My large iCloud movie library hasn't loaded on my Apple devices (MacOS, iOS, tvOS, iPadOS) since the Apple TV app was released.

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My large iCloud movie library hasn't loaded on my Apple devices (MacOS, iOS, tvOS, iPadOS) since the Apple TV app was released.

I've created multiple tickets. Some of which have been escalated to engineering but I have never had any help fixing the problem. I've noticed that on non-native Apple TV apps (like the Apple TV for Samsung Smart TVs or Roku) my very large movie and tv library shows up. Also, when family members on my iCloud family try switch to view my library, they can sometimes eventually (after hours of spinning) view my library. But that is only temporary and goes away when they switch back to their own library or close the app. It is very frustrating because I've invested so much money in Apples iTune Store content and, although I can still watch what I've purchased if I search directly for it, I can't browse through my collection or create playlist and its not a very good experience.

This started happening when Catalina was released and iTunes was replaced by the Music App and the Apple TV app. It seems like it just times out so it doesn't wait for the library to load. And, as I stated in the title, it's not just on MacOS. It happens on every Apple device. iOS, iPadOS, MacOS, tVOS. I always keep them all updated to the latest versions and I even pay for the developer licenses so that I can try out the betas to see if it gets fixed. This is been happening for years.

MacBook Air 13″

Posted on Sep 15, 2023 12:23 PM

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Answer 1

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Kerry Holley Author

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18 points

Dec 12, 2023 03:52 PM in response to adepaolo

Thanks so much for letting me know others have the same issue. I have 2500+ movies and 24,000+ unique TV shows.

I do have some positive news. It seems to be working (not perfectly) with the latest versions... my TV library is now showing up in Sonoma 14.2, iOS 17.2 and iPad 17.2. (I haven't installed tvOS 17.2 yet. I'll try that next.)

For MacOS I had to turn off syncing in Music app and sign out of my iCloud Account (in Music or TV). Then I closed and reopened both Music and TV, signed back into my iCloud ID and turn iCloud Syncing back on in Music. Then I kept both apps open for a while. My whole TV library showed up and is still there!

What's not working great so far is that if I go to view my Account in TV, it gets stuck and I have to close TV app to get out of that experience. And if I purchases something new it takes a while to show up. (Also in Music, adding a song to a playlist takes forever.)

Keeping my fingers crossed that this is not just a temporary resolution. I hope this work for you too.

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Answer 2

Kerry Holley Author

Level 1

18 points

Dec 13, 2023 01:45 PM in response to adepaolo

Yes. That's right. My library on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV (device) has been blank/empty for years. It's been so frustrating. I spent hours on the phone with support. Eventually (seems like 2 years ago now) one of my tickets got sent to engineering and there was a response that it is a bug and would be fixed in some future release. I even tried emailing Tim Cook and Eddy Cue referencing the thousands and thousands of dollars I spent on content that I can't see. I did not get a response. So, the 14.2 and 17.2 upgrades are a breakthrough. I did also install 17.2 tvOS and my library also now showed up on the AppleTV device too. It does take a while, I would have the apps up at least 30 mins for the first time it shows up. After that, it doesn't take long.

Only reason I'm still skeptical is that, like I mentioned above, its not perfect (there are still some quirks with my large library) and that many years ago they also fixed it with one of the updates but then it went away on a later update. So I'm hoping this is a permanent fix.

Keep asking questions if you need. I'll be happy to let you know what worked for me.

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Answer 3

Kerry Holley Author

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18 points

Dec 13, 2023 03:19 PM in response to adepaolo

Sorry for the confusion but I probably need to clarify a couple of things. Hopefully this will help. 14.2 is the latest MacOS version for Sonoma. I wish they all had the same numbers but because Apple called the MacOS versions OS X (Ten) for so long, they are not in sync. So the latest MacOS version (14.2) and the latest iOS, iPadOS, tvOS version (17.2) are all working for me and their various devices. I don't even remember the version that fixed it years ago and then it was 'unfixed' but the latest Mac update (14.2) works for me as well as the latest 17.2 releases on the non-Mac devices.

I may not fully understand your situation but if you have purchased all of your content from Apple iTunes, then you will never lose it. It will always be available in the cloud. The problem was that our libraries are so large that there was some sort of timeout that happened when it tried to sync with the cloud to show our full library. Since there are probably not many people that have as large a collection as we do, I don't think Apple was hearing a lot of noise about our problem and they didn't prioritize fixing it. However, I never worried about losing my purchases. I always knew I could play them. I just couldn't browse through my collection to find something I owned and because I own so much I often just forgot about the content I could enjoy.

So, if I'm understanding your situation correctly, and you don't see your library on your current versions, then I don't see a risk in upgrading. Either you will start to see your library on the new version or you wont. But you still will be able to play your purchased content.

I hope this makes sense. Again, I may not completely understand your situation.

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Answer 4

Kerry Holley Author

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18 points

Dec 15, 2023 08:09 AM in response to adepaolo

Wow. I'm very sorry if I led you down the wrong path. I didn't know you could actually see your library on your current version. I couldn't see my library so I had nothing to lose by upgrading. I'll suggest trying a few things if you are interested:

Sign out of your Apple TV ID and sign back in. It may take a while to refresh the library.
In Settings - iCloud toggle off Music (in Apps using iCloud) - I still think the Music sync and TV sync run off of the same setting. Give it time to remove your iCloud Music library (if you have stuff in there) and then toggle it back on. This will start to reload your iCloud Music (and at times TV) library.
Lastly, you may just need to wait a day and see if it shows up. It might just take a very long time.

Again, very sorry if my suggestion caused you to have a worse experience.

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Answer 5

adepaolo

Level 1

12 points

Dec 15, 2023 07:54 AM in response to adepaolo

Welp, experiment failed.

For now…hopefully it changes.

I took the leap and upgraded my iPhone XR to iOS 17.2 and the iTunes Store app now no longer lets me see anything in the Movies or TV Shows tabs.

And as for the TV App, there is now a line for Purchases I can tap, and it tries for several minutes minimum to load my library before failing and saying to try again later - I tried restarting the app as well as coming off wifi and doing LTE instead.

Really depressed. I wrongly thought Apple was better than this. What a way to treat large library customers.

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Answer 6

adepaolo

Level 1

12 points

Dec 12, 2023 12:54 AM in response to Kerry Holley

+1 you are not alone. Just wanted to say that.

This library bug has plagued me for years and is Terrifying.

I’m at 5,500+ movies and also 500+ unique tv shows.

I am on my umpteenth support case to Apple and they always go stale with no resolution.

I’m so scared all my purchases will just vanish since the Library in the TV app does absolutely nothing for me in iOS or iPadOS or MacOS.

I wish I could do something in light of Apple’s inaction to fix the bug for me. I am on 17.1.1, for example, on my iPhone. No library still.

My only consistent hope has been successfully using the iTunes movies and tv shows apps and even then, only on the Apple TV box.

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Answer 7

adepaolo

Level 1

12 points

Dec 12, 2023 09:44 PM in response to Kerry Holley

I am far too scared to ‘upgrade’ to 17.2…

So, your TV library is now showing up ok iPad and iPhone, however, did it for years also never show up at all priory to 17.2? That’s the situation for me, so I am not that keen on trusting Apple considering their indifference on fixing this issue.

I am so grateful for your shared experience and tips. I am hoping my open (and escalated) support case finally yields something for once but I doubt it.

I’ve also been advised to log out and back in again. No change, although perhaps leaving the app open may help. I’ve done that for hours before but maybe longer is needed.

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Answer 8

adepaolo

Level 1

12 points

Dec 13, 2023 03:01 PM in response to Kerry Holley

Thank you, I greatly appreciate the clarifications!

I hadn’t properly realized that the bug Was fixed, but only temporarily, with 14.2.

…Just to draw a quick analogy: Siri, with respect to controlling HomeKit on Apple HomePods, had been a disaster for sometime. A subsequent update to the HomePods, literally bricked both of my original HomePods.

I imagine that your reaction to 14.2 and your TV library being lost again, was similar to my reaction with the HomePods…

Automatic updates? Never again!

I can’t imagine what possessed you to take a chance on 17.2, but it is very, very encouraging to hear your experience and also that it’s been a relatively positive one so far.

You have tried all of the same troubleshooting that I have, and, even more.

(It is so disheartening to hear that Apple ignored you even at higher channels.)

I am right there with you with being frustrated about dropping thousands and thousands of dollars into Apple versus some other content hosting company like Amazon, etc..

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Answer 9

adepaolo

Level 1

12 points

Dec 13, 2023 06:25 PM in response to Kerry Holley

I see, thank you for the clarifications. I have a couple things going on, that make my problem a bit more unique it seems.

I have a Mid-2011 iMac that is out of support and thus cannot upgrade to Sonoma. So sometimes I wonder if my ancient machine is creating synchronization issues with my iTunes account on the back end. Who knows

my other issue, and I imagine you have seen this with your movies too (it seems it is not as big of a problem with TV shows at all, just movies) is that often times through either simple greed, an iTunes Extra being added, a dubbed/subtitle version being released/an anniversary re-release …

Through some reason or another studios will, at some point, especially Disney, Shout! and Miramax, decide to make the version of the movie I bought, become obsolete and no longer searchable on the main store. The only way I can play my purchased version is with the iTunes Movies app specifically on the Apple TV.

Then, I have to go to Purchases, All Movies, and scroll eight hours until I see the movie… This is the only way to find the film because if I go use the normal Search function, only the newer version of the movie will appear in the Store, and not my original purchase.

this is why I am nervous for upgrading, because even though yes, a majority of my movies show up just fine in the Apple TV App Store Search function (one movie at a time), there are literally hundreds of my (originally purchased) movies that have been removed from the store… And my version is now out of date and can’t be retrieved using normal search.

A Bronx Tale, for example. And about 500? others.

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My large iCloud movie library hasn't loaded on my Apple devices (MacOS, iOS, tvOS, iPadOS) since the Apple TV app was released.

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