Many Apple Music users have experienced issues with songs and albums not playing when their device is offline, despite being downloaded for offline listening. This can be frustrating, especially if you were counting on accessing your music library while traveling or without an internet connection. The aim of this article is to troubleshoot some common reasons why your downloaded Apple Music may not be playing offline and provide potential solutions to get your offline listening working again.
Enabled Offline Playback
To download songs for offline playback on your iPhone, you first need to ensure that the setting to allow offline playback is enabled. On iOS devices, this setting is located in Settings > Music. Scroll down to the “Download Over Cellular” setting and make sure the toggle is switched to the On position (green). This allows your device to download songs over cellular data for offline listening [1].
You can also check in the Music app itself. Go to Library > Downloads and make sure “Sync Library” is enabled. This ensures any songs you add will be automatically downloaded for offline playback. If “Sync Library” is disabled, toggle it on. With this setting enabled, your music downloads should be ready for offline listening whenever you want [2].
Update iOS
One of the most common solutions for Apple Music not playing songs offline is to update your device’s iOS software. Issues with offline playback functionality are often caused by bugs in older versions of iOS that get addressed in newer releases. According to Apple discussions, updating to the latest iOS version can fix problems with Apple Music not working properly in offline mode (source).
To update iOS, open the Settings app and go to General > Software Update. Tap “Download and Install” to get the latest iOS version. It’s a good idea to connect to Wi-Fi and plug your device in before installing an iOS update, as they can be large files. After the update is installed, restart your device and test Apple Music again in offline mode. The update may have fixed the issues allowing songs to now play properly when Internet connectivity is disabled.
Updating iOS is a simple troubleshooting step that ensures your iPhone or iPad is running the most optimized version of Apple’s software. New iOS releases often target bugs affecting services like Apple Music. If your offline content still won’t play after updating, you can move on to other potential solutions. But taking the time to update and restart can fix offline playback in many cases.
Restart Device
One of the simplest ways to troubleshoot issues with Apple Music offline playback is to restart your iPhone or iPad. A restart helps clear out any glitches or processes that may be preventing the downloaded songs from playing properly offline. Simply hold down the side button and either volume button until you see the power off slider appear. Slide to power off your device. Wait 30 seconds, then hold down the side button again to turn your device back on. This refresh often resolves temporary software issues.
As noted in the Apple Support discussions, restarting your device may allow the offline Apple Music songs to play again as expected. Restarting clears out any processes that may be interfering with offline playback from your downloads (Source).
Re-download Content
Another solution is to delete the downloaded content from your device and re-download it. This will cause the files to be freshly downloaded, which can help overwrite any corrupted files that may be preventing them from playing offline properly. Simply go to the My Music section in the Apple Music app, swipe left on the downloaded album, playlist or artist, and choose “Delete” to remove it. Then go back and tap the cloud download icon next to that music to re-download it. Allow it to fully complete the download.
As noted in the Apple Support Communities, re-downloading the content can overwrite any corrupted files or incomplete downloads that may be causing the issue of music not playing offline. The fresh download helps ensure complete files. Just be aware downloading uses mobile data or WiFi, so check your data limits before re-downloading large amounts of music.
Delete and Re-add Downloads
One potential solution is to delete your Apple Music downloads and re-add them fresh. Oftentimes, underlying corruption or mismatch issues with the locally cached songs can prevent them from playing properly offline. Deleting the downloads entirely and starting over may resolve these inconsistencies.
To delete your downloaded Apple Music files, go to the Library tab in the Music app and swipe left on any song, album or playlist to reveal the Delete button. Tap “Delete” and confirm to remove downloads. You can also edit an album or playlist and toggle the Download switch off to remove those downloads.
Once your Music library is clear of downloads, go back and re-add songs, albums or playlists you want available offline by toggling the Download button on. Give this fresh set of downloads time to complete over Wi-Fi, then try playing them offline again.
According to user reports on Apple’s support forums, deleting all downloads and re-adding them from scratch often fixes offline playback issues (source). The re-download process may be time-consuming, but can refresh your local song cache and get Apple Music working properly when no connectivity is available.
Check Storage Space
One of the most common reasons downloaded Apple Music won’t play offline is if your iPhone is running out of storage space. Apple Music requires available storage to save music for offline playback. If your storage is full or nearly full, it can prevent successfully downloading tracks or cause already downloaded music to be removed from your device.
To check your iPhone’s storage, go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage. Review how much total space you have left. If it’s low (less than 5GB on a 64GB device, for example), lack of sufficient storage could be preventing offline playback.
You may need to delete photos, apps, or messages to free up space. You can also go to Settings > Music > Optimize Storage to have Apple Music automatically remove downloaded music you haven’t played recently when you’re low on space. For more tips, see this Apple discussion on freeing up storage space.
Log Out and Back In
One potential solution is to log out of Apple Music and then log back in. This can reset any corrupted settings or files associated with your account that may be preventing offline playback from working properly.
To log out, go to Settings > [Your Name] > iTunes & App Store. Tap your Apple ID and select Sign Out. Confirm signing out by tapping Sign Out again.
After signing out, you can sign back into your Apple ID by launching the App Store, tapping your profile icon in the top right, and entering your Apple ID credentials.
Signing out and back in can refresh your iCloud Music Library and force your device to re-download any available offline content tied to your account. According to discussions on Apple’s support forums, this simple process has resolved offline playback issues for many users.
See this Apple support thread for more details on logging out and back in to fix Apple Music problems: [1]
[1] “You are already a member of apple music,” Apple Discussions, https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250643988
Contact Apple Support
If you have tried all of the troubleshooting steps listed above and are still unable to get your downloaded Apple Music to play offline, the next step would be to directly contact Apple Support. Apple has a Music support page where you can find contact options to get help from Apple advisors via chat or phone.
When you contact Apple Support, make sure to clearly explain the issue you are facing with getting downloaded songs to play offline. Provide details on what you have already tried troubleshooting on your own. Apple’s support team has additional tools and insight into fixing persistent problems with Apple Music and your specific account. Calling them directly can help get your issue escalated and resolved when you’ve exhausted other options.
Summary
In summary, there are a number of troubleshooting steps you can try if your downloaded Apple Music is not playing offline:
- Make sure Offline Playback is enabled in your Apple Music settings
- Update your iOS software to the latest version
- Restart your device after updating iOS
- Re-download the content you want to play offline
- Delete the downloads and re-add them
- Check you have enough storage space for the downloads
- Log out of Apple Music and log back in
Trying these basic troubleshooting steps may help get your downloaded Apple Music working again offline. If you still can’t get it working, you may need to contact Apple Support for further assistance.
I hope these tips help you resolve the issue! Let me know if you have any other questions.
