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.

User profile for user: Ali-G9
Ali-G9 Author
User level: Level 1
4 points

Smart Playlists not syncing changes to iphone over cloud updating.

Hey All,


So I recently started my Music app fresh with no tracks and subscribed to Apple Music.

After creating a smart playlist with "Live Updating" on Mac I noticed that they do sync with my iPhone but only once(immediately after creation) and not after that.


A few weeks passed and I noticed that the playlists were different on my Mac than the initial one. That is the normal behavior of the smart playlist. However, I noticed that the same playlist on my iPhone is still the initial version at the time of creation. Also, the last update time shows the creation date which is odd.


Does anyone have the same issue with smart playlists? Can you tell me how to resolve the issue?


I have tried manually changing the rules hoping it would trigger a sync with iPhone but no help. The only thing that worked was deleting and creating the same playlist which defeats the purpose of smart playlists. I mostly listen to music on my iPhone moving around with headphones on and it would be great if I could have my smart playlist live updating as they should.





iPhone 11 Pro Max, iOS 17

Posted on Oct 17, 2023 11:14 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: Omar_A1
Omar_A1
User level: Community Specialist

Posted on Oct 18, 2023 9:36 AM

Hello Ali-G9,


Thank you for reaching out to Apple Support Communities.


Do you have Sync Library enabled on all your devices? If not, let's check those settings now:


"How to turn on Sync Library on your Mac

  1. Open the Apple Music app.
  2. In the menu bar, choose Account and make sure that you're signed in with the same Apple ID that you use with your Apple Music subscription.
  3. Choose Music > Settings.
  4. Click the General tab.
  5. Select Sync Library. Don't see Sync Library? Apple Music Settings showing Sync Library turned on
  6. Click Ok. 
  7. Wait for your music library to sync. To check the status, go to the bottom of the sidebar and click Updating Cloud Library.
  8. Turn on Sync Library on your other devices.


How to turn on Sync Library on your PC

In iTunes for Windows, Sync Library is called iCloud Music Library. Learn how to turn on iCloud Music Library in iTunes for Windows.


How to turn on Sync Library on your iPhone or iPad

  1. Open the Apple Music app and tap the photo icon Photo icon. Tap Account Settings and make sure that you're signed in with the same Apple ID that you use with your Apple Music subscription.
  2. Open the Settings app.
  3. Tap Music.
  4. Turn on Sync Library. Don't see Sync Library?iPhone showing Sync Library turned on in Music Settings.
  5. Turn on Sync Library on your other devices."


Additional details can be found here: Use Sync Library with your Apple Music subscription


If the issue persists, can you provide a few more details? Which macOS and iOS versions are currently installed? Also, have you restarted both devices since you first noticed this?


Cheers!


View in context

Similar questions

4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: Omar_A1
Omar_A1
User level: Community Specialist

Oct 18, 2023 9:36 AM in response to Ali-G9

Hello Ali-G9,


Thank you for reaching out to Apple Support Communities.


Do you have Sync Library enabled on all your devices? If not, let's check those settings now:


"How to turn on Sync Library on your Mac

  1. Open the Apple Music app.
  2. In the menu bar, choose Account and make sure that you're signed in with the same Apple ID that you use with your Apple Music subscription.
  3. Choose Music > Settings.
  4. Click the General tab.
  5. Select Sync Library. Don't see Sync Library? Apple Music Settings showing Sync Library turned on
  6. Click Ok. 
  7. Wait for your music library to sync. To check the status, go to the bottom of the sidebar and click Updating Cloud Library.
  8. Turn on Sync Library on your other devices.


How to turn on Sync Library on your PC

In iTunes for Windows, Sync Library is called iCloud Music Library. Learn how to turn on iCloud Music Library in iTunes for Windows.


How to turn on Sync Library on your iPhone or iPad

  1. Open the Apple Music app and tap the photo icon Photo icon. Tap Account Settings and make sure that you're signed in with the same Apple ID that you use with your Apple Music subscription.
  2. Open the Settings app.
  3. Tap Music.
  4. Turn on Sync Library. Don't see Sync Library?iPhone showing Sync Library turned on in Music Settings.
  5. Turn on Sync Library on your other devices."


Additional details can be found here: Use Sync Library with your Apple Music subscription


If the issue persists, can you provide a few more details? Which macOS and iOS versions are currently installed? Also, have you restarted both devices since you first noticed this?


Cheers!


Reply
User profile for user: Rigo_O86
Rigo_O86
User level: Community Specialist

Oct 20, 2023 5:41 AM in response to Ali-G9

Hi Ali-G9,


From your description it sounds like you're using several devices.


Smart Playlists are a feature on the Mac. You can create them and manage them from the Mac and then share them to your iPhone, but your iPhone will not have the features of a Smart Playlist on your Mac.


What you're describing might be normal behavior due to that.


Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities.

Reply
User profile for user: Ali-G9
Ali-G9 Author
User level: Level 1
4 points

Oct 20, 2023 5:01 AM in response to Omar_A1

Hello Omar_A1,


Thank you for the coment.


Yes Library sync is on. Everything in the library shows up on all devices immediately. Even the individual smart playlists show up on my other device as soon as I create them on Mac.


My issue is that the playlists don't match and they certainly don't live update as they should. I have rules where the playlist doesnt include tracks that have been skipped in the past month. But even after skipping a track several time and over a week, it is still in the playlist. I'm beginning to think my devices don't send my activities to the server as they should.


Thanks Again for the help.



Reply
User profile for user: Ali-G9
Ali-G9 Author
User level: Level 1
4 points

Oct 20, 2023 6:01 AM in response to Rigo_O86

Hi Rigo_O86,


You are absolutely right. Only the activities on mac are effective in the smart playlists.


I thought my entire listening data would be considered even if it is not on Mac, but sadly that's not the case.


I'm happy I started this discussion because it's been months since I had this issue.


Thanks a lot,


Reply

Smart Playlists not syncing changes to iphone over cloud updating.

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