1 playlist missing from my iPhone but still shows on my Mac.

Suddenly I notice 1 playlist is missing from my iPhone. All the others are there. On my MacBook Pro all the playlists, including the 1 missing from my phone, are there. Sync is turned on on both devices. I tried turning off Synch Library and turninng it back on but it is still missing. Now what???

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.13

Posted on Oct 21, 2023 11:47 AM

Similar questions

Why is my Mac's playlist not syncing to my iPhone and iPad? I created a new playlist on a brand new Mac and although new songs now appear on my phone and iPad, the new play list does not. Older playlists are there and music I downloaded at the same time as creating a new playlist also appear, but not the new playlist. I have tried turning the synch button on and off [Re-Titled by Moderator]
900 1
New MAC and I did not get play list from iPhone I upgraded to the new MAC M2 and my migrations didn't completely work, I know have iPhone with all my playlist and they are not on the MAC. When I try to sync it doesn't have playlist, if I try and change to in Music it says its going to erase all on my phone and sync from the MAC. How do I save or get my playlist on the MAC
307 1
Mac / iPhone Wired Music Sync Empties Most Playlists in Both Devices I recently tried to sync my iPhone 13 Pro (iOS v17.1.2) to manually selected playlists on my M3 Pro MacBook 14”. Afterward, most of my Mac’s Music playlists show as “Empty Playlist” (and no playlists were transferred to iPhone). I’ve found Apple help docs but they don’t solve the problem (see DETAILS below). Note that this happened when I first tried syncing my phone to my new M3 MacBook (after years of syncing to an older Intel MacBook). When I plugged the iPhone in, I got the usual warning that the phone is synced to another device and requires deleting all current files and resyncing to the new MacBook. After doing this, no songs/playlists were transferred to the iPhone AND some Playlists in Apple Music on MacBook are now completely EMPTY. I have been syncing to an iPad for a couple weeks since I got the new MacBook WITHOUT problem (see DETAILS below for more info). MORE WEIRD BEHAVIOR & DISCONNECTS When the iPhone is plugged into the MacBook, it doesn’t see the same list of playlists as Mac Music does. I can plug iPhone in via USB wire > goto Finder window for the iPhone > check Sync Music onto iPhone 13 > Select Music tab > Playlists and the list that appears DOESN’T MATCH what’s in the MacBook Music app. Worryingly, when I copy a backup version of most recent Music Library database file, I can point Music to it and then selecting a playlist in Mac Music app will cause it to stick. No matter what playlist I then select in the left column, the right column stays on the first playlist selected (though a couple times it was just some playlists that would update while others would). After restarting Music it will then revert to some other Library that doesn’t have all the playlists I created (as though it’s an earlier Library from months ago). This then will allow playlists to update when selecting, but some playlists are still empty. Surprisingly, I came back to Music after typing these note and the full library and all playlists were suddenly back (though some still are empty). TRULY SCARY & FRUSTRATING! DETAILS Signed out/back in to my Apple ID account on MacBook. All devices are signed into same Apple ID account. I have not signed out on iPhone because it’s painful and time consuming. I haven’t had Apple Music nor iTunes Purchases enabled for years on any device attached to my account. My playlists are composed of local Mac files only. I never subscribe to Apple Music nor use iTunes Sync or Purchases or other iCloud features. I only manage actual files on my hard drive that I need synced to iPhone and iPad. I found an Apple help doc about “Sync Library” which seems to be a similar issue, but it doesn’t help because it assumes Apple Music subscription. It shows a Sync Music toggle that doesn’t appear on my iPhone and a Sync Library checkbox for Mac Music app under Settings > General which is absent so it seems out of date. Oddly, I also sync on iPad Mini 6 though I don’t remember it needing to delete and resync (I’m busy so maybe that happened and I forgot; still, if iPad did resync, it didn’t kill playlists in Music app on new M3 MacBook). I was also able to sync iPad multiple times to the new M3 MacBook without problems before trying the failed sync with iPhone. I use an external mini SD card for Mac Music’s library (so, not on the same hard drive as the MacBook system). I’ve ensured Music is pointing to this drive for its library files. Also, the music files seem intact in their folders. I have lots of Compilation folders that the playlists point to and those files seem to be there so it’s likely just the library database affected and not the files. I’ve tried backed up Music library file in hopes corruption was the problem, but that didn’t help. The library files are identical as far as I can tell. I even went back a couple weeks to an older library file that’s in Music’s “Previous Libraries” folder. If Library corruption was the problem, then these previous files would most likely solve it but it doesn’t help. Notably those library files were migrated from the Intel Mac. Running MacBook M3 Pro 14” on latest OS 14.1.2; iPhone 13 Pro running latest 17.1.2; iPad mini 6 v17.1.2. All have been restarted repeatedly.
443 4

1 reply

Eric_G1

Community Specialist

Oct 22, 2023 11:43 AM in response to orf-obx-usvi

Hello orf-obx-usvi,

In some instances it can help to try refreshing the devices by restarting both of them, if you haven't just yet:

Shut down or restart your Mac - Apple Support

Restart your iPhone - Apple Support

To help test out the syncing between the devices try adding a song/album/playlist from the Apple Music catalog on one device, and see if it populates shortly after on the other. Then do the same thing, but adding the song/content on the opposite device this time.

You may also find assistance for issues with songs being missing here: If songs are missing from your music library after you turn on Sync Library - Apple Support

Cheers.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

1 playlist missing from my iPhone but still shows on my Mac.

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