Q: More often than not Apple Music won't stream on my iMac, but at the same time it will on my iPad
I am continually frustrated with streaming of Apple Music on my iMac. It seems like a song is loading, but never gets started playing. I always thought the problem was my internet connection, but lately I discovered that while my iMac won't load a song, if at the same time I use my iPad on my wifi it loads and plays right away. What's the problem with music not loading on my iMac?
iMac, OS X Mavericks (10.9.2), Superdrive
Posted on Jul 3, 2016 7:05 PM
Community Specialists
Hello Lucyskye,
Thanks for asking your question here in the Apple Support Communities. I can understand you wanting to be able to play your music. I can't do anything without my music throughout the day. Let me offer what I can to assist you in solving this, and getting your music to play on the iMac.
I do want to make sure you have Apple Music set up properly first. The membership for Apple Music only allows you to stream Apple Music on one device at a time, unless you have a Family Membership. Even if you have the Family Membership, you will still only be able to stream on one device at a time per Apple ID. Because of this, I suggest we isolate the devices first, and test this with the iMac.
1. Quit Apple Music on the iPad. You will want to fully quit the app. You can do that by double tapping the home screen, and swiping the Music app up. This article has the instructions and example pictures. Force an app to close on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
2. Restart the iMac.
3. If the issue continues, start the iMac in Safe Mode and see if the songs load and play. (Although the speakers will be disabled, just visually see if it gets past wherever it usually hangs up at. This article talks about Safe Mode: Try safe mode if your Mac doesn‘t finish starting up
4. You then also want to test it in a Test User. This article helps with that. How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac
If the issues still remain and music will not play on the iMac in Safe Mode or the Test User, then we will want to shut the iMac down. Go back to the iPad and click Settings > Cellular and turn off cellular data for a moment. Ensure your iPad is only able to use Wi-Fi and not able to jump to cellular data if the songs will not play on you Wi-Fi network. Then, open the Music app again, and try to play a song.
If the music will not play once cellular is disabled, then the cause is some settings with your wireless network. You can check this information for the most common causes of issues with home networks. First, make sure you are using an open wireless network like your home network. If you are connecting to a free wireless network like a school, work, or other business, the airport, a military base, or a hotspot type of a network, it likely will not work because these types of networks have high security and high traffic and extremely tight security. They do not allow the necessary data back and forth causing issues exactly like the one you are currently experiencing.
Do you use any third party firewalls (even on the router!), virus protection, or proxies (that hide your identity from the internet)? Some security apps also do this, but are only called Security or VPN. Some such apps have names like Astrall or Webroot Secure Anywhere Antivirus, or antimalware apps. There are literally hundreds of such apps that block incoming ports which will not allow the feature to work.
If you want to check that the port is open on your iMac and the network, you can use this article: Testing TCP port connectivity between computers and devices. Apple Music uses port 80, and iTunes Music Sharing is port 3689. You can find a list of all ports used by Apple here: TCP and UDP ports used by Apple software products.
You may also find these two articles useful if you find that the issue is with your network.
Recommended settings for Wi-Fi routers and access points
Resolve issues between iTunes and third-party security software
Please do not forget to turn your cellular data back on inside Settings > Cellular on the iPad once you are done testing. Just in case the music plays in Safe Mode or the Test User, you will need to work through this article to resolve it. Mac OS X: How to troubleshoot a software issue.
Thanks again and have a great rest of your day!
Posted on Jul 4, 2016 10:45 AM