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Error occurs when trying to sync Apple Music library between iPhone and Mac

Hi!

I tried syncing my apple music library on my mac with the one from my iphone. I went into settings on mac and I checked the sync library option, did many restarts, tried it in safe mode but nothing worked.

Is there any fix to this?


[Re-Titled by Moderator]

MacBook Air

Posted on Oct 27, 2023 2:24 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 30, 2023 1:59 AM

I am just adding my name to the list of people experiencing this. I have been in contact with Apple Support and expect my third call back next week. While they have been very helpful, we have not been able to make any meaningful progress and they do not appear to have knowledge of a wider issue (I am being treated as an isolated case).


As is the case with others in the thread, the symptoms are as follows:

  • Initially an album was not syncing across devices
  • After switching iCloud library syncing off and back on I lost my entire library on my Mac, iPad and iPhone and the devices are all stuck trying to enable library syncing. (The Apple TV library also does not sync)
  • Adding or downloading music is impossible as the iCloud syncing does not successfully switch on
  • The library is retained on the web interface and can be edited and changed successfully here
  • In addition, my library is also available and working on Sonos and Apple Music Classical apps (that presumably use a different interface).


As others have noted, usual problem solving steps do not help:

  • Switching library syncing off and on
  • Signing out and back in to store
  • Resetting network settings
  • Erasing device and setting up as new
  • Using VPN to test for IP blocking or routing issues


My conclusion is that this is an Apple server / account issue that their engineers need to resolve on their end. I can only hope that it receives enough attention and priority as Apple Music is useless to me at the moment.

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Dec 30, 2023 1:59 AM in response to Tudor299

I am just adding my name to the list of people experiencing this. I have been in contact with Apple Support and expect my third call back next week. While they have been very helpful, we have not been able to make any meaningful progress and they do not appear to have knowledge of a wider issue (I am being treated as an isolated case).


As is the case with others in the thread, the symptoms are as follows:

  • Initially an album was not syncing across devices
  • After switching iCloud library syncing off and back on I lost my entire library on my Mac, iPad and iPhone and the devices are all stuck trying to enable library syncing. (The Apple TV library also does not sync)
  • Adding or downloading music is impossible as the iCloud syncing does not successfully switch on
  • The library is retained on the web interface and can be edited and changed successfully here
  • In addition, my library is also available and working on Sonos and Apple Music Classical apps (that presumably use a different interface).


As others have noted, usual problem solving steps do not help:

  • Switching library syncing off and on
  • Signing out and back in to store
  • Resetting network settings
  • Erasing device and setting up as new
  • Using VPN to test for IP blocking or routing issues


My conclusion is that this is an Apple server / account issue that their engineers need to resolve on their end. I can only hope that it receives enough attention and priority as Apple Music is useless to me at the moment.

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Dec 23, 2023 8:19 PM in response to Tudor299

Apple Music on my Mac wouldn't let me add any music to my library so I signed in and out, and I got this exact error. I tried signing out again as well as reseting my Icloud password which hasn't worked. Now Apple Music on my Iphone does not sync either even after signing out and in again with the new password. Apple Music only syncs on the web app on a browser, the rest is completely dysfunctional.

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Dec 23, 2023 7:59 AM in response to Tudor299

I have the same since today. On my Ipad, my Iphone and on my mac all playlists are gone. I logged out and changed the apple ID password. Not helpful. When logging into my music via Sonos, I can see my playlists. Also on my old iphone I can see them. Don't know what to do now...

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Dec 31, 2023 1:30 AM in response to Tudor299

I have the same problem since weeks & cannot fix it, first time only on some macOS devices, meanwhile on all my macOS & iOS devices! It's very annoying, something like this shouldn't happen at Apple or should be fixed faster! I hope Apple will fix it soon in the new year!!!


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Dec 26, 2023 11:53 AM in response to Tudor299

Same problem here. I first noticed the 18004 error on Apple Music for Windows. Then a while later I couldn't add any music to my iPhone 15 (iOS 17.2.1). When adding music to my library it almost instantly disappeared from my library. It won't sync anymore. Tried restarting, signing out, changing password and signing back in. Also recovered my iPhone and reinstalled iOS but nothing helped. Wondered whether it had something to do with iOS 17 so went to my old iPhone X on iOS 16.7.2. Fresh installation, no iCloud back-up. A truly clean installation. But the problem also exists on iOS 16. Only my purchased iTunes music is visible and at the top it says it "Syncing Your Library". Sometimes the progress bar is stuck at 25%, often greyed out or it disappears. And the on the web version of Apple Music everything is working.

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Jan 8, 2024 6:31 AM in response to Tudor299

FIXED the not loading, not syncing issue by logging out from the app, disabling the sync button..reinitiating music app by removing the file library in directory Media, searching in finder for caches of .music .iTunes to remove them. restarting music while holding option-button selecting new library. so you have an untouched app. then I fully logged out from appleID disconnecting all iCloud related settings(removed the Mac from appleID). When I signed in it worked like normal...I hope it works for everyone else

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Dec 13, 2023 4:33 PM in response to Tudor299

Sorry for the late reply. To clarify, I signed out on my Mac entirely, changed password, signed back in on the Mac in System Settings.


I had tried signing out and back in previously, but didn’t change password, and the problem persisted. Only when I changed the password whilst signed out did it fix my problem.

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Dec 22, 2023 11:49 PM in response to Tudor299

I experience this issue since yesterday (21 December). My MacOS Music app won't load the Cloud Library anymore. The Music app on my iPhone seems to be unaffected (so far), that still shows my entire music catalogue.


I tried the solutions mentioned above, but none of them worked for me.

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Dec 24, 2023 2:14 PM in response to Tudor299

Same Problem here! "...Genius...(18004)."

I have already tried the following serval times:

- Restarted Apple Music

- Restarted Mac

- Signed out of Apple Music and signed back in.

- Signed out of iCloud and signed in again.

And nothing has worked!!!


MacBook Air, 1.1 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5, 8GB, 256GB; MacOS: Sonoma 14.2.1 (23C71)

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Dec 24, 2023 1:24 AM in response to pierrick289

I checked the Apple Music player on the web, and as you can see on the web player on the left side, my library is intact. However, on the right side in the app, you will only see the downloaded items until 2021 and one item from 2022. And unfortunately, it's on Ventura too : (

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Error occurs when trying to sync Apple Music library between iPhone and Mac

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