How do I get MY iTunes back from the cloud

gail, the question is: why aren't our questions being addressed?

I asked: why when I my redeemed movies they went to "the cloud" and not my hard drive, and I can't find any way to put them on my hard drive. I don't want any part of this cloud thing. I didn't ask for it, I can't op-out. Can you help? Can you address my concerns? -TT

Do you use Apple Music? Are you talking about your iTunes Library in iTunes on your Mac? Do you ever remove songs manually from your devices?

There is no "theft" involved. You don't seem to understand the meaning of the cloud in this context. Long before iCloud came along there was iTunes in the Cloud. What that means is that if you don't have a particular track physically in your iTunes library you can tap on the cloud to put it there. It just means that you have a "bookmark" for it in iTunes in the Cloud, and you can download it when you wish.

But without understanding every possible configuration you may have been using, actions you may have taken on your iOS devices, etc. there is no way to know for certain at what point they may have been physically removed from your library. You always have the option to select them all and download them.

GB

None of your devices are guaranteed to operate flawlessly for all time. You should back up your device and you iTunes on a regular basis to be prepared for just such an eventuality. If your device has dumped its library this is a mistake, not an intentional action. The remedy is to restore the device and reload the content from the library.

tt2

There were no updates done. My content was removed to a cloud without my knowledge. It took hours to download that music again. It's done, but it shouldn't have occurred. I want a settin that I control that will keep this from ever happening. These songs were not grayed out. They were only available to be streamed from a cloud that I did not put them on. Apple needs to own this. If they continue down this path, another entity will develop an ecosystem that allows the end user the ability to control these things in a simple, intuitive manner, and all that amassed wealth will wither and die. I don't mind the option of allowing this, but I do mind that it happened without my knowledge or my conscious consent. That's disturbing and should be alarming to us all.

That fits within the realm of possibilities, so I guess my complaint would become, why isnt there some mechanism available to let me know this occurred? If the cloud servers and iOS (mobile device BTW) knew I used to have those in my library, and they put that cloud beside them in Music, why not give me a dialog box indicating this when the device is restarted? That would save loads of frustration and confusion.

twade1 wrote:

If I pay for a song/album and I download said song/album to my device, it is physically there, one my device, and the seller of said song/album then moves it onto their "cloud" then I have lost access to that song/album without having a network connection.

If you have music downloaded to your device, then it stays download to your device unless you specifically take an action to remove it. It doesn't happen by magic. You also did not specify if you are using Apple Music, so there simply may be a misunderstanding on your part about how this works.

GB

I'm sorry, but my experience says otherwise. I know that all my Led Zeppilin, Rolling Stones, Mudcrutch, Tom Petty and Red Hot Chili Peppers were on this device (iPad Mini 3) and my iPhone 7, and yet when I looked yesterday, they were in the cloud. Those are simple facts observed by me. This happened, it requires no "understanding" on my part. I saw it. It is plausible that the device locked up and required a restart since the last time I saw this music downloaded, and it is possible that this restart required me to reload that music to my Music Library, but I did not, in any fashion, remove it from my library. Since many seem to have seen this issue, I'm okay with said scenario, but I still feel iOS should alert me to this, so that I, not some software engineer, me, the owner of the music, can choose to correct it immediately or when a network is available rather than discovering ⅓ of my library is missing when I want to listen to it. If I had knowledge that something happened to all the forks in your silverware drawer, wouldn't you want me to pass that on to you before you steak tartar dinner party, or would you rather find out moments before the guests arrived that they would have to eat with their fingers? This should go without saying, and yet, here we are. So my request is simple. Let me know when you first discover this issue. I'll be thankful and I'll correct it in my time. Most importantly, I will not be surprised to find my data gone.

As I said, I know there are scenarios in which the library can be corrupted and essentially reset in both iTunes and on devices. For iTunes it would be relatively trivial to detect such a dramatic change to the library and offer to automatically restore a recent database backup. In some sense it was easier when your purchase history didn't show up with cloud links, particularly for those with a large proportion of purchased content, as it is less clear that the library has been damaged.

tt2

Agreed 100%. The available space on both iOS devices barely changed after re-downloading 25-35% of my extensive library. I thank you all for getting me through this. I'm grateful that the tracks were there for me to recover the music. I agree as well that some method of letting me know would have been tremendous. Thanks again. Apple code writers, take notice! Lol

That answer is ABSOLUTELY false. I NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER put my music into the cloud. I do not like icloud - i prefer using a USB to move anything around. Somehow 1/2 of my library ended up in the cloud. I WANT TO TURN OFF THAT CAPABILITY COMPLETELY. how do i do it?

patchesgsc wrote:

Bingo! Same issue. I never had these problems until the cloud was appeared. I want to get rid of it.

If you are talking about the cloud that is next to songs in your iTunes Library, then that is not "iCloud". That is iTunes in the Cloud which is entirely different. Any purchased item that is not actually downloaded to a particular device or computer is not in your actual possession. It is in the iTunes Store. A link is created which allows you to link to that item in the iTunes Store so you can download it to your computer or devices without paying for it again (as in "downloading past purchases). This is called iTunes in the Cloud, and the cloud that you see is only representing a purchased item that is not physically on that computer or device.

Any items that are not physically residing on your device or computer (i.e., that are in iTunes in the Cloud), are linked for you to re-download, but if they are removed from the store, then you will no longer have access to them since the only access you have is via the iTunes Store link (iTunes in the Cloud).

If you want to get rid of the Cloud symbol, then click on any and everything that has it and download it so that it is actually on your computer or device. That's how you "get rid of it".

GB

Thank you for your commentary, but do you have a question? Because this is a user to user technical support forum. You can send your comments/feedback to Apple: Apple - Feedback

GB

Try Empty/corrupt iTunes library after upgrade/crash, or give us some more details.

tt2

What do you mean "iCloud ate all my iTunes"?

Itunes match scans your iTunes library on your computer to determine what is match or uploaded. Otherwise, it does not do anything to your music. It's original location will not be change - it should still be on your hard drive.

Please provide more info.

Jim