What iTunes purchases should show up in my library
Purchased songs, albums, movies, TV shows, books, and apps should be available across devices signed into the same Apple ID. When you buy content through the iTunes Store, Apple Music, or other Apple services, the purchases are tied to your Apple ID.
This means that once you buy a song, album, movie, TV show episode, book, or app on one device like an iPhone, it should become available to download or stream across other devices logged into that same Apple ID. This includes Mac computers, iPads, Apple TVs, and iPod touches.
So if you purchase an album on your iPad and then open the iTunes app on your iPhone, that album should now be in your library ready to download. Content availability may depend on the iTunes Match and iCloud Music Library settings.
Purchased content is accessed through the appropriate iTunes media apps – the Music app for songs, TV app for shows and movies, Books app for books, and App Store for app purchases. The iTunes Store Purchased section also provides a history of all purchases tied to your Apple ID.
Check if the Songs are Actually Purchased
To verify that you did in fact purchase the songs in question, you’ll want to check your iTunes/App Store purchase history. Here are the steps:
1. Open the iTunes or App Store app on your iPhone or iPad and tap on your profile icon in the top right corner.
2. Tap on “Purchased” to view your full purchase history.
3. You can also check your purchase history online by going to reportaproblem.apple.com and logging in with your Apple ID.
4. Scroll through your purchase history to confirm that the missing songs are listed there as purchased. If so, they should be available to download and play in your iTunes library.
Checking your purchase history verifies proof of purchase and ensures the songs were successfully bought through your Apple ID. If they are not listed there, then there may have been an issue with the original transaction.
Make sure you’re signed into the correct Apple ID
One of the most common reasons purchased songs are not showing up in your iTunes library is because you are signed into the wrong Apple ID. The iTunes/App Store purchases are always associated with the specific Apple ID used at the time of purchase.
To fix this, you need to sign out of your current Apple ID in iTunes/App Store and sign back in with the correct ID that was used to originally buy the missing songs. Here are the steps:
- Open iTunes and go to Account > Sign Out. This will sign you out of your current Apple ID.
- Next, launch App Store and tap on your Apple ID at the top right. Scroll down and tap Sign Out.
- Now sign in with the correct Apple ID associated with the missing purchases. Go back to iTunes and App Store and enter the email/password for that ID.
- Once signed in to the correct ID, check your iTunes library again. The purchased songs should now be available since you have accessed the proper account.
Signing out and back in ensures any existing iTunes/App Store sessions are closed out and new ones are initiated under the correct Apple ID. This should match up your library content with the proper account containing your purchase history.[1]
Confirm iTunes Match is enabled if applicable
iTunes Match subscribers can access their purchased music across devices from iCloud. iTunes Match is an optional add-on subscription that lets you store your music library in iCloud, including songs imported from CDs or purchased somewhere other than iTunes.
If you have an active iTunes Match subscription, make sure the Sync Library option is enabled in your iTunes preferences so your purchases are added to your iCloud library and available on all your devices. You can check this under the General tab in your iTunes preferences on your computer.
If Sync Library is already enabled but your purchases are still missing, try turning it off and back on again. You may also need to wait for your music to fully upload to iCloud if you recently enabled iTunes Match.
Without an active iTunes Match subscription, purchases are only available on the specific device they were downloaded to initially. So enable iTunes Match if you want easy access to your purchased music library across all devices.
See this Apple support article for more troubleshooting tips around iTunes Match and accessing your purchased music.
Update to the latest version of iTunes
One of the most common reasons purchased songs may not appear in your iTunes library is because you’re running an outdated version of the iTunes software. Apple regularly releases updates to iTunes which include bug fixes and improvements for managing your music library. According to Apple Support, older versions of iTunes may fail to display new purchases you’ve made from the iTunes Store.
To ensure you have the latest version with full compatibility, you can check for updates in the iTunes menu. Go to “Help” and select “Check for Updates.” iTunes will automatically look for the newest version available and prompt you to install if needed. You can also set iTunes to check for new versions weekly under Edit > Preferences > Advanced. Keeping the software up-to-date is key for maintaining access to your purchased content.
Check if songs are hidden
One common reason purchased songs may not show up in your iTunes library is because they have been hidden. iTunes allows you to hide songs in your library so they do not show up in your playlists or library view. To check if your purchased songs are hidden:
Go to iTunes preferences > general and make sure ‘hide songs already in my music library’ is unchecked. This setting hides songs that are already in your library from the iTunes store results, but could also be hiding your new purchases.
You can also go to Account > View My Account while in iTunes. On the account page, scroll down to ‘iTunes in the Cloud’ and click ‘Manage’. Here you can see a list of your hidden purchases and choose to unhide songs.
After unhiding purchases, your songs should now appear back in your iTunes library. For more information, see this Apple support article: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208167
Authorize computer for purchased content
One of the main reasons purchased songs may not show up in your iTunes library is because your computer is not properly authorized with your Apple ID. To fix this, you will need to deauthorize your computer first and then reauthorize it.
To deauthorize your computer, open iTunes and go to Account > View My Account. Sign in to your Apple ID if prompted. On the right side, click the button to deauthorize the computer. This will remove the authorization so you can authorize it again with your Apple ID.
Once your computer is deauthorized, you can reauthorize it by going to Account > Authorizations > Authorize This Computer. Enter your Apple ID and password. This will authorize your computer with your Apple ID so it can access your purchased content again.
According to Apple Support, “Authorizing a computer enables you to play iTunes Store purchases on that computer” (source). Reauthorizing your computer should allow your purchased iTunes songs to show up once again.
Restart computer and reset iTunes
Restarting your computer and resetting the iTunes cache can often resync missing purchases. When restarting, iTunes cleans its cache and re-indexes your library, which may resolve issues syncing purchased songs. Follow these steps:
- Close iTunes if it’s open.
- Restart your computer.
- After rebooting, hold Shift and click the iTunes icon to launch it. This prevents iTunes from loading your library and rebuilds the database.
- In iTunes go to Edit > Preferences > Advanced and click the Reset button.
- Sign in again with your Apple ID and reauthorize your computer if prompted.
Resetting iTunes flushes its cache and resyncs your library. After following these steps, check if your purchased songs now appear. If not, you may need to contact Apple support for further troubleshooting.
Contact Apple Support
If your purchased iTunes songs are still missing after trying the troubleshooting steps above, the next step is to contact Apple Support for further help. Apple has a support team available to assist customers who are having issues accessing their purchased content across Apple devices and services.
You can contact Apple Support in a few ways:
– Call 1-800-275-2273 for phone support in the US. International numbers are available on the Apple Support site.
– Initiate a live chat with an advisor on the Apple Support site.
– Send an email to Apple Support by filling out the form on the Contact Apple Support page.
When you contact Apple Support, be prepared to provide details like your Apple ID, purchase dates, and any troubleshooting steps you’ve already tried. Support can investigate why your purchased songs are not appearing in your library across devices. They may be able to locate “missing” purchases through your purchase history and restore access.
If your purchased content appears to be permanently lost or unavailable from iTunes, you can request a refund from Apple Support. Make sure to contact them promptly within 90 days of your original purchase date.
Request a Refund
As a last resort, you can request a refund from Apple for missing purchased songs, and then rebuy them. This should force your purchased content to properly download and appear in your iTunes library. To request a refund:
1. Go to reportaproblem.apple.com and sign in with your Apple ID.
2. Select “iTunes Store and App Store purchases” and find the missing purchased songs.
3. Choose “Request a refund” and explain that the purchased songs are missing from your iTunes library.
4. Wait for Apple to process the refund request. This usually takes 1-2 days. The refund will go back to your original payment method.
5. Once the refund is complete, go back to the iTunes Store and repurchase the songs. Make sure your computer is authorized and everything is up to date before repurchasing.
6. The newly purchased songs should now properly download into your iTunes library. If not, contact Apple Support for further troubleshooting.
