iPhone Music played not syncing to Mac

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Level 1

65 points

iPhone Music played not syncing to Mac

I manually sync my owned music from my Mac to the iPhone. The music sync'ed is determined through various smart playlists. These playlists are updated when the music on that list is played. Played music is removed.

When I play music on my iPad and sync it with the Mac, the 'Last Played' is updated in the Music program on the Mac. And the smart playlists are updated.

But when I play music on the iPhone and sync it with the Mac, the 'Last Played' is not updated. So my smart playlists no longer update.

This has been driving me nuts for two years.

Anyone else having this issue? Any solutions?

Is there another music App that will let me sync my Mac with my iPhone and iPad?

I do not use the iCloud because I have collected way too much music over the decades. Apple Music will not work as I have too much music.

I have spent hours on the phone with Apple. They are patient, but we think it is a conflict with an App on the phone. I have gone through one at a time and deleted Apps. I am now down to the few Apps that Apple will not let me delete.

iPhone 13 Pro

Posted on Oct 29, 2023 11:17 AM

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Answer 1

Nov 13, 2023 12:14 PM in response to LexVAPin

They have not replaced the version on my Mac or my phone - thankfully. I noticed it when I was using music on my watch. I was doing fine without a subscription until then. Going for walks I wanted to leave my phone behind and the limited number of tracks my watch could hold (understandably) wasn’t enough. That’s when I found the issue with love tracks.

As for your situation Plex sounds like what you need. If all your files are your own (like mine) you won’t need to remove the protection Apple puts on them, but get Plex Server up and running on the machine your library is on, point it to the library file and magic happens (playlists and ratings). A monthly subscription is needed for it to stream to clients, but at $US4.99 - it’s worth it.

The loss of being able to use Siri to organise new music while driving is the only thing stopping me moving for now.

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Answer 2

LexVAPin Author

Level 1

65 points

Oct 31, 2023 7:58 AM in response to philivan

Here is what I have found so far:

1) Sync of music played does not work from iPhone to Mac Music. Works on my iPad to Mac Music.

2) If I restore my iPhone to factory, it does work.

3) If I restore my iPhone back from factory to last backup, sync from iPhone to Mac Music stops working again.

4) Apple conclusion is that it might be an App conflict. I made a spreadsheet list of every App I have on my iPhone and iPad. Deleted all of the Apps that are only on my iPhone. Did not solve the problem.

5) Deleted Music on the iPhone. Reinstalled Music on the iPhone. Downloaded music from the Mac Music to iPhone. Still does not sync.

6) Deleted all but necessary Apple Apps and Music. Still does not work.

7) Restored to factory (again) and sync worked.

8) Restored backup (again) and sync stopped working.

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Answer 3

philivan

Level 1

29 points

Oct 29, 2023 2:01 PM in response to LexVAPin

Pretty sure this is a bug in iOS 17.1. This also started happening to me after I updated to the new iOS on my iPhone. Play counts don't update from the iPhone and neither does the Last Played timestamp. A bunch of other users are reporting the same issue.

[Edited by Moderator]

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Answer 4

amyreyno

Level 1

31 points

Nov 10, 2023 12:36 AM in response to LexVAPin

I'm having the same issue after update to iOS 17. Unlike the original poster, I have not had the issue with earlier updates.

At the moment, itunes music doesn't seem to recognise that I'm using it on multiple devices. In the past, if I tried to play music on my iphone (for instance) while music was already playing on another device, I would get a warning message and music would stop playing on one of the devices.

However, this morning I tried playing music simultaneously on four devices (iMac, iphone, ipod touch and apple music on a PC) and had no messages and music kept playing on all devices at the same time.

I wondered if my apple ID was not working properly, but checked and I seem to be properly logged-in on all devices.

Furthermore, If I add a new album on one of my devices (all four), it appears on all my devices (all four), so apple ID is presumably fine. And if I manually update the music library on my Mac or PC (file/library/update icloud music library) the libraries update properly on my phone and ipod (and MAC/PC).

It just seems to be the play counts that don't update properly to icloud from my iphone or ipod. Up to installing iOS 17, the play counts updated automatically at least once a day, usually after the first play on iphone/ipod. So far, neither the plays from iphone or ipod have synced for two days.

I tried un-toggling the "Sync Library" on my iphone and then turning the "Sync Library" on again, hoping this might force a fresh sync. But it didn't.

I installed another update this morning that claimed to solve some bugs (icloud music problems was not listed as one of the issues), but, so far, there is no evidence that this update has helped.

I haven't tried doing a factory reset, but don't really see the point, as everything was working fine until installing iOS 17, and I have not installed any new apps. But I could imagine that iOS 17 could have created a new app conflict with an existing app.

I know this doesn't help to solve the issue, except that, for me, it seems to be related to iOS 17.

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Answer 5

Nov 10, 2023 2:02 PM in response to amyreyno

I’ve raised a case to Apple engineers for this bug over 6 months ago. No resolution. However, my last played data does update after about a week or so on my Mac. Liking and rating songs is almost immediate.

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Answer 6

Nov 11, 2023 2:56 PM in response to LexVAPin

Hi Lawrence,

I do have an Apple Music subscription, but most of my library was based on rips and mp3 files collected over 25 years. Songs I’ve downloaded through the subscription are having the same issue.

Like most people, the first song played will update the last played date, but nothing else will - and the sync happens through the cloud. When I was testing with Apple Support we tried cable and wifi syncing the phone. No difference.

The Mac is running 12.7.1 and I am looking to upgrade to a newer model that can run newer OS. Wondering if it’s the issue.

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Answer 7

Nov 12, 2023 3:28 PM in response to LexVAPin

Good summary - yes, similar but different.

Either way we’re getting limited options because we’re not taking “advantage” of everything syncing to their library. Already had issues with that with my files being replaced by crappy live versions from theirs - there’s threads for that too.

Thinking I’ll go to Plex for my music. Already use it for video…

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Answer 8

LexVAPin Author

Level 1

65 points

Nov 1, 2023 7:13 AM in response to refusejesus

Your situation is a bit different from mine.

I have had this situation with iOS 17, iOS 16 and likely iOS 15, continuously, not just with iOS updates. It is possible that mine started, not because of something specifically in the iOS, but because of the interaction of an App with the iOS that Apple has not yet identified.

As the Original Poster (OP), I am outlining what I have gone through to solve this in the hope that someone else has had this issue and perhaps solved it.

Note that the sync works after a factory restore. But ceases working when all the Apps are reloaded. Despite my time consuming attempts to narrow down the cause, I have, so far, been unable to find the issue.

I am looking for constructive comments.

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Answer 9

LexVAPin Author

Level 1

65 points

Nov 11, 2023 9:02 AM in response to OldRobbie

Thanks for this.

Are you subscribed to Apple Music? I am not.

My understanding is that, if subscribed to Apple Music, personal MP3's are identified 'in the Cloud' and synchronizing is done that way. No music is physically sync'ed from the Mac to the iPhone, but instead downloaded from Apple.

Without Apple Music, the synchronization occurs by transferring MP3's via WiFi along with the play information and song rating. I can transfer the MP3's (via the Finder which is buggy as heck), but the play count does not update in the Mac Music program.

If you are not using Apple Music, are you synchronizing wirelessly? Or wired?

What MacOS are you using? I am on 12.7.1.

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Answer 10

Nov 1, 2023 4:43 AM in response to LexVAPin

That's very thorough, but this has happened before, infuriatingly often with iOS updates. The QA process on the Apple Music team needs looking at, each point release seems to create new bug or regression and basic functionality like syncing play history has been a regular victim to sloppy testing.

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Answer 11

LexVAPin Author

Level 1

65 points

Nov 10, 2023 6:22 AM in response to amyreyno

Thanks for posting. Mine is an old issue and Apple has not been able to address it for several years. It also sounds as if you are an Apple Music subscriber? Mine involves sync'ing MP3 files between my Mac and my iPhone / iPad via the Finder.

I suspect your issue has a different cause and a different solution. Since your situation seems different from mine, I think your post deserves the attention it might get from Apple as a separate posting.

I would suggest copying and pasting your well written note as a new post.

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Answer 12

LexVAPin Author

Level 1

65 points

Nov 12, 2023 8:56 AM in response to OldRobbie

I think what is different for you is that Apple Music identifies the music you have on your Mac, and then does its best to match up with their Apple Music library on their servers. The music on your phone is then downloaded from Apple rather than transferred from your Mac - except if they don't have the song on their servers.

"If you are prepared to give Apple some money then everything happens in the cloud. Apple will store all your music, including your playlists, play counts, ratings, and more in your own personal iCloud Music Library that you can access on any of your devices."

https://www.macworld.com/article/671923/how-to-sync-music-to-iphone.html

Since I am not an Apple Music subscriber, my files have to be physically transferred from the Mac to the iPhone (via house WiFi or wire connection). The sync does not involve 'iCloud' at all.

So, I think the issue you are having as to do with a problem with syncing via the iCloud and your Apple Music subscription.

My issue involves syncing directly from the iPhone to the Mac. I don't sync any music via iCloud.

iPhone Music played not syncing to Mac

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