Siri, My Music, and Apple Music Changes with Recent iOS Updates
I have 8249 songs in my iTunes library that I sync with an iPhone 12 and an iPad 8G. Every single one of those songs are mine, I ripped them from CDs into MP3s then converted over to AAC, or downloaded and did the same. I have never used Apple Music, I have absolutely no interest or need whatsoever in using Apple Music, whether it's a free trial or a paid subscription.
I have Apple CarPlay and use it all of the time for a number of things while I'm driving, most of which are safety and law related. One of my favorite things to do is to just hit the button on the steering wheel and tell Siri to play a specific song, album, playlist, etc. I've been doing it for years without issue. Well, it's not perfect, sometimes it will play the wrong song or a different version, or you have to rename an album in iTunes in order for Siri to pick it up. But all of those things are manageable.
After the big iOS 16 update, something happened where whenever I tried to play a specific song or album, Siri would say "you'll have to update your Apple Music subscription to do that". It would play playlists fine, but requests for specific songs, albums, etc. would get me that prompt. I eventually figured out that the update had toggled on Apple Music, when I toggled it back off, some but not all of those issues went away. At that time I called Apple and chatted with a rep who told me that this was a known issue that would be resolved in the next point release.
So along comes iOS 16.1, and things seem to be going backwards. Now without my permission I have been enrolled in a 7 day trial of Apple Music, with no option to turn off or opt out of that trial. Now when I ask Siri to play a specific song, I get the prompt "hope you're enjoying your Apple Music trial, this will work now but you'll need to update your subscription when the trial is over in order to do that". Do what? Get Siri to play one of my own songs? Come on.
If this is a ploy by Apple to force me to sign up for Apple Music, it won't work. I'll just create a BILLION playlists and work around it that way. It ***** because this is a key feature of Music that I have enjoyed in my car using Siri and CarPlay for years. And I can't for the life of me understand why Apple would be taking this away unless I sign up for Apple Music, because, again, I have my own music, I don't need Apple Music. I just need Siri to play my music. What am I missing here?
I guess that we will see what happens when my Apple Music trial is over. Is anyone else out there in a similar situation and can shed some light or recommendations on this situation?
Appreciate any input besides "get Apple Music" :)
