Can I manually transfer songs to my iPhone 16 Pro Max from PC?

Question

Can I manually transfer songs to my iPhone 16 Pro Max from PC?

I have a Windows 11 PC with the Apple Devices and Apple Music connected by USB-C to a iPhone 16 Pro Max 18.6.

I would like to copy specific songs from the music library on my PC to my iPhone. I do not want to "sync" all of or sections of my library. On iTunes this used to be possible by selecting "manually manage music" and dragging songs from the library to the device.

On Apple Devices I have selected "Manually manage music, movies, and TV shows". I do not have "Sync music onto Device" checked.

Though Apple Devices can see my phone and perform backups, my iPhone does not appear at all in the Apple Music app.

How do I select a specific song and copy it to my iPhone?

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: manually managing music in 2025

Posted on Aug 17, 2025 04:55 PM

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Answer 1

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turingtest2

Level 10

277,723 points

Aug 18, 2025 09:30 AM in response to MerrilyMundane

Reading between the lines at Apple Devices User Guide for Windows - Apple Support it doesn't appear that manual management is supported. Either you create a specific playlist, add content to that, and then sync that playlist, or you revert to iTunes by uninstalling whichever of Apple Music, Apple Devices and Apple TV have been installed so that iTunes functions correctly again, rather than being limited to audiobooks and podcasts.

tt2

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Answer 2

Aug 17, 2025 07:53 PM in response to MerrilyMundane

Thank you for the help

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