error message on Apple Music

I'm getting the following error message when trying to listen to songs on my iPhone under Apple Music:

"Cannot Decode. The media data could not be decoded. It may be damaged"

Posted on Jul 6, 2022 08:01 AM

Similar questions

Apple Music Error Message: Cannot decode. The media data could not be decoded. It may be damaged. I have an iPhone 11 and an iPad Pro. I keep getting this Apple Music error message on both devices recently: Cannot decode. The media data could not be decoded. It may be damaged. I deleted the song and re-add it to the library. Then the song can be played. However, the issue keeps occurring to other songs occasionally. This is really annoying. I'm getting tired of this and really hope it can be fixed for good. My subscription is active and the software is the latest version. I never download songs. The problem occurs no matter I use wifi or celluar. After I got the error message, I tried to play a same track on my iPhone and iPad. And it played successfully on my iPhone but not on my iPad. So the media data is definitely not damaged. Even though that song played on my iPad, but other songs on iPad may pop up the error message and tell me "it may be damaged". Please help, thanks.
459 1
Music error "cannot decode, data might be damaged” I have been getting the error message "cannot decode, data might be damaged” when listening to music on my iPhone X thru Apple Music. Its happened with 75+ songs so far over the past year. Its music that I own that I have copied from my personal music folder to iTunes and then transferred to my iPhone. I do not use Apple Music streaming service. I've listen to some songs several times on my iPhone and then out of nowhere I'll get the error message. I have to remove the song from my iPhone and then re-sync with iTunes. I have to manually skip the song in Apple Music to play the next song. Apple Music doesn't include the song in listening history so it can be nearly impossible to remember the songs which had an error. Any suggestions?
4514 4
Most Songs on Apple Music won’t play This happens to about 80% of the songs! Using my iPhone. I just subscribed. I have no content restrictions (some of the songs with the E play just fine). I have the latest software for everything. Restarting my phone doesn’t help. No error message comes up. The majority of songs just won’t play - flashes for a split second like it will play and then it just doesn’t.
267 1

2 replies

Jul 7, 2022 11:18 AM in response to dlk178

Hello dlk178,

Power cycle the iPad using these instructions: Restart your iPad - Apple Support While simple, this can refresh the iPadOS, apps and connections.

Does the message appear with every track, or only certain ones?

We suggest you try these steps:

Delete and re-download content

If the issue happens with content from the iTunes Store, delete and then redownload the apps and delete and then redownload music. Or, download the apps and download music directly to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

Delete and re-import content

If the content isn't from the iTunes Store, delete and then re-import it from the original source.

Have a good day.

dlk178 Author

Level 1

4 points

Jul 8, 2022 07:05 AM in response to srbwanderer

Thank you for your response. I was able to eliminate error messages by deleting Apple Music app and re-installing it.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

error message on Apple Music

Welcome to Apple Support Community

A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.

Learn more Sign up