In short: You cannot redeem the 6-month free Apple Music promotion if you’ve clicked or accepted the one-month free trial in the past. You also have 90 days after pairing your eligible device or upgrading to the latest software to redeem.
So, you want to take advantage of the free trial offered by Apple Music. However, you’ve noticed that the Apple Music free trial is not working. Let’s talk about it.
Apple Music free trial promotions in a nutshell
Before we dive into the troubleshooting tips, it’s important to understand the three different types of Apple Music free trial promotions so you don’t get confused between one and the other.
The first one is the 6-month free promotion. You can get 6 months of Apple Music free with the purchase of eligible audio devices. I’ll talk more about the eligible devices below.
The second one is the free 3-month trial. New subscribers with eligible devices get 3 months of Apple Music free, but after the trial period is over, you’ll need to pay $10.99 per month.
The third one is the free 1-month trial. Every new subscriber is offered this free one-month trial. You can also get the Apple One bundle (Apple Music and 5 other Apple services).
Reasons why the Apple Music free trial is not working
To redeem Apple Music promotions, you need to sign in with your Apple ID on the eligible device. You might need to wait at least 4 hours for the offer to appear.
However, if you’ve signed into your Apple ID and waited for many hours, here are a few reasons why the Apple Music promotion you want to redeem isn’t available.
You don’t have an eligible device
To take advantage of the 6-month free Apple Music promo, you’ll need an eligible device. Here are the devices that are eligible to receive 6 months of Apple Music for free:
- Any AirPods Pro, AirPods (2nd generation and 3rd generation)
- AirPods Max
- HomePod
- HomePod mini
- Beats Fit Pro
- Beats Studio Buds
- Powerbeats
- Powerbeats Pro
- Beats Solo Pro
- Beats Studio Buds +
- Beats Studio Pro
No purchase is necessary for current owners of eligible devices. AirPods (1st generation), Beats Solo3 Wireless, Beats Studio3 Wireless, Beats EP, and Beats Flex are not eligible.
Make sure you have one of the eligible devices listed. If you don’t have one of them, then you cannot receive 6 months of Apple Music for free.
The software is not up to date
You can’t redeem any Apple Music offer if the software isn’t up to date. Update to the latest version of iOS or iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, or tvOS. Then try to redeem the promotion again.
However, keep in mind that you only have 90 days after upgrading to the latest iOS or iPadOS to redeem six months free of Apple Music. After that, the offer is no longer valid.
You’ve accepted the one-month trial before
If you want to take advantage of the 6-month or 3-month free Apple Music promotion, never accept (and click) on the one-month free trial on the Apple Music screen.
All new Apple Music subscribers are offered a one-month free trial. Don’t tap on the promotion or you’ll void the “free 6 months” offer. Here’s what you should do instead:
- Make sure your iPhone or iPad is running the latest version of iOS or iPadOS.
- Pair your eligible audio device with your iPhone or iPad.
- Open the Apple Music app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Sign in with your Apple ID.
- Tap on Get 6 months free.
If the offer doesn’t appear immediately after launching the app, go to the Listen Now tab where it will appear. Then, you can simply tap on the Get 6 months free promotion.
You can learn more about the promotion right here.
Remember, the Apple Music 6-month promotion won’t work if you’ve accepted the one-month trial before. Even if you’ve clicked on the one-month trial, you can’t get the six-month promo.
A friend of mine purchased AirPods Pro, which is an eligible device, but because he has clicked on the one-month free trial before, he cannot redeem the 6-month Apple Music promotion.
He was very unhappy about Apple’s marketing. The 6-month promotion was one of his main considerations when purchasing AirPods, but now he can’t get the free Apple Music.
I think Apple should be more transparent about its promotions.
Every promotion has an expiration date
If you think that the Apple Music 6 months free is not working, it could be that the offer is already expired. Has it been a while since you’ve paired your device to your Apple ID?
According to Apple, you have 90 days after first pairing your eligible device (like the AirPods Pro, for example) to take advantage of your six free months of Apple Music.
For current owners of eligible devices, you have 90 days after upgrading to the latest iOS or iPadOS to redeem your six months free. After that, the offer is no longer valid.
On the other hand, the 3-month free promotion often comes and goes. Last time I checked, the 3-month free offer is valid from July 10, 2023, through August 21, 2023.
Only the one-month free trial promotion is ever-present. Every new Apple Music subscriber is offered a one-month free trial, but once you’ve accepted it, you can’t get other offers.
To see if the promotional trial is still current, visit apple.com/promo. Most offers are available for only a limited time. Also, make sure that the device or subscription qualifies for the offer.
Contact Apple Support
If you tried these steps and you still can’t redeem the offer, contact Apple Support. They should be able to help you troubleshoot any Apple Music free trial not working.
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