Having your queue suddenly disappear in Apple Music can be frustrating. The queue allows you to line up songs or albums to play next, so when it vanishes, you lose your custom playlist ordering. There are a few potential reasons this might happen.
Your Apple Music Subscription Ended
The most common reason for queue loss in Apple Music is that your subscription ended. Apple Music queues are only saved for paying subscribers. If your subscription lapses, your account reverts to the free tier which does not support saving queues.
To check your subscription status, open the App Store on your iPhone or iPad and tap your profile picture in the top right. On the next screen, scroll down to see your Active Subscriptions. If Apple Music is listed as Expired, that means you need to renew your subscription to regain queue saving abilities.
Renewing your Apple Music Subscription
You can renew your Apple Music subscription right from your device or computer:
- On iPhone/iPad – Go to Settings > [Your Name] > Subscriptions and tap Apple Music
- On Mac – Open the App Store, click your profile picture, and select View Information. Then click Manage next to Apple Music.
- On Apple TV – Go to Settings > Users and Accounts > Subscriptions > Apple Music
- On Android – Open the Apple Music app and tap the profile icon in the top right. Tap Manage Subscription.
- On the Web – Visit music.apple.com and click Account > View My Account to renew.
Follow the on-screen instructions to resubscribe. Once your subscription is active again, your queue saving ability will be restored.
You Hit the Queue Limit
Apple Music allows you to save up to 100,000 songs in your queue at one time. If you go over that limit, the oldest songs will start disappearing from your queue.
To check how many songs are in your current queue, open Apple Music on your device and tap Library > Playlists. Scroll down and tap Queue – the number of songs will be listed at the top.
If you’re near or over the 100,000 song limit, you’ll need to clear out some of your queued songs. Try removing albums or playlists that you’ve already listened to.
Managing Your Queue
Here are some tips for managing a large Apple Music queue:
- Frequently save queued songs to playlists so you can clear them from the queue.
- Use the Recently Added playlist to replay new music, so those songs can be removed from the queue.
- Delete the queue and start fresh after reaching the song limit.
- Consider increasing your iCloud storage if you regularly queue over 100,000 songs.
Connectivity Issues
Connectivity problems like slow internet speeds, WiFi dropouts, and cellular dead zones can also cause your Apple Music queue to disappear temporarily.
Queues are saved in the cloud, so Apple Music needs an internet connection to sync your queue between devices. If it can’t connect to the servers, your queue is not accessible and appears empty until the connection is restored.
Fixing Connectivity Issues
If you think the missing queue is due to connectivity problems, here are some steps to try:
- Check your internet connection by loading a website on the device.
- If on WiFi, turn WiFi off and on again, or connect to a different WiFi network.
- If on cellular data, turn Airplane Mode on and off to reset the cellular connection.
- Force close and relaunch the Apple Music app.
- Restart your device to clear any software issues.
This should resolve any temporary network problems so Apple Music can re-sync your queue from iCloud.
Updated or Restored Device
Your Apple Music queue will also be cleared if you recently updated and restored your device from a backup. This includes major iOS or iPadOS updates, restoring from an iCloud backup, or migrating device data to a new iPhone or iPad.
When you set up a newly updated or restored device, the current version of Apple Music won’t recognize a queue synced from an old iOS version. Your queue is still saved in iCloud but just isn’t accessible on your device.
Additionally, device backups don’t include your Apple Music queue. So restoring data from a backup removes the existing queue while transferring over other saved information.
Rebuilding Your Queue
If an update or restore wiped your queue, you’ll need to start rebuilding it from scratch:
- Browse through your Apple Music library and re-add albums and playlists.
- Check your Recently Played list for ideas.
- Follow playlists like New Music Mix and Favorites Mix for music picked for your tastes.
While frustrating, try looking at this as an opportunity to update your queue with fresh songs and albums you want to hear next.
An Apple Music Glitch
In rare cases, your Apple Music queue might disappear due to a random technical glitch. Since the queue relies on cloud syncing, both the app and servers need to communicate correctly to maintain your selections.
If a software bug or server issue occurs, your queue could fail to sync properly and temporarily vanish. This shouldn’t happen often though, and your queue will typically reappear once the glitch is fixed.
Troubleshooting an Apple Music Glitch
If you think your missing queue is due to an Apple Music glitch, here are some troubleshooting steps:
- Force close and relaunch the Apple Music app.
- Check Apple’s System Status page for any known issues.
- Update to the latest version of iOS/iPadOS if an update is available.
- Reach out to Apple Support on Twitter or by phone for assistance.
- As a last resort, sign out then back into Apple Music to reset it.
This should resolve most software bugs and connection errors so your queue reappears after a fresh login. If it’s still missing, Apple Support can investigate further based on your account.
Someone Else Deleted Your Queue
If other people use your Apple Music account, it’s possible someone else removed songs from your queue. This could happen on either shared devices or if your account is accessed from another location.
Apple Music allows streaming on multiple devices with Family Sharing. So anyone in your family group can view and edit your queue. If you suspect someone cleared your queue without you knowing, check the listening history on your account.
Viewing Your Listening History
You can check your recent streaming history for clues about who altered your queue:
- Open Apple Music and tap the For You tab.
- Scroll down and tap Recently Played underneath Made For You.
- Review your listening activity and see if anything looks suspicious.
This shows any recent song and playlist streams from your account. If you see activity during times you know you weren’t listening, that suggests someone else accessed your library and may have modified your queue.
Your Queue Wasn’t Properly Saved
It’s also possible your Apple Music queue disappeared because it wasn’t properly saved in the first place. The queue won’t backup to iCloud unless you fully exit the app or manually save your queue.
If you force quit the app or your device loses power before the queue saves, your selections could be lost. Make sure to fully relaunch the Apple Music app periodically as you build your queue.
Manually Saving Your Queue
You can also manually save your queue to make sure it syncs properly:
- Tap the Library tab.
- Tap Playlists.
- Scroll down and tap Queue.
- Tap the More (…) icon in the upper right corner.
- Select Save As Playlist to save your queue.
This will ensure your latest queue is backed up to iCloud just in case the app closes unexpectedly before auto-saving occurs.
What To Do When Your Queue Disappears
Having your queue mysteriously disappear in Apple Music can certainly be annoying. Here are some tips on what to do next if your queue goes missing:
- Check your subscription status – Make sure you still have an active Apple Music membership.
- Review your queue size – See if you hit the 100,000 song limit and trim down as needed.
- Confirm connectivity – Ensure your device has a solid internet connection via WiFi or cellular data.
- Restart device – Power your device off and back on to resolve any software issues.
- Consider device changes – Update, restore or migrate can all clear your existing queue.
- Look for glitches – Force quit and relaunch the Music app to refresh.
- Check listening history – See if someone else may have altered your queue.
- Manually save next time – Fully exit the app or save as playlist to backup the queue.
While losing your queue is annoying, it’s usually recoverable. Follow the troubleshooting steps above to identify and resolve the issue, so you can get back to enjoying your custom Apple Music playlist.
Conclusion
Apple Music queues provide a useful way to customize your listening experience and line up music to hear next. However, there are a number of potential reasons your queue can unexpectedly disappear.
Review your Apple Music subscription status, connectivity, account activity, and device history to determine what caused your missing queue. Also check if you hit the queue size limit or didn’t properly save your selections.
With some troubleshooting and app restarts, your queue should repopulate in most cases. Rebuild your playlist if needed and be sure to manually save your queue going forward. This will minimize frustration if your selections disappear again.
Queues are a great Apple Music feature when working properly. Identify and address the underlying issue if your queue vanishes to restore this valuable listening tool.