SlightlyAnnoyed

Q: iPhone 6 non-purchased music deleted after trying to autofill new playlist?

When trying to autofill a new playlist I got never ending circles.. and the playlist was never added to my phone. I then realized all of my other (non-purchased) music has an exclamation point by it, and cannot be played. When I unplugged my phone all my non-purchased music was gone.

Is there a way to get my music back?

And if so, is autofill still a function that even works anymore?

I was supposed to put music on someone else's phone as well.. but I don't want to accidentally wipe their music out too.

 

(For the record, all I tried was autofilling. I didn't try syncing and the "wipe phone" error thing never came up).

iPhone 6, iOS 9.3.2

Posted on Jul 3, 2016 8:25 PM

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Q: iPhone 6 non-purchased music deleted after trying to autofill new playlist?

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  • by Corrie84,Helpful

    Corrie84 Corrie84 Jul 4, 2016 7:59 PM in response to SlightlyAnnoyed
    Community Specialists
    Jul 4, 2016 7:59 PM in response to SlightlyAnnoyed

    Hello and welcome to Apple Support Communities, SlightlyAnnoyed. 

     

    If I’m understanding your post right, you were unable to create a new playlist in iTunes using Autofill and your non-purchased songs in iTunes had exclamation marks and have also disappeared from your iPhone altogether. My personal iTunes library is filled with lots of music that was not actually purchased from iTunes and I would hate for them to disappear on me so I can certainly understand why this would cause you concern. 

     

    When songs show exclamation marks in iTunes, it means that iTunes isn't able to locate those music files on your computer. More than likely, when you connected your iPhone to iTunes it initiated a sync and since those music files could not be found when it synced, it removed them from the phone. 

     

    To answer your first question, yes, it may be possible to get your music back. However, getting that music back is really dependent on where that music is located. If your non-purchased music is being stored on an external hard drive, you would need to have that hard drive plugged into the computer in order for that music to work with iTunes. For some more information on how and where iTunes stores music, take a look at this support article: 

     

    Locate and organize your iTunes media files

     

    If you're unsure where your non-purchased music is actually being stored, it would be best to follow the steps within that article for finding out the location first:

     

    Locate the file for an item you see in iTunes

    If you're not sure where iTunes stores your content, open the Get Info window:

    1. Select a file in iTunes.
    2. Mac: From the menu bar at the top of your computer screen, choose File > Get Info.
      Windows: Hold down the Control and B keys on your keyboard to open the iTunes menu bar, then choose File > Get Info. Learn more about menus in iTunes for Windows.
    3. Click the File tab.
    4. At the bottom of the tab, look to the right of "location" for the address or path where your file is located. 

    Some of your files might be stored in iCloud. For these files, Get Info shows iCloud instead of a path to a location on your computer.

     

     

     

    Once you have located your music, if you would like to do so, you can add those songs to your iTunes Media folder. If you're using a Mac, you can locate the iTunes Media folder by selecting Go > Home > Music > iTunes from the Apple menu bar. If you're using a Windows computer, open .

     

    For your second question, yes, Autofill is still a function that works in the newest version of iTunes. Take a look at the following article for more information on Autofill, specifically the section that starts with "Fill your device with a random selection of songs using Autofill":

     

    iTunes 12 for Mac: Sync iPod, iPhone, or iPad

     

    Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.

     

    Have an awesome day!

  • by SlightlyAnnoyed ,

    SlightlyAnnoyed SlightlyAnnoyed Jul 4, 2016 8:02 PM in response to Corrie84
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Jul 4, 2016 8:02 PM in response to Corrie84

    I know where my music is located, and I have no problem listening to it straight from itunes. But it won't let me add the music again to my phone because it says it's already on there (even though it has the exclamation point and won't play). Is there a way to delete the exclamation songs from my phone, or is the only solution a complete restore?

  • by Starr.C,

    Starr.C Starr.C Jul 5, 2016 3:06 PM in response to SlightlyAnnoyed
    Community Specialists
    Jul 5, 2016 3:06 PM in response to SlightlyAnnoyed

    Hello again, SlightlyAnnoyed.

     

    Since the exclamation marks are listed next to the songs on your iPhone and not next to the songs in iTunes on your computer, the steps you will take to resolve this will be a little different than I previously mentioned. The good news is you shouldn’t have to restore your iPhone in order to remove the songs and re-add them. 

     

    The easiest way to do this is to delete all the music from your iPhone first and then re-sync your iPhone with iTunes on your computer. Keep in mind that once you remove the songs from your iPhone, the only way to get them back is by syncing. With that being said, you want to make sure that all of your music is currently in iTunes on your computer before deleting music from your iPhone. Here are the steps on how to delete all of your music, all at once:

     

    Delete all music from your device

    1. Go to Settings > General > Storage and iCloud Usage > Manage Storage.
    2. Tap Music.
    3. Under Music, swipe left on All Songs.
    4. Tap Delete.
       

    If you delete a purchase that you haven't saved to your device, the purchase will also hide from your purchase history.

    If you’re an Apple Music member or iTunes Match subscriber, you might see "Remove from My Music" instead of Delete. Removing music from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch also removes it from your iCloud Music Library. If you delete music on one device, it also deletes from your other devices. Learn how to delete media from your iCloud Music Library

     

    Delete music, movies, apps, and other content from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch 

    Sync your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iTunes on your computer

     

    Thanks for using Apple Support Communities. 

     

    Take care!