I haven't been able to figure out a way to delete certain music off my iPhone 5s. This must be a common problem because I've Googled it and found many suggestions but nothing works. Yesterday, out of desperation, I deleted my entire music library in iTunes on my iMac. Then I tried to Sync my library to my phone. It eliminated some, but not all. I even still have the (blankety-blank) U2 album that appeared on my phone one day uninvited! Can anyone give me a good suggestion for fixing my phone other than resetting everything? Thanks.
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Can't Delete Music on iPhone 5
- Thread starter Newmacer2
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I think I have an answer to my own question. I may be way off base, but I doubt it. I do believe Apple has made it difficult if not impossible to delete music on the iPhone, so that you will subscribe to their "Match" program at $24.99/year. With Match you manipulate your music choices easily. Apple is steadily becoming more unscrupulous everyday and moving away from my budget.
Thanks, but this just gets rid of some of the music. This is strange. There were three albums that I purchased from iTunes. Two are now gone and one remains. Also, the album I really want to delete is one I downloaded from a CD. It's still there. I really would like to get rid of this music, not just hide it as turning off "show all music" does. Is this not possible?
well my suggestion does just hide the songs not on the device but attached to the apple ID
to delete songs actually on the device just swipe them to the left
am I not understanding your issue?
It's probably me not understanding. Swiping doesn't delete them. It doesn't do anything. I'm in the "music" iTunes app where I play the songs. Should I be somewhere else?
Bummer. I just checked my iPad too and it's the same way. Can't delete anything. I guess I'm going to have to reset and erase all my data. That's troubling. Thanks for your help though.
I've had this stubborn issue too, and attribute it to either (1) iTunes purchases I made right from my iPhone or iPad or (2) where I accidentally tapped a cloud icon next to a purchased song that wasn't on my device.
Sometimes I can delete them with a swipe, but sometimes that doesn't work. If you connect your device to iTunes and look at your device's contents from iTunes, do these songs have a gray circle next to them, like they're waiting to download? You may have to restore to get rid of 'em. I had to manually delete all songs via iTunes first, save a backup, then restore to that backup to ensure the songs don't come back. Good luck!
Sometimes I can delete them with a swipe, but sometimes that doesn't work. If you connect your device to iTunes and look at your device's contents from iTunes, do these songs have a gray circle next to them, like they're waiting to download? You may have to restore to get rid of 'em. I had to manually delete all songs via iTunes first, save a backup, then restore to that backup to ensure the songs don't come back. Good luck!
Try going to: General, Usage, Manage Storage, Storage, Music. You will see the albums/songs that are on the device. You can delete them one by one in the next level.
Is that any different from deleting songs/albums/artists from within the Music app itself?
I have found that if I just delete from the app, when I plug in to iTunes, the title(s) is/are still there. Same for movies... the item(s) remain on the device... taking up memory... but are invisible. The way I outlined above seems to delete all traits.
Thank you for your post. Actually the stubborn music (the songs that won't go away) are from a CD I downloaded to my computer then iPhone and iPad. I managed to delete this music in iTunes on my iMac but they won't go away on my devices.
P.s.
What's even more strange is that when I downloaded this album (the one that won't go away), I also downloaded six or seven other albums from CDs at the same time. I deleted them with no problem. They're gone.
What's even more strange is that when I downloaded this album (the one that won't go away), I also downloaded six or seven other albums from CDs at the same time. I deleted them with no problem. They're gone.
Any more updates
I'm still unable to delete them. Anyone have any other ideas? It is the music I added from a CD that I can't delete.
I'm still unable to delete them. Anyone have any other ideas? It is the music I added from a CD that I can't delete.
as long as itunes match is off
you should be able to connect your iPhone to itunes
click on phone
maybe you have to show the side bar
to see music
click on the music tab on the phone section
uncheck sync music
and resync
that should delete everything on the iPhone
syncng is one way it goes from the library to the phone and not the other way around unless the music was purchased from the itunes store
you should be able to connect your iPhone to itunes
click on phone
maybe you have to show the side bar
to see music
click on the music tab on the phone section
uncheck sync music
and resync
that should delete everything on the iPhone
syncng is one way it goes from the library to the phone and not the other way around unless the music was purchased from the itunes store
No good
Thanks, but it didn't work. I still have the album on my phone (UGH!). By the way, when you say "as long as itunes match is off", I'm not sure what that means. I have not subscribed to itunes match. In "Settings/itunes & App Store", under "show all" I have music turned off.
I really want to get rid of it because I like to shuffle all my tunes when I'm listening to music and this awful album has several songs in it. So, I'm forced to listen to them unless I manually go to the next one.
Thanks so much for trying to help.
Thanks, but it didn't work. I still have the album on my phone (UGH!). By the way, when you say "as long as itunes match is off", I'm not sure what that means. I have not subscribed to itunes match. In "Settings/itunes & App Store", under "show all" I have music turned off.
I really want to get rid of it because I like to shuffle all my tunes when I'm listening to music and this awful album has several songs in it. So, I'm forced to listen to them unless I manually go to the next one.
Thanks so much for trying to help.
So...
...You're saying I can solve my problem and gain control of my phone again by paying Apple $25.00/year? Apple is getting more like Comcast everyday. I think I'll pass...just on the principle. I do appreciate your help though.
...You're saying I can solve my problem and gain control of my phone again by paying Apple $25.00/year? Apple is getting more like Comcast everyday. I think I'll pass...just on the principle. I do appreciate your help though.
Thank you. Now I know that I can delete songs or whole albums right from the phone. Neeto.
Not Me
My phone doesn't work that way. As I mentioned in a previous post, I cannot swipe left to right or right to left to delete songs or albums.
Thank you. Now I know that I can delete songs or whole albums right from the phone. Neeto.
My phone doesn't work that way. As I mentioned in a previous post, I cannot swipe left to right or right to left to delete songs or albums.
nononoonononnonono
i only meant to say that the #1 reason why you can't delete music on an iPhone, or you cannot sync your music collection to an iPhone is because you have itunes match and you are actually paying $25
if you are not paying $25 then their is something seriously wrong and you should take it to the genius bar or call applecare.
applecare phone support should be free for itunes related questions
if not tell them , " i want an exemption because i recently installed iOS 8"
what i am saying is that on a normal run of the mill iPhone, if it refuses to sync music or refuses to delete songs, it is because you are paying $25 subscription to itunes match
as long as itunes match is not subscribed to, you should of been able to delete any music you had on your phone and sync it
iPhone 6 appears to just hide the music when you delete it
iPhone 6+
MBP with Yosemite fully updated.
I was going to make a new post on this but found this one. I think my situation is related.
I don't:
- Have iTunes Match service
- Do not sync music (or anything else) between iTunes on the Mac and the iPhone. All my syncing options are disabled in iTunes.
The only reasons I physically connect the iPhone to the mac are:
- To transfer photos to iPhoto (now Photos app)
- To backup the iPhone locally on the Mac using iTunes
- To manually transfer files via drag and drop from the Mac to the iPhone using iTunes (mostly audiobooks in MP3, M4a and M4b format and videos in MP4, MOV and M4V format).
Yesterday I transferred an audiobook to the iPhone but there was something wrong with it (it did not remember the place where I have stopped listening). I decided that I had to check the playback options for the file on iTunes (remember playback position and skip when shuffling). As I had the file on the iTunes library on the Mac I just swiped left over the audiobook on the Music app on the phone and pressed Delete. When I connected the iPhone to iTunes I was surprised to find the file still under the Audiobooks section on the phone. When I tried to play the file from iTunes I got an error and the file was marked with a "!". I proceeded to restart the iPhone and to connect it again to the Mac to see if the file disappeared but it was still showing there. I deleted the file from iTunes and it did not show anymore.
This lead me to think that there is a bug somewhere. I don't know if it is an iTunes problem or an iPhone one, but there is definitely something going on.
Maybe deleting the audiobook file from Settings -> Usage -> Storage on the iphone could completely delete it from the phone, as named previously in this thread. I am not sure if the file is still on the iPhone when this happens, or if it is just an aftermath of the deleted file that is getting iTunes confused.
iPhone 6+
MBP with Yosemite fully updated.
I was going to make a new post on this but found this one. I think my situation is related.
I don't:
- Have iTunes Match service
- Do not sync music (or anything else) between iTunes on the Mac and the iPhone. All my syncing options are disabled in iTunes.
The only reasons I physically connect the iPhone to the mac are:
- To transfer photos to iPhoto (now Photos app)
- To backup the iPhone locally on the Mac using iTunes
- To manually transfer files via drag and drop from the Mac to the iPhone using iTunes (mostly audiobooks in MP3, M4a and M4b format and videos in MP4, MOV and M4V format).
Yesterday I transferred an audiobook to the iPhone but there was something wrong with it (it did not remember the place where I have stopped listening). I decided that I had to check the playback options for the file on iTunes (remember playback position and skip when shuffling). As I had the file on the iTunes library on the Mac I just swiped left over the audiobook on the Music app on the phone and pressed Delete. When I connected the iPhone to iTunes I was surprised to find the file still under the Audiobooks section on the phone. When I tried to play the file from iTunes I got an error and the file was marked with a "!". I proceeded to restart the iPhone and to connect it again to the Mac to see if the file disappeared but it was still showing there. I deleted the file from iTunes and it did not show anymore.
This lead me to think that there is a bug somewhere. I don't know if it is an iTunes problem or an iPhone one, but there is definitely something going on.
Maybe deleting the audiobook file from Settings -> Usage -> Storage on the iphone could completely delete it from the phone, as named previously in this thread. I am not sure if the file is still on the iPhone when this happens, or if it is just an aftermath of the deleted file that is getting iTunes confused.