iTunes not displaying recent playlists from old iPhone

I store my music library on a PC laptop and use iTunes rather than Apple Music. I have an old phone and a new phone. I've transferred my whole library to my new phone but want to transfer a playlist created on my old phone to my new one. When I connect my old phone to the PC, iTunes is not showing my most recently edited playlists, which means I can't export them to reimport onto my new phone. Any ideas?

Windows, Windows 10

Posted on Dec 7, 2025 3:24 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 7, 2025 6:48 PM

Turn OFF Sync Library / iCloud Music on the old iPhone (most common fix)

If iCloud Music Library is enabled on the iPhone:

➡ iTunes is blocked from showing or importing playlists created on the device.

On the old iPhone:

  1. Go to Settings → Music
  2. Turn OFF Sync Library (or iCloud Music Library)
  3. Restart the phone
  4. Reconnect to iTunes on the PC

Now iTunes will read the local playlists stored on the device.

1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 7, 2025 6:48 PM in response to GerardDunford

Turn OFF Sync Library / iCloud Music on the old iPhone (most common fix)

If iCloud Music Library is enabled on the iPhone:

➡ iTunes is blocked from showing or importing playlists created on the device.

On the old iPhone:

  1. Go to Settings → Music
  2. Turn OFF Sync Library (or iCloud Music Library)
  3. Restart the phone
  4. Reconnect to iTunes on the PC

Now iTunes will read the local playlists stored on the device.

iTunes not displaying recent playlists from old iPhone

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