Guide to Fix Apple Music on Mac Not Syncing with iPhone

Apple Music and many other streaming services sync your favorite songs and playlists across devices. This is how you will enjoy these music seamlessly, regardless of the device you use to access Apple Music. But what if, in Apple Music, some songs or playlists are missing on your iPhone and they are available on your MacBook? It looks pretty weird. Do not worry. In this guide, we have compiled some solutions to help you fix Apple Music sync errors between your Mac and iPhone.

First, make sure that both devices (Mac and iPhone) are linked to the same Apple ID account. Likewise, check if you have an active Apple Music subscription; On your iPhone, go to Settings > [Your Name] > Make sure Subscriptions and ‘Apple Music Subscription’ are in the Enabled section. Finally, verify that your iPhone and Mac’s internet connection are both active. This is really important.

If the internet connection is the problem, check out these guides on fixing cellular data problems and restoring Wi-Fi connection on an iPhone. Otherwise, continue to the solutions in the next section.

1. Manually Trigger Library Sync

It’s quite possible that your Apple Music subscription isn’t syncing your music library between devices even though you have an active internet connection. In such cases, you can trigger the sync manually.

Some Mac users who have similar difficulties syncing Apple Music can fix the problem by replacing their music library. Making any changes to your music library (on your iPhone) will trigger Apple Music to sync your Mac’s music library to your iPhone.

You can try adding a random song to your playlist, change the name of a playlist, or even create a new playlist. Nothing. This should nudge your iPhone’s Apple Music to get up-to-date information from your Mac or other connected devices.

2. Reboot Devices

Still can’t sync your Mac’s Apple Music library to your iPhone? Turn off both devices and turn them back on starting with your iPhone. If the problem persists when your iPhone turns back on, try restarting your Mac and see if that helps.

3. Update iOS

If Apple Music’s library sync isn’t working properly on your devices, Apple recommends updating their operating system to the latest version. To update your iPhone, go to Settings > General > Software Update and tap ‘Download & Install’.

To update macOS on your Mac, go to System Preferences > Software Update and click the Upgrade Now button.

4. Enable Library Sync

You should also check that library syncing is enabled on your Mac and iPhone. If disabled on both devices, Apple Music will have different content on your devices even if they are connected to the same Apple ID.

How to Enable Apple Music Library Sync on iPhone

Stage 1: Launch Settings and select Music.

Step 2: Make sure Sync Library is turned on.

If the option is already enabled, turn it off and then back on. This can also help Apple Music sync your Mac’s music library with your iPhone.

Note: Turning off library sync for Apple Music will remove all songs and downloads from your iPhone. Do not worry. Your content will be restored. Your music library will be synced/updated when you turn the feature back on. The only downside is that you will lose the downloaded songs.

How to Enable Apple Music Library Sync on Mac

Stage 1: Launch the Music app and click Music in the upper-right corner of the menu bar.

Step 2: Next, select Preferences.

Stage 3: On the General tab, make sure Sync Library is checked. If it’s already enabled, you can uncheck the option and turn it back on. Click OK to save the changes.

5. Check Apple Music Status

If there is an outage in Apple Music service in your region or worldwide, you may have difficulties syncing your music library between your Mac and iPhone. To confirm, visit the Apple System Support page and check that the indicators next to Apple Music, Apple Music radio, and Apple Music Subscriptions are green. This means that Apple Music’s servers are active and online.

If the indicators are yellow, the servers are down and you may not be able to use some features and services of Apple Music. All you can do in this situation is wait for Apple to fix everything.

6. Relink Apple ID

If none of the suggested solutions above work, you should remove your Apple ID account from your iPhone and sign in again. Before continuing, you should make a backup of your iPhone so that you don’t lose any data when you log out. Your Apple ID.

Note: Like turning off library sync for Apple Music (see method #4), logging out of Apple ID will also remove all downloaded songs from your iPhone. That’s why you should take a backup of your iPhone.

To sign out of Apple ID on iPhone, go to Settings, click your name and tap Sign Out.

Squash Sync Delay

If you follow the methods and instructions mentioned above, you should no longer have any problems accessing your Apple Music library on your MacBook and iPhone.

Next: Want to stop Apple Music from automatically downloading tracks or albums to your iPhone, Mac or PC? Then you should read the guide linked below to learn how to achieve this.