In short: Make sure all of your devices are connected to the internet, Your old iPhone and new iPhone should both have Sync Library turned on and signed in with the same Apple ID that you use with Apple Music.
So you’ve got a new iPhone but your Apple Music is not transferring or syncing to your new device? Here are some troubleshooting tips you should do to solve the issue.
Check the internet connection on your new iPhone
If you notice that your Apple Music is not transferring or syncing to your new iPhone, it could be that one of your devices (or both) is not connected to the internet.
For example, if you have two Apple devices (the old iPhone and the new one), check the internet connection for both. If one isn’t connected to the internet, Apple Music won’t sync.
It’s as simple as that. In some cases, the device that is not using a Wi-Fi network (using cellular data) is not receiving the best signal. Restart your new iPhone and try again.
Turn on Sync Library on the new iPhone
If Apple Music is not transferring or syncing to your new iPhone, ensure that your devices have Sync Library turned ON and signed in with the same Apple ID that you use with Apple Music.
All of your songs on Apple Music will transfer to the new iPhone, as long as you enable the Sync Library feature and, both old and new iPhones are signed in with the same Apple ID.
You can learn how to turn on Sync Library ON all devices right here.
If Sync Library has been turned on all your devices, then you can try turning it OFF, then ON again. It can trigger the transfer whenever Apple Music is not transferring to the new iPhone.
Whenever my playlists are not updating or songs are not being added to the library, I always turn off Sync Library and then turn it on again. Doing this simple thing solves most problems.
However, you should note that once you turn Sync Library OFF, Apple Music will delete all content from your phone, and you’d need to download your offline songs again.
Sign out of Apple Music and then sign back in
If turning off Sync Library and then turning it back on doesn’t work, try signing out of Apple Music and then signing back in. It could solve Apple Music not transferring to your new iPhone.
Here’s a caveat, though. Turning off the Sync Library setting, as well as signing out of Apple Music, are two actions that will remove all of the downloaded songs on your device.
Make sure the new iPhone uses the same Apple ID
You’ve checked that Sync Library is turned on, but is your new iPhone signed in with the same Apple ID that you use with your current Apple Music subscription?
It takes so little of your time, so check the Apple ID on your old iPhone and the new one. If one of them isn’t using your Apple ID, log out and log back in using the correct Apple ID.
Force close Apple Music and restart your new iPhone
I understand that you’re dealing with a new iPhone, but why don’t you try force-closing the Apple Music app? According to Apple, force closing an app is a great way to solve problems.
If you’re using an iPhone X and later, swipe up from the bottom of the Home screen and pause in the middle of the screen. Swipe right or left to find the Apple Music app.
Swipe up on the app’s preview to close the app.
The method is slightly different if you’re using an iPhone SE, iPhone 8 and earlier, or iPod touch. You’ll need to double-click the Home button to show your most recently used apps.
Then, swipe right or left to find the Apple Music app that you need to force close. Once you’ve navigated to Apple Music, swipe up on the app’s preview to close the app.
After force-closing the Apple Music app, restart your new iPhone. Then, open the Apple Music app and make sure you have a good Wi-Fi connection, and try transferring your songs.
Make sure your new iPhone sync over Wi-Fi
You can set up your Mac computer so that in the future Apple Music syncs to your new iPhone over Wi-Fi. To do this, you need to connect your new iPhone to your Mac computer via USB.
- Select your device in the sidebar of the Finder window.
- Click General on the right.
- Scroll down and select “Show this [device] when on Wi-Fi.”
- Click Apply.
- You can now unplug your device from your Mac.
When your Mac and new iPhone are on the same Wi-Fi network, your new iPhone will appear in the Finder sidebar, and it syncs automatically over Wi-Fi whenever it’s plugged into power.
Manually transfer your songs to your new iPhone
Sometimes, the best course of action is to manually transfer the songs to your new iPhone. To do this, you’ll need to open the Apple Music app on your computer.
According to Apple’s official website, you can use the Finder to sync music and playlists from your Mac to your iOS device if your Mac computer is using macOS Catalina or later.
To start transferring your music to your new iPhone, you’ll need to plug your device into your Mac and then use the Finder. Use a USB cable to connect your iOS device to your Mac.
Open Finder and click your new iPhone in the sidebar under Locations. Next, click the Music tab at the top of the window, then click the checkbox to sync music to your new iPhone.
During this time, you can choose to select either your entire music library to sync to your device, or you can select specific artists, albums, genres, or playlists.
Next, click Apply. If you’ve done this at least once already, this button will say Sync instead. But if syncing doesn’t start automatically, click the Sync button.
If you have any movies, TV shows, podcasts, audiobooks, or other files on your Mac that you want to transfer to your new iPhone, follow this same process.
You might then be asked to authorize your computer. Once you’ve authorized your computer, you should now see your favorite tunes from Apple Music on your new iPhone.
If you’re an Apple Music subscriber, your entire music library syncs across all your devices automatically. For anything not in Apple Music, you can sync with your Mac.
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