2022 7:37 PM

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Posted on Aug 14, 2022 9:30 AM


Hello Jawko,


Ah, thanks for clarifying that up. You likely must be using Optimize storage on your device. Add music to iPhone and listen offline - Apple Support


"Free up music storage: If iPhone is low on storage space, you can automatically remove downloaded music that you haven’t played in a while. Go to Settings  > Music > Optimize Storage."


If the song or album has not been played in a while and your device needs the space, it will be removed. When you click to play it again, it has to re-download it.


Thanks and have a wonderful day.

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11 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 14, 2022 9:30 AM in response to Jawko


Hello Jawko,


Ah, thanks for clarifying that up. You likely must be using Optimize storage on your device. Add music to iPhone and listen offline - Apple Support


"Free up music storage: If iPhone is low on storage space, you can automatically remove downloaded music that you haven’t played in a while. Go to Settings  > Music > Optimize Storage."


If the song or album has not been played in a while and your device needs the space, it will be removed. When you click to play it again, it has to re-download it.


Thanks and have a wonderful day.

Aug 12, 2022 9:02 AM in response to Jawko

Howdy Jawko,


Thanks for updating us with that information.


Do you have Sync Library enabled and in use with another device on Apple Music? If so, be sure the song isn't removed from a different device as it may impact your iPhone. For assistance with checking this, take a look at the steps below which can also be found here: Turn on Sync Library with Apple Music - Apple Support


Turn on Sync Library

With the latest version of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, Sync Library is turned on by default. If you turned off Sync Library, you can turn it back on. Just follow the steps below for your device.

On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

1. Go to Settings > Music.

2. Turn on Sync Library. If you don't subscribe to Apple Music or iTunes Match, you won’t see an option to turn on Sync Library.


If that doesn't seem to be related, confirm you're updated to the latest iOS version. If an update is available, be sure to complete a backup before installing. Use this resource for assistance with backing up or updating your iPhone: Update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support


Have a great day!

Aug 12, 2022 3:36 PM in response to Dustin_R_308

G'Day Dustin!

I'm not interested in using the sync library feature between my iPhone and my Mac. My Mac has 1000's of songs, many that aren't already on apple servers. I just want to download certain playlists from my Mac to my iPhone manually via a hardwire connection, and then download songs from Apple music into their own separate playlist only available on my iPhone. Do you think that has anything to do with my songs downloaded from apple music disappearing? I can't figure the connection?

Best,

Jawko!


Aug 13, 2022 1:48 PM in response to Jawko


Hello Jawko,


There is no way to do what you are asking as mentioned here: Sync music between your Mac and iPhone or iPad - Apple Support


"Important: If you subscribe to Apple Music, your music is transferred automatically to all your devices and no syncing is required. You can’t use the syncing method described here unless you turn off the Sync Library option in Apple Music preferences."


You can submit feedback to see if that is an option they will add in the future: Feedback - Apple Music - Apple


Thanks.

Aug 13, 2022 5:03 PM in response to Eric--F

Hello Eric,

I apologize i wasn’t clear. I have turned off the Sync Library option in Apple Music preferences. I have always had it off. Currently I am able to sync individual playlists from my Mac to my iPhone. That has never been an issue. The problem begins when I download a song from Apple Music onto my iPhone. The downloaded song will eventually disappear! A few hours or days later. That is the problem. Songs downloaded from Apple Music keep disappearing. It doesn’t have anything to do with syncing with my Mac but thanks for the info! All the best to you.

Jawko

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Downloaded songs disappear

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