Apple Music Not Playing Downloaded Songs? Best 11 Solutions!

Have you ever experienced a similar issue above? Apple Music offers a download feature so that you can better enjoy your favorites whenever you want. When you’re setting out on a trip or go traveling on a cruise, the network connection may be unstable; or when you’re in an area where the internet is not covered, downloading Apple Music for listening offline is a good option that most people opt for. However, this is not always working well since a lot of people are complaining that Apple Music not playing downloaded songs for unknown reasons.

Regarding this problem, we’ve made a detailed study on the internet and then write this passage to help you out! If you’re trapped by this problem, don’t miss this post!

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Part 1. Why are My Downloaded Songs Not Playing on Apple Music?

If we cannot hear Apple Music songs offline after downloads, what does the download feature make for? It is important to note that the reasons that lie behind the issue are various, we can’t tell all of them, but we can learn from professionals and the valuable experiences of those people who had suffered from this. You can take the following as references.

Reason 1. Apple Music has a song download limit and your downloaded songs have reached the maximum.

Reason 2. There are some corrupted files on your device that hinder the offline streaming quality.

Reason 3. In some cases, your device fails to download Apple Music offline or encounters a downloading error.

Reason 4. There are bugs on the Apple Music app installed on your device. Or, your Apple Music app version is outdated.

Reason 5. Other unexpected errors or bugs occurred or were produced during the process while downloading or streaming on Apple Music.

Reason 6. Your Apple Music subscription has expired, so all the downloaded songs in your library cannot be played normally.

Reason 7. Sometimes, the issue might be caused by an outdated device system. If your phone is running an outdated operating system, it may cause issues when using the Apple Music app.

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Part 2. How to Fix Apple Music Not Playing Downloaded Songs

Now that we know the reasons for the issue, let’s move on to the next part and take a look at how to fix such an issue. Here we list 10 methods for you. Check if there is one way to make your Apple Music downloads offline play again. If you think trying them one by one is time-consuming or you want to resolve the Apple Music not playing issue once and for all, you can jump to Part 3. It will introduce an ultimate method that can help you get away from all Apple Music issues forever and get more flexibility when enjoying your preferred music.

Checklist Before Methods

1. Check Your Internet Connection. Though you downloaded the files offline, all downloads are only cached, not actual files, due to DRM agreements. You may need a good network to load the files. Just change a Wi-Fi to connect or use cellular data to stream.
2. Make Sure Not Over the Song Download Limit. Apple Music has a song download limit that allows you to download songs with up to 100,000 in maximum. Don’t exceed it!
3. Ensure Your Device Has Enough Storage. If your device doesn’t have enough space for storing the downloads files, the songs can’t be downloaded and you can’t hear them either.

Solution 1. Check Your Apple Music Subscription

As an Apple Music subscription user, you can download your songs and play them offline. If you are a free user or your Premium subscription has expired, you can’t access to Apple Music with all features. So check your Premium subscription regularly to avoid Apple Music songs not playing offline properly.

For iPhone

Step 1. Go to Settings on your phone.

Step 2. Tap your Apple ID name on the screen.

Step 3. Then tap on Subscriptions to check your Apple Music subscription status.

For Android

Step 1. Open the Apple Music app on your Android device.

Step 2. Tap on the three dots icon on the upper right corner of the screen, and choose Account.

Step 3. Tap on Manage Subscription to check your subscription status.

Solution 2. Update the Apple Music App

Using the latest version of an app can ensure you a better experience and avoid many unpredictable issues. So make sure your Apple Music app is updated to the latest version, or it may cause your Apple Music songs not to play offline.

Step 1. Open the App Store app on the iPhone or the Play Store app on the Android device.

Step 2. Then search for Music in the App Store app or Apple Music in the Play Store app.

Step 3. Tap on the Update icon to upgrade it to the latest version.

Solution 3. Reinstall the Apple Music App

When there is no version of the Apple Music app, you can try to uninstall and reinstall the app instead. Uninstalling Apple Music will delete all the previous app data and settings from your device, while reinstalling ensures you start Apple Music afresh. Once reinstalled, try to play your Apple Music downloads offline again.

Solution 4. Sign Out and Sign in Apple Music

If you have checked the subscription status of Apple Music and updated the app to the latest version, the Apple Music songs still not playing offline, then you can try signing out and signing back into Apple Music. This will help the app reconnect to the Apple Music server and resolve Apple Music temporarily out of order. Then sign back to your Apple Music account and check if the issue is solved. To sign out of Apple Music:

For iPhone

Step 1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

Step 2. Tap on your Apple ID name.

Step 3. Then tap on the Media & Purchases button, and select Sign out.

Step 4. Then go back to the Media & Purchases and sign back in.

For Android

Step 1. Open the Apple Music app on your phone.

Step 2. Tap on the three dots icon on the upper right corner of the screen, and choose Account.

Step 3. Scroll down to select Sign Out. Tap on Sign Out again to confirm the operation.

Solution 5. Force Close and Restart Apple Music

Many apps might freeze up every once in a while, and Apple Music is no exception. A good way to handle this is to force close and restart it. Force it to quit to make sure all functions in the app stop running in the background. Then restart it after a few seconds, and try playing Apple Music songs offline again to see if it works. To force close the app, you should:

For iPhone

Step 1. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to view all recently used apps.

Step 2. Drag the Apple Music preview card up to close it.

For Android

Step 1. Open the Settings on your phone and scroll down to choose Applications and Permissions.

Step 2. Then tap on App Manager.

Step 3. Scroll down to choose Apple Music.

Step 4. Tap on Force Stop to close the app.

Solution 6. Delete and Re-download Apple Music Songs

When some particular songs do not play properly on Apple Music, the songs may be damaged. In this situation, you should delete the songs and re-download them again. To delete the downloaded Apple Music song, just tap the three dots icon next to the name of the song. Choose Remove. Then search and add the song to your library to download it again. After the download is complete, try playing them offline again to see if they play smoothly on Apple Music.

Solution 7. Restart Your iPhone or Android Device

Sometimes, to solve all the operating issues on Apple Music, all you need to do is just one click. Rebooting your device will remove the error you’re facing. To restart your phone:

For iPhone

Step 1. Press and hold the Power button and Volume Down button simultaneously until the power-off slider is on your screen.

Step 2. Swipe the slider to shut down your iPhone.

Step 3. Press and hold the Power button to restart your iPhone.

For Android

Step 1. Press and hold the Power button until both the Power Off and Reboot buttons are on your screen.

Step 2. Tap on Reboot to restart your device.

Solution 8. Upgrade Your Device’s Operating System

As we mentioned in part one, the outdated software system may cause issues with the Apple Music songs not playing offline. Thus, you need to update your device system to get rid of such problems.

For iPhone

Step 1. Go to the Settings on your iPhone, and tap on General.

Step 2. Choose Software Update and then select Download and Install.

For Android

Step 1. Open the Settings on your Android device.

Step 2. Scroll down to choose System Update, and tap on it to check if your device is in the latest version.

Solution 9. Turn Off/On Sync Library Button

If there is something wrong with your Apple downloads, then you may resort to this method. Try to enable or disable the Sync Library setting may give a refresh of your Apple songs and the issue will be removed as well.

On iPhone or iPad:

Step 1. Power your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch on and go to Settings > Music.

Step 2. Turn on Sync Library then the content you add from Apple Music will sync across all your devices.

On Mac or Windows PC:

Step 1. Run the iTunes app on your computer and click on iTunes from the menu bar.

Step 2. Select Preferences on Mac or click on Edit > Preferences > General if you use Windows.

Step 3. In the next view, check the box next to Sync Library.

Once you turn it on, the Music library will be enabled and available for automatic sync on your computer and other connected devices.

Solution 10. Disable Optimize Storage Settings

The Optimize Storage setting works to save space by keeping all full-resolution photos and videos on iCloud and keeping smaller, more efficient-sized versions on your device for easy access. This helps make more room on your device by optimizing its storage, however, it can result in issues like Apple Music songs not playing offline. You can follow the below guidance to disable this feature.

On iPhone: Go to the Settings app and select Photos & Cameras. Next, turn on the option for iCloud Photo Library. Make sure to check the option for Optimize iPhone Storage.

On Mac: Choose Apple Menu > System Settings > General, then click the Storage panel on the right. Here you can view the recommendations and tap on Optimize Storage to disable it.

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Part 3. Ultimate Way to Fix Apple Music Playback Issues

You can try at least one of the fixes above when your Apple Music songs not playing offline properly. But to tell the truth, all the listed fixes cannot solve the issue essentially. After a few days, the issue may happen again. So, is there any other way to solve the problem of Apple music downloads not playing offline permanently? Yes! That is to download your Apple Music songs as local music files and play them on other media players or devices offline. Thus, you can enjoy your music without the Apple Musci app and stay away from all issues. Here we’d like to recommend a tool that can help you achieve this goal – TunesMake Apple Music Converter.

TunesMake Apple Music Converter is designed to convert and save Apple Music songs, playlists, albums, podcasts, and audiobooks to normal formats, including MP3, M4A, M4B, WAV, FLAC, and AIFF with lossless sound quality. With this tool, you can save all your downloaded Apple Music songs as local music files and play them on any device or player offline. Therefore, you can get rid of Apple Music app bugs and have an uninterrupted listening experience. Apart from that, the TunesMake software can preserve Apple Music with ID3 tags. With 13× faster speed, bunches of songs can be downloaded and converted in minutes.

To know more detailed information about the TunesMake software and learn how to use it to download your Apple Music songs, you can visit the User Guide page of TunesMake Apple Music Converter.

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Part 4. Final Thoughts

To conclude, Apple Music not playing downloaded songs has various reasons to blame. It is a common playback issue on Apple Music, but no worries, this post shares several powerful methods with comprehensive guidelines which can help you solve the issue. In addition to that, TunesMake Apple Music Converter is a great tool that we recommend. With this software, you can back up Apple songs as offline playback and stream them to multiple players or devices without hassle. Come on, download the tool, and have a try!

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