Can't Add Music to iPhone? Fixes Here! (Why & How) - Qiling  

How to Fix Can't Add Music to iPhone


When you are looking to add music to your iPhone from a computer, you may consider iTunes as the first option to try. Indeed, as the official tool from Apple, iTunes does help to sync files, including music, photos, videos, and more from a computer to an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. However, it may fail sometimes and you will encounter the issue "can't add music to iPhone."

Why does this happen and how to fix the issue? The reason why songs won't sync to your iPhone varies, and so do the fixes. To help you troubleshot the problem, there are the possible reasons and corresponding fixes:

Why Can't iTunes Add Music to Your iPhone

When songs don't sync from iTunes to your iPhone, there are the possible reasons:

Insufficient iPhone storage: Enough iPhone space is a necessity for music syncing or any other type of data transfer. It's no doubt that music won't be transferred to your iPhone if there is not enough storage on your iPhone to save the songs.

Outdated iTunes version: An old version of iTunes also has the potential to cause data transfer failure due to incompatibility or unexpected bugs.

The availability of music files: To add music to your iPhone, you should make sure you have selected the correct items or you have added these songs to your iTunes library.

In addition to the reasons above, some improper settings are also possbile reasons why iTunes can't add music to your iPhone. For example, if you have turned on iCloud Music Library or iTunes Match, you won't be able to transfer music to your iPhone using iTunes.

How to Fix Can't Add Music to iPhone

Since the potential causes are quite clear, now it is easy for you to fix the issue "songs won't sync to iPhone." There are the tips:

Tip 1. Check Your iPhone Storage

To check your iPhone storage:

Step 1. Go to the "Settings" app.

Step 2. Tap "General" and go to "iPhone Storage."

Step 3. Now you can see how much space is left for use.

If your iPhone space is insufficient, scroll down and see which category takes most of your iPhone storage. Then go to delete unused files to free up your iPhone storage.

Make sure the space left is larger than the total size of the songs you want to transfer. Afterward, go to iTunes > Summary > Music and add songs to your iPhone again.

Tip 2. Update iTunes

Actually, whenever you need to use iTunes, you should check whether there is a new update available. The latest version of iTunes always has the best compatibility and has solved some known bugs. Thus, if you have no idea about what's going wrong, you can update your iTune to have a try.

Step 1. Launch iTunes and click "Help" > "Check for Updates" from the menu bar.

Step 2. Follow the on-screen instructions to update your iTunes to the newest version.

Tip 3. Check Selected Songs

Some of you may forget to add the music to your iTunes library first, which will of course lead to music transfer failure. Thus, when you find "can't add music to iPhone," it's necessary to have a check of your iTunes library and see whether the songs you want to transfer are here. If not, follow the steps below to add music to iTunes first:

Step 1. Launch iTunes on your computer.

Step 2. Click "File" from the menu bar and choose "Add File to Library" or "Add Folder to Library."

Step 3. Select the music on your computer and then click "Open."

Step 4. Connect your iPhone to the computer and sync music from iTunes to your iPhone.

Tip 4. Turn Off iCloud Music Library/iTunes Match

With these features enabled on your iPhone, you can't add music to your iPhone using iTunes. Follow the steps below to check these settings:

To turn off iCloud Music Library:

Step 1. Go to Settings and scroll down to choose "Music."

Step 2. Toggle off "iCloud Music Library."

To disable iTunes Match on iTunes:

Step 1. Launch iTunes and click "Account" from the menu bar.

Step 2. Choose "View My Account" and enter your Apple ID password.

Step 3. Turn off "iTunes Match."

To turn off iTunes Match on your iPhone:

Step 1. Go to the Settings app.

Step 2. Tap "iTunes & App Store."

Step 3. Select your Apple ID.

Step 4. Click "Subscriptions" and then tap "iTunes Match."

Step 5. Tap "Cancel Subscription" and then click "Confirm."

How to Add Music to iPhone Without iTunes

iTunes is not the only workable way to add music to an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. If you can't transfer music from a computer to your iPhone using iTunes and the songs are stored on your computer, you can try the iPhone transfer software - Qiling MobiMover to put music on your iPhone.

In addition, you can also transfer photos, videos, books, contacts, and many other types of content from a computer, be it a Mac or PC, to your iDevice. It's not surprising that it also performs well to transfer files from an iDevice to a computer or between two iDevices. Thus, you can easily:

It is an unmissable tool for every iDevice user like you. Don't hesitate to give it a try.

To add music to iPhone without iTunes:

Step 1.Connect your iPhoneto your computer and run Qiling MobiMover. Afterward, go to "PC to Phone" > "Select Files".

Step 2.Select the music files you want to transfer to iPhone and click "Open" to continue.

Step 3. Theselected music files will be classified in Audios, check the box and click "Transfer" to start transfering music from PC to iPhone. When it has done, open the Music app on your iPhone to check these songs.

Moreover, Qiling MobiMover also serves the function of an iPhone backup tool, a WhatsApp manager, and a file converter. These features allow you to:

The Bottom Line

If you can't add music to your iPhone with iTunes, try the fixes first to solve the problem. If none of them works, don't worry. Apply the alternative way to transfer music to your iPhone from a computer. If you want more ways to add music to your device, go to the guide on how to transfer music to an iPhone without iTunes for reference.

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