Apple Music on Mac: Streaming delays, freezing, TCP errors

Severe Apple Music streaming delay and freezing on Mac

Hi everyone

I'm experiencing a persistent and highly frustrating issue with the Apple Music app, strictly isolated to my Mac. Streaming any non-downloaded track takes an unusually long time to start, and playback frequently drops out.

When I hit play on a track that isn't downloaded to my local library, there is a massive delay. Sometimes it takes 2-3 seconds, but often it hangs for several minutes before the audio finally starts.

Once the track is actually playing, it randomly freezes, sits in silence for a while, and then eventually resumes.

Downloaded local files play instantly without any issues.

This only happens on my Mac. Other Apple devices on the same network stream the exact same tracks instantly without any buffering.

The behavior persists regardless of the Wi-Fi network or router I am connected to (tested on different high-speed networks). Other internet-dependent applications on this Mac work flawlessly with zero latency.

Packet traffic via Wireshark during these prolonged hangs, I see a massive volume of TCP errors (including numerous retransmissions and out of order packets) specifically tied to the Apple Music streaming endpoints, while the rest of my system's network traffic remains perfectly healthy.

My Device is Macbook Pro M4 and my MacOS version is Tahoe 26.5.1