Apple Music not downloading songs? Try these fixes

The main advantage of using subscription services like Apple Music is having your songs in one place, just a few taps away from you. On top of that, you can even download your favorite songs and listen to them offline so you don’t have to rely on having an internet connection all the time. But what if Apple Music is not downloading songs?

That’s one of the common problems users face with Apple’s music-streaming service. So, we’ll try to resolve it in this article.

Table of contents:

1. Check storage space
2. Check the internet connection
3. Enable cellular data
4. Toggle iCloud Music Library
5. Reset Network Settings
6. Offload Apple Music

Is Apple Music not downloading? Here’s what to do

Some of the most common reasons for Apple Music to not download songs are:

• Not enough storage space
• Unstable internet connection
• Bugs you can usually fix by updating iOS and Apple Music.

1. Check the storage space

First thing first, check if you have enough storage space on your iPhone to download new songs. Now, I assume you already know if you don’t have enough storage space because your iPhone has probably let you know already with various notifications and offers to upgrade your iCloud plan.

Nevertheless, it’s always a good idea to free up some space by offloading or deleting unused apps. So, head over to Storage settings, and get rid of the apps you don’t use as often to make enough room for new content.

2. Check the internet connection

Apple Music won’t download songs when you don’t have a stable internet connection. So, make sure there’s nothing wrong with your Wi-Fi connection first. If you’re on cellular, you’ll probably have to tweak a few settings to be able to download songs. But we’ll talk about that below.

If you notice a problem with your Wi-Fi connection, check out this article for potential solutions.

3. Enable cellular data

By default, Apple Music will only allow you to download songs when you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network. The reasons for that are clear. Downloading songs over cellular, especially if you choose to download them in original quality will negatively affect your data plan. Maybe downloading one song won’t damage your data plan too severely, but downloading a whole playlist for example is a different story.

But if there’s no Wi-Fi network nearby, and you just need to quickly download a few songs, you can do so by allowing Apple Music to download songs over cellular in Settings. Here’s how to do that:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Scroll down and tap Music.
3. Toggle the Mobile Data option.
4. Scroll down, and also enable the Download over Mobile Data option under DOWNLOADS.

4. Toggle iCloud Music Library

Some users suggest that toggling off the iCloud Music Library and enabling it again resolves the problem of downloading music. However, if you do so, all your downloaded songs will be removed, and you’ll have to download them once again.

Here’s how to disable and enable the iCloud Music Library:

1. On your iPhone, open Settings.
2. Tap Music.
3. Turn off  Sync Library.
4. It might take some time for all content to sync.
5. Reboot your iPhone.
6. Go back to Settings and turn the Sync Library option on again.

5. Reset Network Settings

If none of the previous solutions worked, you may try resetting the network settings. However, keep in mind that doing this will reset all your network settings, including your data plan and saved Wi-Fi networks and you’ll have to set up everything from scratch again. So, apply this solution as a last resort.

Here’s how to reset network settings in iOS:

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap General.
3. Select Reset.
4. Tap Reset Network Settings.
5. Enter your password or PIN and then confirm the selection.

6. Offload Apple Music

And finally, if nothing else helped, you can try and offload the Music app. The main advantage of offloading an app as compared to completely deleting it is that offloading just removes the app data from your device while preserving all the user data. So, when you install Music again, all your settings will be there.

Here’s how to offload Apple Music:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Head over to General > iPhone Storage.
3. Scroll down until you find Music.
4. Tap the Music app and go to Offload App.
5. Tap Offload App to confirm.
6. Open App Store > your account and check if the Apple Music app is up to date.

That’s about it. I hope at least one of these solutions helped you resolve the problem with Apple Music not downloading songs. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, feel free to let us know in the comments below.

Editor’s note: This article was initially published in March 2022. We made sure to revamp it for freshness and accuracy.