Apple’s iCloud Music Library is a useful feature that allows you to save your entire Apple Music library to the cloud. This means that all of your songs, albums, and playlists are synchronized across all your Apple devices, and you can access your library from any of them as long as you use the same Apple ID.
However, as useful as this feature is, it does have some drawbacks. For example, users with a large music library discover that downloading music across devices takes a significant amount of time and data. If the drawbacks outweigh the benefits for you, you can disable iCloud Music Library. In the sections below, we’ll show you how to do it on an iPhone, Mac, or PC.
Overview
You can access Apple’s iCloud Music Library if you have Apple Music or iTunes Match. You can sync your music library across up to ten Apple devices as long as you’re logged into the same iCloud account. However, there are some reasons why you might not want your music synced to the iCloud Music Library. In this article, I explain why — and how you can turn it off.
While convenient, the iCloud Music Library is not without flaws. This is because it matches and replaces songs or albums on your device with a high-quality version from the Apple Music streaming library (if available). This process can result in incorrect metadata, missing album art, and matching to the incorrect song. Users have also complained in forums about the feature being confusing and accidentally wiping files off their devices. It also means you’re confined to listening to music on Apple devices.
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Another thing to keep in mind is that having an iCloud Music Library backup is not the same as having a backup of your offline files. Because, like most streaming services, Apple Music files are DRM encrypted, which means they are linked to your Apple ID. So, while you can amass quite a collection, you don’t own any of the tracks — and it will become inaccessible if you choose to cancel your subscription.
If you purchase a new iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you will have iCloud Music Library syncing enabled by default. For many people, this isn’t a big deal, and the benefits can outweigh the drawbacks. However, if you’ve spent years building your music library or aren’t committed to sticking with Apple Music in the long run, you should turn off this feature right away.
So, without further ado, here’s how to prevent your devices from syncing with the iCloud Music Library.
Things to Consider Before Disabling the iCloud Music Library
Before we go over how to disable iCloud Music Library, you should consider whether you need to close it by checking a couple of factors.
What Exactly Is iCloud Music Library?
iCloud Music Library, launched in 2015, is Apple’s cloud-based service for music downloaded from Apple Music. It allows you to automatically sync songs, playlists, and albums to iOS devices using your iCloud account. This feature is only available if you purchase Apple Music’s $9.99 plan or iTunes Match for $24.99 annually. You can save up to 100,000 songs to up to ten permitted devices.
However, the song cannot be more than 200 MB in size or more than 2 hours in length. iCloud Music Library will automatically replace the songs with a higher-quality version. However, you cannot manually sync music from iTunes to your iPhone.
What Happens If You Turn Off iCloud Music Library?
Although disabling iCloud Music Library is a permanent solution for avoiding syncing errors, you will lose access to music files such as a cloud-based copy of your iTunes library, any saved songs from the Apple Music catalog, and other tracks you uploaded to iCloud to stream on other devices. Furthermore, you cannot listen to Apple Music offline. If you decide to disable iCloud Music Library, you must back up your Apple Music songs.
The Benefits and Drawbacks of Using iCloud Music Library
Before we get into how to disable iCloud Music Library, here’s a quick rundown of the feature’s benefits and drawbacks to help you decide whether it’s doing you more harm than good.
You can benefit from the following features with iCloud Music Library:
- Stream and download songs from Apple Music or the iTunes Store to up to ten devices.
- You can access your library from any device as long as you have internet access.
- With Apple Music or an iTunes Match subscription, you can save up to 100,000 songs (excluding songs purchased from the iTunes Store).
However, here are some disadvantages:
- To use iCloud Music Library, you must have a paid Apple Music or iTunes Match subscription. Otherwise, your music library will not sync between devices.
- If available, iCloud Music sync matches and replaces songs or albums on your device with a higher-quality version from the Apple Music streaming library. This process has the potential to result in missing or incorrect song metadata, album art, and incorrect song matching.
- It is not possible to manually sync music from iTunes to your iPhone or iPad.
If any of these drawbacks are a deal breaker for you, here’s how to disable iCloud Music Library on any device.
How to Disable iCloud Music Library on the iPhone and iPad
Follow the steps below to disable iCloud Music Library on iOS and iPad:
- Open the Settings app, then scroll down to Music.
- Toggle off the switch next to Sync Library in the Library section. There will be a warning that this action will delete all Apple Music content and downloads from your iPhone’s music library.
- To confirm your decision, select Turn Off. When the toggle changes from green to gray, you’ll know the feature has been disabled.
How to Deactivate iCloud Music Library on a Mac
To disable iCloud Music Library on a Mac, follow these steps:
General Settings for Apple Music on a Mac
- On your Mac, launch the Music app and select Music from the top menu bar.
- Choose Preferences from the dropdown menu that appears.
- Go to the General tab now and uncheck the box next to Sync Library. You can re-enable it by checking the box again at any time.
- To save your changes, click OK.
How to Disable iCloud Music Library on a Windows Computer
Follow the steps below if you use iTunes to listen to music on a PC:
- On your Windows computer, launch the iTunes app.
- Select Preferences from the dropdown menu after clicking Edit in the menu bar.
- To disable the feature, uncheck the box next to iCloud Music Library. This option will not appear on your device if you do not have an Apple Music or iTunes Match subscription.
- To save your changes, click OK.
How to Make iCloud Music Library Available on iPhones
- On your iPhone, launch the Settings app.
- Select Music.
- Enable or Disable iCloud Music Library As you can see, Sync Library is enabled (green) by default.
- If it’s turned off, tap the switch to enable iCloud Music Library.
How to Make iCloud Music Library Available on iPads and iPods
- On your iPad or iPod, launch the Settings app.
- Select the Music option.
- As you can see, Sync Library is enabled (green) by default.
- If it is turned off, tap the switch to enable iCloud Music Library.
Steps to Make iCloud Music Library Available on Macs
The iCloud Music Library in iTunes is not enabled by default on Macs. If you want to enable it, simply follow these steps.
- Launch Apple Music on your Mac.
- Tap Edit, then Preferences from the menu bar at the top of your screen.
- Go to the General tab and select Sync Library to enable it.
How to Use iTunes to Enable iCloud Music Library on a Windows PC
The iCloud Music Library in iTunes is not enabled by default on Windows PCs, as it is on Macs. If you want to enable it, simply follow these steps.
- Launch the iTunes application on your Windows PC.
- Tap Edit, then Preferences from the menu bar at the top of your screen.
- Go to the General tab, then select and enable iCloud Music Library.
- Click OK to confirm.
Depending on the size of your music library, synchronization may take some time.
How Do I See if My Apple Watch Has an Activation Lock Enabled?
This appears to be related to the Autoplay button. Try the following from your Apple Music app, as mentioned in Add music to your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Android device’s queue to play next. To enable or disable Autoplay, tap the Autoplay button in the upper-right corner of your screen.
Are there any iCloud Music Library alternatives?
Sure, but not when it comes to Apple’s own services. If you want to sync music across multiple platforms, you should look into services like Spotify, Pandora, or Amazon Music.
What happens if the iCloud Music Library does not sync?
This issue could be unrelated to your device. Begin by checking Apple’s System Status page to ensure that there are no major iCloud service outages.
How do I deactivate iCloud Music Library without erasing my music?
The original source files or playlists will not be deleted if you disable iCloud Music Library. When you turn off music sync, the synced copies of your music will be removed from your devices. Aside from the exception mentioned above, there is no way to avoid deleting your synced music files.
Conclusion
Apple Music is a flawed music platform, and there are times when you just don’t want to keep everything in sync. As a result, the ability to disable the iCloud Music Library is greatly appreciated. Another option is to download Apple Music songs to your devices and listen to them whenever and wherever you want. It might be more convenient for you than syncing across devices. If you’re done for good, follow these steps to cancel Apple Music.
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