iTunes will not sync old iTunes music library to new iPhone.

Question

Level 1

8 points

iTunes will not sync old iTunes music library to new iPhone.

Hi Apple Community,

I have an external disc containing my old iTunes music library (perhaps 5 or 8 years since adding new albums), which I recently have transferred onto my laptop iTunes. However, when connecting a new 16E phone and wanting to sync the library, it returns that I cannot do this without an Apple Music subscription.

Is this correct? I have to pay to listen to music that I already paid for. I have no interest in streaming music from Apple, I want acces to my music library and stream to my stereo.

Regards,

Per

iPhone 16e

Posted on Aug 18, 2025 11:24 PM

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Answer 1

Aug 20, 2025 06:36 AM in response to Per Svensson

The cloud-based Sync Library feature requires an Apple Music or iTunes Match subscription. However, if you want to synchronize music manually, over a cable, you can do that with iTunes (High Sierra, Mojave) or with Music + Finder (Catalina and later). That does not require a subscription.

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Answer 2

Aug 20, 2025 07:14 AM in response to Per Svensson

From the phone’s Technical Specifications:

Syncing to a Mac or PC requires:

macOS Catalina 10.15 or later using the Finder
macOS High Sierra 10.13 through macOS Mojave 10.14.6 using iTunes 12.8 or later
Windows 10 or later using iTunes 12.12.10 or later

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Answer 3

Per Svensson Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 20, 2025 10:24 PM in response to Servant of Cats

Thanks for the explanation. I’ll have a go at the manual/cable option.

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