Finding the answer to ‘Does Apple Music work offline?’ is simple, and the following sections explain why it is so. In addition, here, you will also learn about some tweaks, workarounds, and tactics to seamlessly transfer the songs from your PC to Android or iOS devices.
Quick Answer: The good news is, yes, Apple Music does work offline. However, you must subscribe to Apple Music to get this to work.
How to Listen to Apple Music Without Data?
You must download your favorite tracks on your smartphone or Windows or Mac computer to listen to Apple Music without data. The demerit of this approach is that all the songs you download from Apple Music remain within the Music app, and you cannot listen to them on any other media player.
Nevertheless, for your convenience, methods to download Apple Music on your smartphone/smart device and computer are given below:
Method 1: Download and Listen to Apple Music on iPhone, iPad, or Android Offline
For this solution, you must have the Music app on your device. If you use an iPhone or iPad, you are in luck as the program is pre-installed in these gears. On the other hand, if you are an Android user, you must download the application from the Play Store and sign in to your Apple account having the Apple Music subscription.
Once you are all set, the following step-by-step instructions explain how you can play Apple Music offline on your smart device:
Step 1: Search the Song or Playlist
Launch the Apple Music app on your smart device, tap the Search icon from the bottom-right corner, ensure that you are on the Apple Music tab, and use the input field at the top to search for artists or songs you want to listen to in an offline mode. From the result suggestions list, tap the name of the song or artist.
Step 2: Add Songs or Playlists to Your Library
Tap the More Options icon (with three dots) from the top-right corner, and tap Add to Library from the menu that appears. In the case of one track, tap the More Options icon from the right of the song’s name and tap Add to Library.
From the bottom of the next screen, tap Sync Library to allow the added song or playlist to become available across all devices using the same Apple ID.
Step 3: Download Apple Music for Offline Listening
Tap the Library icon from the bottom of the screen, and tap the song or playlist from the Recently Added section.
On the next screen, tap the Download icon from the top-right area to save the song on your device.
To confirm if the track is available offline, turn off your mobile data or disconnect it from the Wi-Fi, go to the Library screen, tap any of the songs you downloaded, and try playing it in offline mode.
Method 2: Download and Listen to Apple Music on Windows and Mac Offline
This section covers the methods to download Apple Music on both Windows and Mac computers.
For Windows
Because the Windows version of Apple Music is still in Preview mode and has some glitches, you can use iTunes instead. The method is given below:
Note: A Windows 11 computer is used here for reference.
Step 1: Sign In to iTunes with Apple ID
Download and install the latest version of iTunes from here.
Once done, launch the program, go to the Account menu from the menu bar at the top, and click Sign In.
On the Sign In to the iTunes Store box, enter your Apple ID and password and click Sign In. Follow the on-screen instructions from there to complete the verification process.
Return to the Account menu, go to Authorizations, and click Authorize This Computer. Enter your Apple ID and password again on the Authorize This Computer box and click Authorize to allow your computer to use iTunes to access Apple Music and other services the company offers.
Step 2: Search and Add Songs to the Library
Click inside the Search field at the top-right corner, ensure that the All Apple Music tab is selected, and search for the name of the artist or song you want to save for offline use.
On the results screen, hover the mouse over the song name, click the More Options icon from the right, and click Add to Library.
Step 3: Download Songs for Offline Listening
Go to the Library tab on iTunes, locate the song you added, and click the Download icon from the bottom-right area of its thumbnail to save the media file on your local storage.
For Mac
As explained earlier, macOS already has the Music app, and the process to sign into your Apple account and authorize your Mac computer is identical to what you learned while configuring iTunes. Nevertheless, for your convenience, the method is briefly explained below:
- Launch the Music app on your Mac computer
- Go to the Account menu from the top
- Sign in to your Apple ID and authorize the computer normally
- Use the Search input field at the top of the navigation bar on the left to find the artist or song you want to download for offline listening
- From the right window, click the More Options icon (with three dots) from the bottom-right corner of the song’s title
- Click Add It to Library
- Once added, hover the mouse over the song
- Click the Download icon from the bottom-right area of the tile
To listen to the downloaded song in offline mode, disconnect your Mac from the Internet, launch the Music app, select the Songs container from the Library section on the left, click the song, and hit the Play button at the top.
For How Long Can I Use Apple Music without the Internet?
When you download a song from Apple Music, it remains there for the next 30 days, after which you must connect your device to the Internet at least once to continue listening to it without data.
If you fail to connect your PC or smart device to the Internet by the end of the 30th day, all downloaded songs are automatically erased from your device.
The relaxation here is that after connecting to the Internet once, you can again go back to the offline mode and enjoy the tracks for another 30 days.
However, during this tenure, if your Apple Music trial period expires or crosses the renewal threshold without payment, all your songs are removed from all the devices using the same Apple ID.
How Many Songs Can You Download and Listen to on Apple Music Offline?
At the time of this writing, Apple has not set any song limit for downloading. With this, you can download as many songs as the space on your device allows.
How to Play Apple Music Offline Forever Without Subscription
You cannot do this by following the process Apple suggests. However, there is a workaround where you can use any efficient third-party application to download your favorite tracks directly from Apple Music, convert them to your preferred format, and store them on all your devices forever.
One of the popular programs that has gained quite a reputation in recent years is HitPaw Video Converter. Although the name says that the tool converts videos to various formats, its Toolbox section has several built-in tools to do most of your post-production tasks.
The best part is that HitPaw has a dedicated feature for Apple Music (We usually call it HitPaw Apple Music Converter) to help you download songs from the portal and convert them to MP3, WAV, or any other format.
This section explains the process of using HitPaw Video Converter to fetch songs from Apple Music and transfer them to your Android or iOS device.
Convert Apple Music to MP3
The procedure becomes simple with HitPaw, and the instructions are given below:
Step 1: Initialize Apple Music Converter
Download and install HitPaw Video Converter, launch the program, go to the Toolbox tab from the top, and click the Apple Music Converter tile.
Step 2: Add Songs to the Download Queue
On the Apple Music Converter box, click Sign In from the upper-right area, enter your Apple ID and password, and complete other formalities to verify your identity and establish trust.
Next, use the Search field from the top of the left pane to search for the artist or song you want to download.
Click the song from the right window, and click Download from the top-right corner of the playlist screen.
Step 3: Download and Convert Apple Music to MP3
Go to the Converting tab from the top. Leaving the boxes for the songs you want to download checked, uncheck the remaining ones. Choose MP3 from the Convert all to list at the bottom-left, pick an output quality from the Bitrate menu, and define a destination folder in the Save to field.
Click Convert All to download and convert Apple Music to MP3.
Transfer and Play Converted Apple Music to Android
With the open-source operating system, Android devices are easy to use, and you can transfer all types of files directly to them using a USB cable or wirelessly through Bluetooth. If you have a Wi-Fi router, AirDroid is one of the most popular apps among Android users for quick transfers.
For simplicity, instructions on how to transfer songs to Android using Bluetooth are given below:
- Pair your Android phone with your PC using the regular method
- On the computer, right-click the Bluetooth icon from the System Tray (Notification Area) at the bottom-right corner
- Click Send a File from the context menu
- On the Bluetooth File Transfer box, click to select the Android phone
- Click Next from the bottom-right corner
- On the next screen, click Browse and choose and add the downloaded Apple tracks
- Click Next
- Follow the prompts on your Android phone to receive the songs
- Wait while the PC transfers the files to the phone
- Click Finish on the Bluetooth File Transfer box
- Access the Apple Music from the Files app on your Android smart device
Sync and Play Converted Apple Music to iPhone/iPad
iOS devices are complex compared to Android. Therefore, you need dedicated programs to transfer songs from your PC to them. The most intuitive tool, which is also free, is 3uTools. However, the downside of using this app is that it is available only for Windows computers. For Mac computers, you can use AirDrop, which works seamlessly across all Apple devices.
The process to transfer converted Apple Music to iPhone/iPad using 3uTools is given below:
- Download and install 3uTools on your Windows PC
- Use the URL shared in one of the previous sections to download and install iTunes as well
- Lunch 3uTools
- Use the original Lightning Cable to connect your smart device to the computer
- Tap Trust on your iPhone/iPad to allow it to communicate with Windows
- On the 3uTools interface, click the Music container from the navigation pane on the left
- From the top of the right window, click Import
- Click Select a File or Select a Folder to transfer individual songs or the entire folder to your iPhone/iPad respectively
- Use the Import Music box to select and import the converted Apple Music files to 3uTools
- Wait while 3uTools imports the tracks to your device
- Click OK when the transfer completes
- Disconnect your device from the PC and the Internet
- Launch the Music app
- Go to the Library screen
- Tap the Songs container
- Access the transferred Apple songs from the Songs window in offline mode
FAQs About Apple Music Offline
Can Apple Music play offline forever?
Unfortunately, no. Even if you have an Apple Music subscription and downloaded songs to the library, you must connect your device to the Internet at least once every 30 days to keep the songs locally. If you fail to do so, all the downloaded songs will be automatically removed from your iPhone/iPad by the end of the 30th day, as the Music app cannot connect to Apple servers for subscription validation.
Does Apple Music work offline without data?
It’s a confusing question. To listen to your favorite songs on Apple Music without data, they must be present on your device in the first place, and for that, you need the Internet.
To simplify, you must first connect your device to the Internet, download songs from Apple Music using any of the methods given below, and disconnect from the Internet. With this, you can listen to the downloaded songs without data for the next 30 days. Before or by the end of the 30th day, you must reconnect your device to the Internet at least once to renew the tenure and enjoy the music for another 30 days.
Is using HitPaw to download songs from Apple Music and keeping them forever legal?
You won’t get into trouble if you don’t use those tracks for commercial gains. Staying offline and listening to your favorite songs in peace isn’t a crime. Is it?
Conclusion
If you ask does Apple Music plays offline, the answer would be yes, it can, but only if the Music app has some tracks in the library. While you can transfer songs from your PC to iPhone/iPad using third-party programs like 3uTools, obtaining them from Apple Music through an app like HitPaw allows you to keep those items forever without even connecting to the Internet again. Given that, if you ask does Apple Music works offline, the answer is still yes. It does.
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