Want to highlight a helpful answer? Upvote!

Did someone help you, or did an answer or User Tip resolve your issue? Upvote by selecting the upvote arrow. Your feedback helps others! Learn more about when to upvote >

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

mracole Author

Level 4

1,102 points

iTunes Match - Step 2 Freeze - Solved

Just resolved the apparent Step 2 freeze! Steps taken were as follows:

1. Stop iTunes Match in iTunes client;

2. Close iTunes client;

3. Restart computer from cold;

4. Start iTunes client;

5. Watch iTunes Match proceed through Step 1 to stall in Step 2;

6. List Music library on iCloud status - noted Songs marked 'waiting' and Songs marked 'duplicate in iCloud';

6a. Took backup of all Music files concerned;

6b. Using iTunes client deleted Songs with status shown in (6);

7. Repeated steps 1-4;

8. iTunes continued successfully through Steps 1, 2 and 3;

9. iTunes Match now reporting all Songs available in iCloud!

Please do try and report the results in this thread so we can see if this proves to be a general fix.

Note: Prior to this iTunes client had been left for 20+ hours with no change, apparently hung at iTunes Match step 2.

iTunes 10-OTHER, Windows Vista, iMatch giving inconsistent results

Posted on Jan 18, 2012 3:23 AM

48 replies

Jan 19, 2012 3:39 AM in response to mracole

good grief! it's just added 8 songs that have been waiting there for days.

i wonder if it'll do some more?

seritzo

Level 1

0 points

Jan 19, 2012 3:49 AM in response to mracole

Let´s do #itunesmatch and #itunesmatchdown TT in twitter. 3 days down and no information!! 😟

sillycow

Level 1

0 points

Jan 19, 2012 4:08 AM in response to mracole

I've been waiting fo two days and a half for Match to go past 1297 of 8658. 15 minutes ago I bought 1 track fom an album in the iTunes store and hey....presto..... the matching is now on 4005.

Just for what it's worth.

By the way, I live in the Netherlands.

Jan 19, 2012 4:10 AM in response to mracole

After almost 3 days mine has suddenly started working again! Fingers crossed it's finally getting sorted.

Jan 19, 2012 4:18 AM in response to richardw1989

Mine looks like it's started again too.

Jan 19, 2012 4:24 AM in response to KeithJenner

And stopped again...

From what I can tell, mine just matched around 150 songs in a couple of minutes, but has now frozen again. However it is progress at least.

mracole Author

Level 4

1,102 points

Jan 19, 2012 4:38 AM in response to nisey1201

iTunes Match service is currently severely overloaded - there are signs that the situation is easing but it would be wise to wait a few more days before trying the service. The service does work very well with Windows 7 and post the current Apple Infrastructure challenge it should prove worthwhile.

There are though a number of recognised challenges with the service - worth continuing to scan the iTunes Match area for guidance on resolution - it is possible to follow back the links from this thread and cover most with working solutions where they exist.

mracole Author

Level 4

1,102 points

Jan 19, 2012 4:41 AM in response to mracole

It is great to see that the iTunes Match service is slowly showing signs of life. This may simply indicate that the inevitable 'uploading' and 'matching' bottlenecks following the addition of 19 countries is beginning to ease.

It is probably wise to give the service a few more days to recover.

jason202

Level 1

0 points

Jan 19, 2012 4:53 AM in response to mracole

I'm glad to find this thread and see that I'm not the only one having problems. iTunes Match has been mostly trouble-free for me, until three days ago, when I opened iTunes for the first time in about two weeks. iTunes Match ran automatically on launch as it typically does, but got stuck on step two, even though I hadn't even added any new songs since the last time it ran. So I removed the 11 or so tracks that it was attempting to match (each had been marked with "Error" under iCloud Status for some time), and the process would complete. But when I tried to add five new songs that I had just purchased elsewhere, it would get stuck on step 1 or step 2.

Hopefully as others have suggested, it's no more than an issue of Apple's servers being very strained after the recent launch of iTunes Match in multiple countries, and things will be back to normal in a few days. I'm still pretty disappointed that the service I am paying for will not allow me to get all my music to the cloud.

Jan 19, 2012 5:08 AM in response to mracole

It has started to work for me too... i am from Australia

495 to 1686 in 30 minutes, and still working.... fingers crossed

mracole Author

Level 4

1,102 points

Jan 19, 2012 5:56 AM in response to mracole

iTunes Match service is now fully restored for my library!

The Apple Infrastructure is clearly now starting to cope well following the last 4 days of effective 'service outtage' due to the load caused by adding so many countries at once.

Thank you to all who have posted here - it is a huge relief to see the service once again working well.

Jan 19, 2012 6:06 AM in response to mracole

Not for me! Adding a single song is impossible!

The Applecare support does not help at all and the status of iCloud indicates that "Everything is fine Houston"...

Man, I'm really disappointed with AppleCare.

Jan 19, 2012 7:16 AM in response to waitingforever

was working. i got 2 albums matched, but it's stalled again now.

Jan 19, 2012 7:26 AM in response to ateringcateringcat

ateringcateringcat wrote:

was working. i got 2 albums matched, but it's stalled again now.

Same. For about 15 minutes it was looking really good and I Matched over 100 songs. But now I'm dead in the water again.

I saw this in December, after the last rollout. Periods where it speeds along, and then periods where it stalls. I'm guessing that we are over the hump but that this won't be stable for another few days. Again, just a guess here.

In the meantime, I've uploaded over 1600 songs to Amazon as I was sleeping. They are working fine. 🙂 Not bringing that up to be a shill, but only to remind Apple that they do have competition in this space (at least in the US) and they really need to make this more of a priority.

mracole Author

Level 4

1,102 points

Jan 19, 2012 9:01 AM in response to Community User

Given the nature of the service outtage these results are to be expected.

As the infrastructure load eases, it will encourage many to immediately try to match new Songs.

We should anticipate several days of apparently intermittent service.

That said, my library and iTunes Match continues to operate without issue!

iTunes Match - Step 2 Freeze - Solved