When you state that you need a subscription to download your own music to a mobile device when iTunes/Music does that for free, that doesn’t make sense unless you like to spend money. Most problems on this thread appear related to iTunes Match which I’ve never used and I have no problems with syncing music to my phone. I use the Onkyo HF player instead of Music on the phone since it has real EQ and crossfade which Music does not and that is free unless you want to listen to Hi-Res tracks. I suppose if you want a streaming setup to do it all in your home, then Plex might be viable but I tend to view movies the “old-fashioned” way with a higher quality UHD/BD/DVD player. I don’t want to overcomplicate things in general.
This is not correct. It seems to be what Apple want you to do, but you can turn it off.
I have iTunes Match turned off, do not use Apple Music.
I use the iOS Music app to listen to my songs on my iPad and iPhone, selectively synced from my 17,000+ songs on a MacBook.
2 Likes
Looking at the whole post from the OP, he was looking at how to transfer/sync his own music to his iPad and wasn’t sure of the process. The Music app on iOS can do different things some of which require a payment but since his music wasn’t there yet, it seemed confusing I would imagine. He was using an older computer with High Sierra. But as long as you have a copy of iTunes that is a later version of at least 12.5, then you can sync to an iPad or iPhone. The last version is 12.9.5.5 that I’m aware of. Once it’s synced, then he can use the Music app on the iPad and never have to pay for anything or could use a third party player such as Onkyo HF Player as I do.
The Music app on MacOS can do the same but since he has an older system, that wouldn’t be available and is probably inferior to the older iTunes apps. I don’t use iTunes Match either since I have all of my own music from CD’s or digitized records/tapes. The reason I do not use the Music app on iOS is that the Onkyo HF has a real equalizer and crossfade, two main features that Music does not have unfortunately. Some third party apps have been known to use excessive battery power but the Onkyo one does not.
2 Likes
Yes. Apple split the multi-function iTunes app into multiple apps for macOS 10.15 (Catalina), with a few of the features having split-off earlier.
- Audio playback and the music store moved to the Music app. I think Music still manages music videos, but not other video content.
- Movies and the movie store moved to the Apple TV app
- Podcasts moved to the Podcasts app
- Books moved to the Books app
- iOS device management (including backup, restore and sync) moved to the Finder
- Home Sharing (to stream music within your LAN) was moved to macOS’s sharing services
- Apple Music radio streaming moved to the Music app. Internet radio was deleted
In other words, if your Mac is Mojave or older, you can use iTunes to perform all these functions.
On Catalina (and later, I assume), the individual split-off apps should be able to import their respective content from the iTunes database. It should happen automatically as a part of an OS upgrade (or migration from another Mac) and can also be done manually.
As I discussed previously, iTunes can still be used on Catalina and above by using the Retroactive app for installation. The original post only had to do with syncing music tracks. While the radio tuner was deleted in the Music app, you can still listen to internet radio if you know the url. The command is under the File menu, Open url. I have always saved a playlist of internet stations so you can let the Music app import the playlist and they’re ready to go.
Same here.
Just stay clear of iTunes Music, iTunes Match, and make sure to sync over USB or wifi (when that works, which is—unfortunately—only sometimes). You’ll need enough storage on your devices (or you’ll need to restrict syncing to certain playlists), but fortunately, that’s something money can buy, What it also gets you is peace of mind, unlike Apple’s butchering of your library once you let the camel’s nose into the tent (Match or their other ‘services’). Resist the temptation. Stay in control.
iOS Settings > Music > Show Apple Music → Off
No such setting on Monterey where annoyingly also all the Apple Music BS is at the top of playlist column. Just have to learn to ignore it. Never click on anything there.
Apple used to be about putting users in charge. Unfortunately, these days they allow their marketing creeps to readily push stuff in your face like 90s MS. I just got my 3rd notification about their arcade baloney (LOL, as if gaming wasn’t the one thing the whole world agreed Apple stinks) because I bought a new Mac a month ago. I don’t know what it takes for Apple to realize no means no. After the whole me too thing, you’d think even the corporate blow hards would have learned to take ‘no’ more seriously. It’s a super annoying trend, with no end in sight. Apple is far from alone of course, but where others always were like this, Apple stands out as the one company that went from “we don’t do that kind of BS” to “we can do it too and better”. Each time Tim talks about “services” what he means is forcing stuff down people’s throats against their will. And of course as much as users hate it, Wall Street loves it. We can hope that once Tim is sent out to pasture, this will change. But with stock market fixation on next quarter revenue increases and Apple’s executives willingly hostage to that sentiment (Stockholm syndrome anyone?), despite always trying to be optimistic about things, I wouldn’t hold my breath on this one.
Unfortunately, they left out the most vital function: app install and management. I could install/remove, update, organize home screens, etc. with iTunes on my iMac then sync the changes to my iDevices. Without, it is now a time consuming cumbersome process to do all that on each device individually. Apple needs to make an iOS Device Management MacOS application. Of course it is all moot for me anyway as I can’t go past MacOS 10.13.6 on my iMac.
1 Like
I agree completely. Unfortunately, Apple removed those features from iTunes long before the switch to separate apps (in iTunes 12.7, September 2017).
Which is why I never went beyond iTunes 12.6.5.3. But with iOS 14, the app management feature of that version no longer works, so I’m back to the slow and cumbersome process.
1 Like
I can still use iTunes 12.6.5 to install and remove apps and music from my iOS devices (iOS 14.8.1). I can also use iTunes to organize home screens.
I cannot purchase apps anymore with iTunes for Mac, but can using the Windows version of iTunes 12.6.5. I installed the Windows version using Wine.
And I cannot update iOS using this old version of iTunes so I have been using over-the-air updates.
Interesting. On my install of iTunes 12.6.5.3, not only is purchasing new apps disabled, I can’t even download updates to previously purchased apps so my app library shows I have 152 apps that need updating! Of course I’ve been doing the tedious & cumbersome app updates over WiFi, but the updates never register in iTunes, so I can remove & reinstall old apps only. I wonder if it is a limitation of MacOS 10.13.6? I can’t go past it without buying a new iMac.
I am limited to iOS 14.4.2 as I have a critical app that won’t work in 14.4.3 and later.
I am not able to update apps with the Mac version of iTunes – but the Windows version works fine. After updating using the Windows version, the Mac version sees the updates and offers to install them.
This is such a kludgey workaround that I don’t recommend it for anyone – I do it because I enjoy this kind of thing.
For most app updates I use iMazing. Download the app update once into the iMazing library and then install it on as many iOS devices as needed. iMazing is a worthwhile app and replacement for iTunes.
I agree about iMazing 2. The problem I have is the learning curve since they don’t have a PDF user guide, only online instructions that are not that user friendly. I may just have to save all of their guides, convert them into PDFs, then try to create an index or a table of contents. I should start with the app instructions.
1 Like