How to Fix Apple Music’s This Song Is Not Available Error in Your Region Error on iPhone and iPad

Apple Music can be a very unstable streaming service sometimes. You would think that streaming music on Apple devices should be smooth and airy, but that’s not the case. There is always a bug popping up to ruin your streaming experience. In this guide, we highlight some proven fixes for the ‘This song is currently not available in your country or region’ error on Apple Music.

Disabling your device’s cellular data or Wi-Fi and turning it back on can help. Closing and restarting Apple Music is another way to get the app back to normal. And if nothing works, try restarting your device. If the error persists when your device turns back on, move on to the solutions below.

Note: The troubleshooting tips in this guide are for iPhone and iPad users.

1. Disable VPN

Let’s say you played a song on Apple Music before, but all of a sudden it’s no longer playing because, you know, it’s ‘no longer available in your country or region’. The first line of action we recommend is to disable your iPhone/iPad’s VPN if applicable. Due to regional licensing and distribution policy, some songs are not available in certain countries. If the song is not licensed to the country your VPN connection is forwarded to, this error will appear when you try to play it.

You can disable your VPN from within the app or from the iPhone Settings menu. Simply go to Settings and turn off VPN.

Now close Apple Music, reopen the app and try playing the affected track/songs.

2. Re-Add Songs to Library

Doing so may help resolve the Apple Music track unavailable issue. If this error only appears for a certain song in your Apple Music library, delete the song and close Apple Music. To remove a song from your Apple Music library, touch and hold the song and select ‘Delete from Library’. Finally, select Delete Song at the confirmation prompt to continue.

Wait a few seconds and restart the app. Now add the song back to your library and check if it plays without errors.

3. Enable Automatic Download of Purchase

iOS has a feature that automatically downloads songs, books, and other purchases from Apple to any device connected to your Apple ID. Strangely enough, re-enabling this feature for Apple Music has helped resolve this issue for some users. You can try this if the above solutions are inconclusive. Close the Apple Music app and follow the steps below.

Stage 1: Launch the iPhone Settings menu and select ‘iTunes & App Store’.

Step 2: Under Automatic Downloads, turn on Music.

If it’s already enabled, turn the option off and on again. After a few moments, launch the Music app and check if the error still occurs.

4. Resync Music Library

I used this method to resolve this Apple Music regional unavailable error on my iPhone and my friends devices. All it takes is to disable library sync for Apple Music and re-enable the feature

Stage 1: Launch the Settings menu and select Music.

Step 2: Turn off Sync Library and select Close at the confirmation prompt.

Note: This will remove all Apple Music songs from your device, but you have nothing to fear.

Stage 3: Now, turn on Sync Library option again.

Step 4: Tap Keep Music at the confirmation prompt and your songs will be resynced with your Apple Music library.

Wait until this process is complete and play the songs. You should no longer experience the ‘This song is currently not available in your country or region’ error.

5. Sign Out of Apple ID

Removing your Apple ID account from your iPhone or iPad and signing back in can also help. However, it’s worth mentioning that it will remove all offline (read: downloaded) songs from your library. Read more about it in this guide before continuing to disconnect the Apple ID from your iPhone/iPad.

Stage 1: Open the iPhone Settings menu and tap the display name of your Apple ID.

Step 2: Scroll to the bottom of the page and tap Sign Out.

Stage 3: Enter the Apple ID password and follow the prompt.

Reconnect the Apple ID to your device and check if you can now play songs in the Apple Music app without any regional restrictions errors.

6. Update iOS

This error can also be caused by a software-related bug. In this case, updating your device to the latest iOS version can help. To update your iPhone/iPad’s operating system, go to Settings > General > Software Update and tap ‘Download and Install’.

Unfixable, Sometimes

There are numerous reasons why this regional restriction error occurs when you play songs on Apple Music. Some of them you can easily maneuver your way through. Other times, there is nothing you can do about it. For example, you might encounter this error if you try to play an unreleased song (from an upcoming album). In this case, waiting for the song to be released by the artist (whether worldwide or in your country) is the only solution. The same is true if the song has been temporarily or permanently removed from Apple Music by Apple or the copyright holder.

Next: ‘Request timed out’ error message pops up when you try to play or download a song in Apple Music? Click the link to the next article to find solutions to fix the problem on your iPhone or Android device.