As an Apple Music subscriber, you have access to over 90 million songs that you can listen to and download for offline playback. With a huge catalog of music available, you may want to download your entire Apple Music library for listening anytime, anywhere without an internet connection. Here are some tips on how to download all your Apple Music songs quickly and easily.
Enable Downloads on Apple Music
The first step is to enable the download feature in your Apple Music settings. Downloading music is disabled by default to save storage space on your device. Here is how to turn on downloads:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.
- Tap on Music.
- Turn on the switch for “Downloaded Music.” It should turn from gray to green when enabled.
This will allow you to download any Apple Music track for offline playback. Note that you will need an active Apple Music subscription for downloads.
Download Entire Playlists and Albums
The easiest way to download a lot of songs quickly is to download entire playlists and albums. Instead of adding individual tracks to your device, you can download everything in a playlist or saved album. Here’s how:
- Open the Playlists tab in the Music app and tap on a playlist to open it.
- Tap on the three dots (…) menu icon next to the playlist name.
- Select “Download All.” This will queue all the songs in the playlist to download.
You can also download full albums this way:
- Go to the Library tab and select Albums.
- Tap on an album cover to open it.
- Tap the three dots (…) menu and choose “Download All.”
Downloading playlists and albums is a quick way to get a lot of music downloaded without having to manually add every single track.
Use the Download Setting for Playlists
You can set playlists to automatically download new songs when they are added. Here is how to turn on this setting:
- Go to Playlists and tap on a playlist.
- Tap the three dots (…) menu icon.
- Turn on the switch for “Download Playlist.”
This will download the full playlist and also add any new songs automatically as they get added to the playlist. It’s a great option for regularly updated playlists.
Download Favorited Songs
All of your favorited songs are conveniently saved in the Library under Songs > Favorites. You can download them in bulk:
- Go to Library > Songs > Favorites.
- Tap the three dots (…) menu icon.
- Choose “Download All.”
This will queue up all your favorited songs to download to your device. Favorites are a great way to identify songs you want to listen to offline.
Use the Play Later Playlist
When you tap the “+” icon to add a song to play later, it gets added to your Play Later playlist. Use this playlist to quickly grab songs to download:
- Go to Playlists > Play Later.
- Tap the three dots (…) menu icon.
- Select “Download All.”
Even if you only have a few songs added, this can be an quick way to identify music you want to download for offline listening.
Share Songs to Download
When listening to albums or playlists, you can share multiple songs at once to add them to your download queue:
- Tap the three dots (…) menu while playing an album or playlist.
- Choose “Share Song” for each song you want to download.
- Select “Add to My Music.”
This will add the songs to your library. Now go to Songs > Recently Added to find all the shared songs and download them.
Use Siri
You can use Siri voice commands to quickly download songs without having to manually find them and add them to your library:
- “Hey Siri, download [song name]”
- “Hey Siri, download this song”
- “Hey Siri, add this song to my Music”
Siri integrates directly with Apple Music, so you can just voice command a song to download it instantly.
Turn on Automatic Downloads
You can set Apple Music to automatically download new music you add to your library. To enable:
- Go to Settings > Music.
- Under “Automatic Downloads,” turn on “New Music.”
Now any song, album or playlist you add will be automatically downloaded. This keeps your device’s music library up to date.
Manage Your Downloads
Once you’ve downloaded music for offline listening, you can manage your downloads in Settings:
- Go to Settings > Music > Downloaded Music
- View all your downloaded songs, playlists, and albums
- Swipe left on any item to remove the download
You can see how much storage space your music downloads are using and delete items you no longer need downloaded.
Check Download Status
You can check the status of songs downloading in the Music app:
- Tap on Library
- Scroll down and select Downloads
- View the download progress of songs and playlists
From here, you can also tap the “x” icon to cancel a download.
Only Download on Wi-Fi
To avoid using cellular data, you can restrict downloads to only occur over Wi-Fi:
- Go to Settings > Music.
- Tap “Cellular Data.”
- Turn off “Use Cellular Data.”
This will prevent Apple Music from downloading songs over cellular. It will only use Wi-Fi to download music when available.
Why Download Music from Apple Music?
Here are some of the top reasons to download music for offline listening from Apple Music:
- Listen offline – Downloads allow you to listen anywhere without an internet connection.
- Save cellular data – Downloads don’t use data which helps avoid overages.
- Higher quality – Downloads are DRM-free and played at full quality.
- Peace of mind – Once downloaded, you always have access to your music.
- Travel mode – Downloads are great for flights, road trips, and anywhere abroad.
Apple Music downloads give you the flexibility to take your music library anywhere you go. You don’t have to rely on streaming and can listen even in remote areas with no cell service.
Tips for Downloading Music
Follow these tips for the fastest way to get all your Apple Music songs downloaded:
- Use Wi-Fi for faster downloads.
- Download full playlists and albums instead of individual songs.
- Turn on automatic downloads for new music you add.
- Only download music you will actually listen to regularly.
- Delete downloads you no longer need to save storage space.
- Restrict cellular data usage for music downloads.
Strategically downloading your Apple Music library will save time, data, and storage space. Be selective about what you truly need downloaded for offline listening.
Troubleshooting Apple Music Downloads
If you are having issues downloading music from Apple Music, try these troubleshooting tips:
- Check that Downloads are enabled in Music settings.
- Make sure you have an active internet connection.
- Restart your device and try downloading again.
- Update your iOS software to the latest version.
- Toggle Airplane mode on/off to reset network connection.
- Delete old downloads to free up storage space.
Contact Apple Support if downloads still fail after trying these steps. Provide details on when the issue started and what troubleshooting you have tried.
Conclusion
Downloading music for offline listening is a valuable feature of Apple Music. Take advantage of playlists, albums, favorites, and Siri to quickly get your library downloaded.
Automatically saving new music, using Wi-Fi, and managing storage will ensure your downloads experience is seamless. Listening offline is a key benefit of an Apple Music subscription.
Follow these tips to get all your songs downloaded. Now you can enjoy access to your favorite music anytime, anywhere, even without an internet connection. Apple Music downloads provide the flexibility to take your music library wherever you go.