5 Fixes to Music not Showing on iPhone but Showing in iTunes

When you’re syncing iTunes music to iPhone, you may find music is not showing on iPhone but showing in iTunes. You may need this guide to get out of the issue and enjoy iTunes music on iPhone again.

Demi

By Demi / Updated on April 23, 2024

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My iTunes library not showing on my iPhone

My Apple Music songs and playlists aren’t appearing inside the Music app. Songs that I’ve purchased through iTunes continue to appear. I’ve tried turning iTunes Music Library off and on again but it hasn’t worked. I’ve also waited for it to do something but nothing has happened after a few hours. Can anyone help me?

- Question from Apple Community

If you subscribe to Apple Music or iTunes Match, you can transfer iTunes playlist to your iPhone so that you can enjoy the playlist wherever you go. However, now, you find that music shown in iTunes is not showing on iPhone, and you cannot find anything when you go to the Apple Music app.

Music Not Showing On iPhone

Why is music not showing up on iPhone but showing in iTunes? Well, it can result from many aspects, such as different Apple IDs in iTunes and iPhone, minor glitches, wrong settings, or even poor network condition.

The issue is not rare but can be fixed quickly. Just keep reading to fix the issue yourself using the solutions in this guide.

5 fixes to music not showing on iPhone but showing in iTunes

You can try the five solutions one after another to troubleshoot the music added in iTunes is not showing on iPhone issue. Alternatively, to save your time, you are offered a simpler way in the next part to import music from computer to iPhone without iTunes.

Check account used in iTunes and iPhone

The first thing you need to do is to check the Apple account you’re using in iTunes and iPhone. You need to make sure the account you sign in on your iPhone is the same as the one you used in iTunes, or the music you downloaded in iTunes will not be showing on iPhone. Just in case, follow the steps to have a check.

• On computer: Open iTunes > Click Account from the menu bar at the top of the screen.
• On iPhone: Open iTunes Store > Tap your Apple ID to have a check.

If it doesn’t matter with your Apple account, you can also try to sign out and in the Apple account on both computer and iPhone to refresh the services on both devices. 

Check network condition

Has your iPhone connected to a stable Wi-Fi network? Syncing iTunes music to iPhone requires all of your devices are connected to the Internet. Open a browse on both computer and iPhone to check whether the network works properly. You all try to restart the router to refresh the Internet connection.

Update iOS and iTunes to the latest version

There may be some software glitches in an outdated version of iOS or iTunes, which can result in iTunes music not showing on iPhone. You can update both iOS and iTunes to the latest version and try again.

Update iTunes: Open iTunes on your computer > Click Help from the menu bar > Tap Check for Updates. If there is a new version available, follow the onscreen instructions to update it.

iTunes Check For Updates

Update iOS: Go to the Settings app > Choose General > Tap Software Update to have a check.

iOS Software Update

Re-enable Apple Music & Sync Library

To fix music added in iTunes not showing on iPhone issue, it is workable and effective to re-enable Apple Music and iTunes Library Sync.

Here’s how to do it. Go to the Settings on your iPhone > Tap Music > Enable both the Show Apple Music and Sync Library option. If they are enabled, you can disable and re-enable them.

Sync Library

Restart both iPhone and computer

It is also suggested to restart your iPhone and computer to avoid system glitches that lead to downloaded music not showing on iPhone and refresh both devices.

• To restart computer: Go to Start > Select Power button > Select Restart.

• To restart iPhone: The operations differ from the model of the iPhone.
iPhone 8 and later: Press and quickly release the Volume - button > Perform the same operation on the Volume + button > Press the Side button and release when you see the Apple logo.
iPhone 7/7 Plus: Press both the Power button and Volume - button for seconds until the Apple logo appears.
iPhone 6s or earlier: Press both Power button and the Home button for seconds, and release both buttons when you see the Apple logo.

Hard Reset iPhone

An easier way to transfer music to iPhone without iTunes

Indeed, iTunes makes it convenient to manage media files across different devices. However, unexpected errors from iTunes may hold you back. Besides, one of the biggest demerits of the iTunes sync function is that it will remove the files in iCloud Music Library on your iPhone. 

If you are looking for a better solution to transfer music among iDevices and computer, here FoneTool is highly recommended. As a professional iOS data transfer tool, it supports you to transfer files from iPhone to iPhone, computer to iPhone, and vice versa.

What you can also benefit from FoneTool
•  Purchased & non-purchased music supported. Want to transfer CD to iPhone? FoneTool allows you to transfer music that downloaded from any source to iPhone.
•  No data loss. With FoneTool, you don’t need to worry about losing previous data on iPhone anymore. The transfer process doesn’t degrade the quality of files, either.
•  Preview and selective transfer. You can be free to browse and choose the files you want to transfer to iPhone.
•  Offline and fast transfer service. Without any influence of the network, FoneTool provides you with an offline and stable transfer service. It also promises a fast transfer speed.

Click the icon below to get the tool to your computer for free. Let’s transfer music from computer to iPhone in three steps.

Download FreewareWin 11/10/8.1/8/7
Secure Download

Step 1. Connect iPhone to computer with USB > Launch FoneTool and click Phone Transfer > Locate PC to iPhone and click Start Transfer.

Transfer To iPhone

Step 2. Click the folder icon to browse the music on your computer > Choose the wanted songs and click Open to confirm. Alternatively, you can also drag and drop the wanted music from computer to the box.

Choose Music

Warm tip: Where is iTunes music stored?
If you want to transfer iTunes music to iPhone using FoneTool, you can find it in C:\users\[username]\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Media.

Step 3. Make sure you’ve added all music you want to the box > Click Start Transfer to start importing music to iPhone.

Transfer

FoneTool supports you to transfer music from one Apple ID to another. Thus, if you want to share your iTunes music with your friends and family, you can also take advantage of the tool.

Conclusion

That’s all for the solutions to music not showing on iPhone but showing in iTunes. Hope you can get out of the frustrating trouble now. Actually, apart from iTunes, you can get better ways to manage media files among devices, FoneTool is one of the choices for you to transfer or backup iPhone music. If this guide helps you, please share it with others.