My music does not appear in iPhone Music app even though it shows as synced to the device in Finder on Macbook

Question

Level 1

10 points

My music does not appear in iPhone Music app even though it shows as synced to the device in Finder on Macbook

I manually manage the music that is on my iPhone by connecting via USB to my Macbook and using the Sync Selected Artists option via Finder.

I select several artists and click Sync. As the sync runs, I can see the artists appear on the Music app of the iPhone, but as the sync completes they disappear from the Music app.

When I open Apple Music on the Macbook and select the iPhone from on the sidebar, the artists that I selected to sync do show up. So it appears that the files do actually transfer to the iPhone because Music can see them there, but they are not visible on the iPhone itself.

The music files are available and I can play them on the Macbook.

Both the Macbook and iPhone are on the latest version of software as of the time of posting (iOS 16.6, Ventura 13.5).

I have been using this process to manage my library on these exact devices for a couple of years now.

I do not have an Apple Music subscription.

Anybody have any ideas?

Posted on Jul 30, 2023 1:39 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Jenniferlisa8989

Level 1

9 points

Mar 8, 2024 11:05 AM in response to typical_user

If your music is not appearing in the iPhone Music app even though it shows as synced to the device in Finder on your MacBook, try the following steps:

Check Music App Settings: Make sure the "Show All Music" option is enabled in the Music app settings on your iPhone. This will display all music, including that synced from your Mac.
Sync Again: Disconnect your iPhone from your MacBook and then reconnect it. In Finder, select your iPhone, go to the "Music" tab, and ensure that the option to sync music is selected. Then, click on the "Sync" button to re-sync your music.
Restart iPhone: Sometimes, simply restarting your iPhone can resolve syncing issues. Press and hold the power button (or the volume down button on iPhone X or later) until the power off slider appears. Then, slide to power off. Once your iPhone is off, press and hold the power button again until the Apple logo appears to restart it.
Update Software: Ensure that both your iPhone and MacBook are running the latest software versions. Updates can sometimes resolve compatibility issues that may be causing the problem.
Check Storage: Make sure that there is enough storage space on your iPhone to accommodate the synced music. If your iPhone is running low on storage, it may not be able to display all the synced content.
Reset Sync History: In Finder, select your iPhone, go to the "General" tab, and click on the "Reset Sync History" button. This will reset the sync history and may resolve any syncing issues.

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Answer 2

picas

Level 7

20,895 points

Jul 30, 2023 4:18 PM in response to typical_user

Something to try out would be to sync your iPhone without any music selected. Then in Finder, with your iPhone selected, select Manually manage music, movies and tv shows, hit Apply, open the Music app, and drag the music onto your device in the sidebar.

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Answer 3

typical_user Author

Level 1

10 points

Jul 31, 2023 10:51 AM in response to picas

That worked! Thank you very much. I was successful in using those steps to transfer music to the iPhone.

After that process worked successfully, I went back to my normal method (on Macbook open Music, connect iPhone via usb, click Sync Settings for that iPhone to open the Finder window, click on Music heading, click on "Sync music onto iPhone" and then checking the box for various artists and clicking Sync. That sync was successful as well. It appears the method you suggested somehow fixed what was "stuck" and I am able to both add and remove music normally at this point.

Thank you very much for your help!

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Answer 4

Jul 3, 2024 11:36 AM in response to typical_user

Trying to manually add music to iPhone from Mac via USB-C and Finder. Have tried the above. And more

I have a Mac with 200+ GB of songs in Music: added by burning Cd's. Trying to sync with iphone 13 which has an empty library after stopping iCloud which erased music. I was able to restore songs in Music with a backup on the Mac (also erased via stopping iCloud). I have turned "synching" OFF on Iphone so it will not utilize Apple Music.

Connecting via USB-C, manually synching through Finder as I do NOT want to use Apple Music or cloud storage.

The Mac shows it backs up and synchs with my phone but does not add any songs to phone. Storage stays the same.

I have done this separately, first synching phone, then manually for music. Also Tried switching to external drive where copy is stored. Have shut down and restarted both devices. I am on Mac Monterey and 16.4

It just does not want music to iPhone. Thoughts??

Thanks

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