A Guide on Fixing Apple Music on Mac Not Syncing With iPhone

Apple Music and several other streaming services sync your favorite songs and playlists across all devices. This is how you can enjoy it seamlessly no matter what device you use to access Apple Music. But what if Apple Music is missing some songs or playlists on your iPhone and they are available on your MacBook? It sounds rather strange. Do not worry. We have compiled solutions to help you fix Apple Music sync errors between your Mac and iPhone in this guide.

First, make sure both devices (Mac and iPhone) are signed in to the same Apple ID account. Likewise, verify that you have an active Apple Music subscription. On your iPhone, go to Settings> [Your Name] > Subscriptions and make sure “Apple Music Subscription” is listed in the Active section. Finally, verify that your iPhone and Mac have an active internet connection. It’s super important.

If internet connectivity is the issue, check out these guides on troubleshooting cellular data issues and restoring a Wi-Fi connection on an iPhone. Otherwise, continue with the solutions in the next section.

1. Manually trigger library synchronization

Your Apple Music subscription may not sync your music library across all devices despite an active internet connection. In such cases, you can manually trigger the synchronization.

Some Mac users who have experienced similar difficulties with Apple Music syncing might fix the issue by changing their music libraries. Any change to your music library – on your iPhone – will trigger Apple Music to sync your Mac’s music library with your iPhone.

You can try adding a random song to your playlist, changing the name of a playlist, or even creating a new playlist. Nothing at all. This should prompt Apple Music from your iPhone to get updated information from your Mac or other connected devices.

2. Restart the devices

Still can’t sync Apple Music library on your Mac with your iPhone? Turn off both devices and turn them back on, starting with your iPhone. If the problem persists when your iPhone turns back on, try restarting your Mac and see if that helps.

3. Update iOS

If Apple Music Library sync is not working properly on your devices, Apple recommends updating their operating system to the latest version. Go to Settings> General> Software Update and tap “ Download & Install ” to update your iPhone.

To update macOS on your Mac, go to System Preferences> Software Update and click the Upgrade Now button.

4. Activate library synchronization

You should also verify that Library sync is enabled on your Mac and iPhone. If it’s disabled on either device, Apple Music will have different content on your devices, even if they’re signed in to the same Apple ID.

How to turn on Apple Music Library sync on iPhone

Step 1: Launch Settings and select Music.

2nd step: Make sure the sync library is turned on.

If the option is already activated, deactivate it and then reactivate it. It could also help Apple Music to sync your Mac’s music library with your iPhone.

Note: Turning off Library Sync for Apple Music will remove all songs and downloads from your iPhone. Do not worry. Your content will be restored. Your music library will be synced / updated when you turn the feature back on. The only downside is that you will lose the downloaded songs.

How to turn on Apple Music Library sync on Mac

Step 1: Launch the Music app and click Music in the upper right corner of the menu bar.

2nd step: Then select Preferences.

Step 3: On the General tab, make sure the Synchronize library option is checked. If it is already enabled, you can uncheck the option and re-enable it. Click OK to save the changes.

5. Check the status of Apple Music

You might have trouble syncing your music library between your Mac and iPhone if Apple Music service is interrupted in your region or around the world. To confirm, visit the Apple System Support page and check if the indicators next to Apple Music, Apple Music Radio, and Apple Music Subscriptions are green. This means that Apple Music’s servers are active and online.

If the lights are yellow, the servers are down, and you may not be able to use some Apple Music features and services. In this case, the only thing you can do is wait for Apple to fix things on their end.

6. Reconnect your Apple ID

If none of the solutions recommended above work, you need to delete your Apple ID account from your iPhone and sign back in. Before proceeding, you should take a backup of your iPhone so that you do not lose any data when you log out. Apple ID.

Note: Just like turning off Library Sync for Apple Music (see Method 4), signing out of Apple ID will also remove all downloaded songs from your iPhone. That is why you should make a backup of your iPhone.

To sign out of Apple ID on iPhone, go to Settings, click on your name and tap on Sign Out option.

Squash sync delay

As long as you have followed the methods and instructions mentioned above, you should no longer have any problem accessing your Apple Music library on your MacBook and iPhone.