How to Turn on Automatic Downloads for Songs in Apple Music - MacRumors
Skip to Content

How to Turn on Automatic Downloads for Songs in Apple Music

by

Normally when you add songs or albums from the Apple Music catalog to your library and then play them back, the tracks are streamed to your device or computer.

DG apple music
This avoids using up local storage, but it also has a major drawback –- the content becomes unavailable if you don't have an active internet or cellular connection.

Fortunately, you can avoid this situation altogether by enabling Automatic Downloads. With this option turned on, ‌Apple Music‌ content automatically downloads to your device or computer when you add it to your Library.

Enabling Automatic Downloads on iPhone and iPad

  1. Launch the Settings app on your iOS device.
  2. Tap Music in the apps list.
    automatic downloads in apple music ios

  3. Turn on the toggle switch next to Automatic Downloads.

Enabling Automatic Downloads on Your Computer

  1. Launch iTunes.
  2. On Mac, choose iTunes -> Preferences from the menu bar. On Windows, choose Edit -> Preferences from the iTunes window menu bar.
    macos mojave itunes preferences apple music automatic downloads

  3. Click the Downloads tab, and under Automatic Downloads, check the box next to Music.
  4. Click OK.

Note that you can download and access the same content on up to 10 devices for as long as your ‌Apple Music‌ subscription is active.

Popular Stories

apple music

Apple Music Is Down for Some Users

Monday April 20, 2026 12:18 pm PDT by
If Apple Music isn't working for you, you're not alone. According to Apple's System Status page, there's currently an Apple Music outage. Apple says that users may be experiencing intermittent issues with the service. The outage started at 2:38 p.m. Eastern Time, and it is ongoing. We'll update this article when the outage has been...
Apple Event Logo

Apple's Next Era Begins September 1

Thursday May 7, 2026 10:36 am PDT by
Apple recently announced that Tim Cook will be stepping down as CEO later this year, after 15 years of leading the company. Effective September 1, Apple's hardware engineering chief John Ternus will become the company's next CEO, while Cook will become executive chairman of Apple's board of directors. In his new role, Apple said Cook will assist with "certain aspects" of the company,...
Instagram Feature 2

PSA: Instagram Encrypted Messaging Ends on Friday, May 8

Tuesday May 5, 2026 8:24 am PDT by
Instagram will remove end-to-end encryption for direct messages between users from May 8, 2026. When the date comes around, Meta will potentially be able to see the contents of all messages between users on the social media platform. Encrypting messages has been an optional feature in Instagram since 2023, but in March of this year the social media platform quietly updated a help page to say ...