iTunes Match "unknown error occurred (-206)" in uploaded songs

The problem occurs when you try to upload an M4A file and the song that you're uploading isn't in the AM Library. M4A uploading only works if the song is matched. (Via AM or iTunes Match).

M4A files that isn't in the AM Library will upload fine, and will play fine on the device where it was uploaded (because the local file is still there). However, trying to download the said file (on a different device, or on the same device where it was uploaded, then deleted the local one) will give you the said error.

I'm having a very similar issue. My problem is with iCloud Music Library with Apple Music. As far as I understand, this uses the same 'matching' technology as iTunes Match. I am getting the same error message when I try to download songs.

iTunes throws the error: "There was a problem downloading [song artist/ title] An unknown error occurred (-206). Please check the connection to the network is active and try again" After doing some digging I discovered that songs that had either been purchased from iTunes OR downloaded from iTunes Match and then uploaded to iCloud Library (instead of being matched by iCloud Library), will always fail to download from iCloud Library. In iTunes it can be filtered like this: Kind: “Purchased AAC audio file” OR “Matched AAC audio file” iCloud Status: “Uploaded”

I've opened a case with Apple as well

perrisdavis wrote:

Hello,

I'm aware that Apple Music is not a backup service.

From your original post _"So basically this service I was depending on to backup my music and paying for to back up my music was really just a redundant bill because you only get access to the songs on Apple Music

I was responding to your assertion that Apple music was a back up service.

perrisdavis wrote:

Hello,

What I am referring to is iTunes-in-the-Cloud. That service is billed as a backup service. When you use iTunes-in-the-Cloud, you are inadvertently losing all of the M4a songs you have.

iTunes in the Cloud lets you access content you've bought from iTunes Store, the App Store, and iBooks Store from any device you have linked to your iTunes account. That means you can re-download previous purchases to your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, or to your Windows or Mac PC running iTunes. This service is NOT billed as a back up service.

Read this user doc FAQ: Why iTunes Match Can Not Be Used as a Backup

If you use Apple Music, iTunes Match or purchase from iTunes Store, it is up to you to make a backup.

perrisdavis wrote:

As it stands though, no one at Apple will likely care what somebody in a forum thinks, or that you trying to help exposes the problem more fully.

This is a user to user forum manned by users like you. Apple does not participate here.

Errors do occur, such as the one here. I have encountered this problem but have been able to restore from my originals from my back ups.

If you want to highlight problems, bugs or suggestions, use this link http://www.apple.com/feedback/itunesapp.html

Whilst you will not receive a reply, I understand that Apple reads all submissions.

Jim

Replying to my own response. It took over a month of back and forth with Apple Support but this issue appears to be fixed for me. It involved Apple engineers completely resetting my iCloud Music Library.

Here's my configuration:

• 2011 iMac that hosts my iTunes Music Library of ~9000 songs. My library is a mix of songs - most ripped from CDs, a bunch purchased from iTMS, and a smattering from Amazon or fan club downloads. This computer syncs with iCloud. It's also backed up to a Synology NAS using Time Machine.
• Two MacBook Pros - one work and one personal that use iCML to stream my content from the cloud.
• iPhone 7 and iPad 2 mini that use iCML to stream my content from the cloud.
• As of right now I have an annual iTunes Match subscription and Apple Music Family Plan. I understand that the iTunes Match functionality is now included as part of Apple Music so I will not renew iTM when it expires this fall

These were my symptoms:

Some songs simply wouldn't play or download on iOS devices. When playing an album from the iPhone or iPad (Led Zeppelin's first album was one example), it would skip over some songs and proceed to the next song. Clicking the download from iCloud icon didn't work either. It would spin once or twice and then give up. This did not happen on the iMac where the original song files resided. This also did not happen on either MacBook Pro.

Resetting my iTunes/iCloud Music Library account consisted of:

• Turning off iCML on both MacBooks, iPhone and iPad.
• Creating a new iTunes Music Library on my iMac (hold down Apple key while starting iTunes).
• Moving songs over from old library to new library. I did this cautiously at first, starting with songs that I knew weren't working. Once they were copied to the new iTunes Music Library and matched or uploaded to iCloud, I tested them on all my devices. They worked! I proceeded to copy the rest of the songs over. It took a while to sync/match/upload. So far I haven't found any songs that aren't playing or won't download.

Please note, the above steps are a simplified version of the instructions Apple engineering sent me to follow.

Oh, one other caveat - I had to created a new Apple ID in November. Many of my songs were purchased from iTMS under the old Apple ID I had to abandon (another long story). Since the songs were all w/o copy protection, it didn't cause any problems. Also, for the record, to the best of my recollection, all of the "problem songs" were ripped from CD not purchased from iTMS. In fact, I tried an experiment where I deleted two of the non-playing songs, re-ripped from CD, and let iTunes Match do its thing and that also worked. Not knowing how many of my ~9,000 songs might be a problem, that was not a practical solution so I leaned hard on Apple for a fix. It took over a month, and some persistence on my end, but it appears to have worked.

Tim

Hey, I have the same problem! I have lot of songs that were playing before that is marked as Uploaded that now I can't play, or download it from the cloud... One thing that I noticed is that those songs has a possible match on the iTunes Store in my case... But for some reason iTunes couldn't match it correctly... I hope Apple can fix that soon

I have this same problem too. I've spoken to Apple Support several times, been to Genius Bar, back to Apple Support who told me that someone from iTunes Engineering would call me to diagnose. That was January 10. Three weeks have passed. Needless to say I'm ******.

I did the same... Also I just received and email from Apple about iTunes Match renewal... I not going to take the risk... I lost more than 300 hundred songs because of this issue and have no idea if Apple is going to fix it or not... I'm going to cancel the service

I checked mine and yeah, mine are all m4a files that has been purchased/matched from a different iTunes account (I use a US one, and a local one, which has different set of music catalog)

I converted them to mp3 and they uploaded fine, they also plays/downloads fine. But, I don't like the idea of converting, as I wanted the files to be original, iTunes quality (and mp3 files are larger then m4a)

Same problem here. I changed my apple ID and tried to carry over my iTunes library with Apple music & iCloud library and having same exact error message. The theory of having the purchased music from another ID then matched again could flub the whole process. Apple needs to fix this one ASAP or I'm cancelling my Apple music subscription

So basically this service I was depending on to backup my music and paying for to back up my music was really just a redundant bill because you only get access to the songs on Apple Music. I feel like I just found out I've been getting screwed majorly for years. This is really in line with most of my other experiences with Apple.

Hello,

I'm aware that Apple Music is not a backup service. What I am referring to is iTunes-in-the-Cloud. That service is billed as a backup service. When you use iTunes-in-the-Cloud, you are inadvertently losing all of the M4a songs you have. For those of us that listen to non-radio songs, which can come in almost any form, iTunes-in-the-Cloud does not provide any functionality at all. The only songs that will be uploaded are the trash that is already on Apple Music. It is misleading for Apple to sell the service as a viable option for moving your library to the cloud when it obviously isn't. If Apple Music wasn't just a low grade Spotify, that would mitigate the issue. If iTunes-in-the-Cloud was either made free or discontinued, that would mitigate the issue. If Apple took a comprehensive look at what and how they are delivering these services and what impression they are leaving on consumers, and then decided to improve that outlook, that would mitigate the issue.

As it stands though, no one at Apple will likely care what somebody in a forum thinks, or that you trying to help exposes the problem more fully. So, as I said before, iTunes-in-the-Cloud is hard to justify as a service and as a fee that I pay every year, Apple Music has such a limited song selection that it is useless on it's own and this experience is very similar to other experiences with Apple services (iCloud rarely syncs as expected, AppleTV and AirPlay almost never work together as billed etc.)

Thank you for your reply and giving me the impetus to vent here in this forum no-one cares about:)

Experiencing the same problem! I called iTunes support earlier and was said they'll look into this.

I have the same problem too, and I did the same thing like you, convert with iTunes to iTunes Plus when I need to upload.

Good grief - I have this problem too, but starting a new iTunes Match Library sounds a massive chore.

Any news on what is causing this?

I have the exact same problem. Very poor from Apples perspective to let this issue be unfixed.