10 Solutions to fix Apple Music not playing songs – 2023 Updated

coco

December 11, 2023

Apple Music has been one of the top music streaming services in the world with over 100 million songs and 30,000 playlists. Apple Music is almost available on all of your devices like iPhone, iPad, Watch, Apple TV, Mac, HomePod, CarPlay, Smart TVs, Gaming Consoles, Roku, Android, PC, Amazon Echo, Sonos, Google Nest, etc. Its great features include the ability to download your favorite tracks and play them offline, lyrics in real time, listening across all your favorite devices, new music personalized just for you, curated playlists from our editors, and many more. All this in addition to exclusive and original content. However, sometimes you may have trouble in playing Apple Music, don’t worry, here in this guide we will show you several common solutions to fix Apple Music not playing songs and one powerful Apple Music downloader to download Apple Music songs to MP3.

1. Check your internet connection

If the songs are not downloaded to or stored on your device, you will need to stream them with a solid internet connection, both Wi-Fi and cellular data connection will work. Check your internet connection through another app, such as opening a webpage. Turn off the internet connection and then turn on again, or connect to another network. If your Wi-Fi signal isn’t working on any device, you might simply need to restart your router.

2. Check your Apple ID

Make sure you logged in with the correct Apple ID.

On Windows&Mac:

1. Run Music or iTunes. 
2. Click Account – View My Account.
3. If your Apple ID is not correct, click Log out and then Sign in with the right one.

On Mac and Windows, besides logging in with the right Apple ID, you also need to authorize this computer. You can authorize up to 5 computers with the same Apple ID.

1. Run Music or iTunes. 
2. Click Account > Authorizations > Authorize This Computer.

On Mobile

1. Open Apple Music app.
2. Tap Listen Now and then your profile icon in the the upper-right corner.

3. Check your Apple Music subscription

You can only play songs from Apple Music catalog with an active subscription, so check whether you have active Apple Music subscription.

On Mac

1. Open Apple Music app. 
2. Click Account – Account Settings.
3. Log in with your Apple ID and password.
4. On the page that appears, scroll to Subscriptions, then click Manage.
5. Check whether Apple Music subscription is active.

On Windows PC

1. On your PC, open iTunes.
2. From the menu bar at the top of the iTunes window, choose Account, then choose View My Account.
3. Scroll to the Settings section. Next to Subscriptions, click Manage.
4. Check whether Apple Music subscription is active.

On iPhone or iPad

1. Open the Settings app. 
2. Tap your name, then tap Subscriptions.
3. Check whether Apple Music subscription is active.

If you are in an Apple Music family plan and your entire library is gone, go to Settings > Apple ID > Media and Purchases. Sign out, restart your phone, sign back in, make sure Sync Library is on and see if your library loads.

On Apple TV

1. Open Settings.
2. Select Users & Accounts, then select your account.
3. Select Subscriptions.
4. Check whether Apple Music subscription is active.

4. Restart the Apple Music app

Try forcing the Apple Music app to close and then open it again. This will refresh the app and make it load all the temporary data again, which can fix common errors. The way you close an app depends on the type of device that you have. 

iPhone X and later and iPad

1. From the Home Screen, swipe up from the bottom of the screen and pause in the middle of the screen.
2. Swipe right or left to find the app that you want to close.  
3. Swipe up on the app’s preview to close the app.

iPhone SE, iPhone 8 and earlier, and iPod touch

1. Double-click the Home button to show your most recently used apps. 
2. Swipe right or left to find the app that you want to close.  
3. Swipe up on the app’s preview to close the app.

Mac

Right click Music icon on the Dock and click “Quit”.

5. Restart your device

iPhone X, 11, 12, or 13

1. Press and hold either volume button and the side button until the power-off slider appears.
2. Drag the slider, then wait 30 seconds for your device to turn off.
3. To turn your device back on, press and hold the side button (on the right side of your iPhone) until you see the Apple logo.

iPhone SE (2nd or 3rd generation), 8, 7, or 6

1. Press and hold the side button until the power-off slider appears.
2. Drag the slider, then wait 30 seconds for your device to turn off.
3. To turn your device back on, press and hold the side button until you see the Apple logo.

6. Turn on Sync Library

iCloud Music Library stores your Apple Music songs and playlists in iCloud so you can access them from all of your devices.

On Windows

1. Click Edit – Preferences.
2. Check iCloud Music Library.

On Mac

1. Open Apple Music app. 
2. Click Music – Preferences.
3. Check Sync Library.

On iPhone/iPad

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap Music.
3. Turn on Sync Library. 

7. Download the songs offline

If a single song or two still won’t play, click the download icon to download it to your device for offline playback.

On Windows and Mac

1. Open Music or iTunes. 
2. Click the playlist or album that won’t play.
3. Click the +Add button to add it to your Library.
4. Then click the Download icon.
5. To download individual songs, click + icon to add it to Library, then click the Download icon.

8. More than one device is trying to play Apple Music

Apple Music allows up to 10 devices with the same Apple ID to be signed into a single user Apple Music account. However, you cannot stream music to more than one device at a time. If you wish to stream music on multiple devices at the same time, you must first set up one of you with a separate Apple ID, then set up Family Share and then sign up for the Family version of Apple Music (which will cost $15 per month instead of $10 when the trial ends). With an Apple Music family subscription, up to six people can enjoy unlimited access to Apple Music on their devices. Each member of an Apple Music family subscription can stream millions of songs from the Apple Music catalog.

9. Turn off explicit filter

On iPhone/iPad

1. Go to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions.
2. Turn off Content & Privacy Restrictions.

If you wish to allow the explicit contents for your music and podcasts when the “Content & Privacy Restrictions” setting is enabled, go to Content Restrictions – Music, Podcasts, Fitness, and choose Explicit.

On Mac

1. Click Apple menu – System Preferences.
2. Click Screen Time – Content & Privacy.
3. Turn off Content & Privacy Restrictions.

On Windows

1. Go to iTunes > Edit > Preferences.
2. Under Restrictions tab, uncheck Music with explicit content.
3. When prompted, click Yes to allow iTunes app to allow the explicit content.

10. Download Apple Music songs to MP3 and play with other music player

The best way to fix Apple Music not playing songs is to download Apple Music songs to MP3 and preserve them forever. You can back them up to USB drive, external hard drive, etc.

Step 1 Launch Pazu Apple Music Converter

Download, install and run Pazu Apple Music Converter on your Mac or Windows.

Step 2 Choose output format

The default format is M4A in 256kbps. Apple Music Converter also supports MP3, AAC, FLAC, WAV and AIFF. Click the gear icon if you want to change output format or output folder.

Step 3 Choose a playlist, artist or album you want to download

Follow the on-screen instructions to choose a playlist, artist, or album that you want to download.

Step 4 Start to download Apple Music songs

Click “Convert” button to start downloading Apple Music Replay 2022 to mp3, so you can play them anywhere you want, even after cancelling Apple Music subscription.