Home Sharing library deselects itself on iPad only (iPadOS 18.7.2)

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Level 1

24 points

Home Sharing library deselects itself on iPad only (iPadOS 18.7.2)

Hi all. I run iTunes on my PC (Win11) and all my music is in my iTunes media folder (steves library). I have Home Sharing enabled on the PC and can 'see' my music on my iPhone 7, Apple TV and Ipad. All fine all the time on TV and phone, but on my ipad (Ipad 7th gen. IpadOS 18.7.2), I select 'steves library', (under the 3 dots tab) and after a while the library is visible. But, later, when I go back into the app, under the 3 dots, I see that 'steves library' is deselected and 'My Library' is ticked. All are on the same home network of course.

Any ideas? Thanks for reading. SjH

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Home Sharing. PC to iPhone, Apple TV and iPad

Posted on Dec 10, 2025 4:57 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

azaksalmarzur28

Level 4

1,950 points

Dec 10, 2025 11:21 PM in response to Steviebobs

Turn OFF “Private Wi-Fi Address” for the Home Network

Go to:

Settings → Wi-Fi → (your network) → i → Private Wi-Fi Address → OFF

Then reconnect.

This prevents your iPad from rotating its MAC address, which helps Home Sharing stay stable.

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Answer 2

LotusPilot

Level 10

319,781 points

Jan 11, 2026 6:29 AM in response to Steviebobs

For Windows 10/11, you should consider migrating iTunes (long ago deprecated and now unsupported) to the replacement Apple Devices App. iTunes and associated services may not work properly with your PC running Windows 11.

Apple Devices App (Windows PC):

https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9np83lwlpz9k?hl=en-ms&gl=MS

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Answer 3

Steviebobs Author

Level 1

24 points

Jan 11, 2026 6:24 AM in response to Steviebobs

Because of the lack of replies, I am guessing my original query was not too clear, so to ‘ re-open’, here goes.

iTunes on Win11 PC has all my music. I have Home Sharing switched on.

On the same home network I have my iPad (18.7.2) and iPhone (15.8.5) both with Apple Music. The phone is fine, sees the library ‘Steve’s Library’ and stays connected. The iPad sees the library but won’t connect. The facts are those !! Why?

I always suspect Apple skullduggery. Even if I turn off Home Sharing on the PC and turn it back on again the iPad does not connect to the shared library although it ‘sees it’.

Help?

Regards and thanks for reading.

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Answer 4

Steviebobs Author

Level 1

24 points

Jan 11, 2026 7:14 AM in response to LotusPilot

Thanks for that prompt and, frankly, incredibly enlightening reply! My whole domestic music experience is centered around iTunes on my Win11 pc! I have an Apple TV box connected to my television and stream from my PC to that and onward (via optical) to my Ruark sound system. I also have the Apple TV box stream from my photo library randomly on the win 11 pc to my television whilst listening to music! So need to understand what may work or not work if I switch to the suggested ‘Apple Devices’ app. Thanks again, I need to put more thought into this!!

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