Imagine trying to free up space on your iPhone, only to find Apple Music downloads refusing to budge. Frustrating, right? Many users complain they can’t delete downloaded songs or albums from Apple Music on their iPhones. Fortunately, there are several fixes to delete them. We’ve compiled a list of fixes to remove downloaded songs from Apple Music and reclaim storage space on your iPhone.
Table of Contents
Try Basic Fixes First
Apple Music shows the downloaded songs with a specific grey circl with a downward arrow icon. That icon next to a song name means is available for offline listening on your iPhone. And if you don’t see that icon, that means the song is just part of your Apple Music Library but not downloaded on your iPhone.
Let’s start with these simple solutions before we try more complicated ones to delete those downloaded songs fromApple Music.
1. Restart your iPhone: Restarting your iPhone ceases all stuck processes. This is the easiest way to fix and get things back to normal. So, try reboot your iPhone.
2. Software Update: A temporary glitch may prevent songs from adding to the Apple Music library. Make sure to update your iPhone to the latest iOS version. To update your iPhone, navigate to General in the Settings app and select Software Update. If an iOS update is available, update your iPhone. After that, try to delete the downloaded songs.
Also Read: Try out new animated album art for your favorite albums on Apple Music.
Delete Songs From Storage Using Settings
When the Apple Music app doesn’t let you delete those downloaded songs directly, you can use the Settings app to access the entire iPhone’s Storage. Some users on Reddit have found success with this method. Here’s a step-by-step guide for that.
1. Open the Settings app and select General. From there, tap on iPhone Storage.
2. Scroll down the list of apps and select Music. You’ll get a view of the downloaded songs that occupy some storage. To make changes, tap on Edit.
3. A delete icon will appear in front of All Songs and the Artists section in case you want to remove select songs only. Tap on the delete icon next to All Songs and choose Delete button to remove all the downloaded songs at once. You can also delete songs from specific artists in the same way.
4. To delete specific songs or albums, tap on the name of the artist whose music you want to remove.
Pro Tip: Discover a free way to listen to music together and enjoy shared experiences.
Delete Songs From Music in Settings
You can try deleting songs from the Settings app’s Music section. Several users vouched that it works when they couldn’t remove those downloaded songs from their iPhones.
1. In the Settings app, scroll down through the list and select Music. There, tap on Downloaded Music.
2. As mentioned in the previous method, tap on Edit to reveal a circle with a – icon. Then tap on the – icon and then on Delete to delete the Songs.
3. In addition, you have the option to remove individual songs or albums. Tap on the artist’s name to delete their music, as mentioned above.
Pro Tip:Â Apple Music shows a listen count for songs to let you know the one you play often.
Uninstall a Few Apps Before Removing the Songs
You can also attempt another solution by uninstalling some apps before deleting the downloaded songs. Several Apple Music users deleted some apps to make space on their iPhones and then tried to remove the downloaded songs from Apple Music.
Pro Tip: Add lyrics to your favorite songs in Apple Music to sing along and become a karaoke star.
Enable Optimize Storage for Apple Music
You can use the Optimize Storage option for Apple Music to automatically delete the downloaded songs whenever your iPhone runs low on storage space. This can be an effective way to keep the songs you listen to often and manage the space.
1. Navigate to Settings > Music, tap on Optimize Storage and enable the toggle next to Optimize Storage.
2. You have the option to choose 1GB or None. The latter will remove all downloaded songs from your iPhone.
Reinstall the Apple Music App
Another solution is to uninstall and reinstall the Apple Music app. Reinstall may fix app-related problems, like update or configuration errors and compatibility issues. It’s like giving the app a fresh start and can help troubleshoot this issue.
1. To uninstall the Apple Music app on iPhone, long-press the Apple Music icon and select Remove App. Then, tap Delete App.
Disable Screen Time
Screen Time on iPhone lets you keep track of the apps and services you use often and employ control on the same and other devices using the same Apple ID. Interestingly, few users on Apple Support Community mention that disabling Screen Time helps to delete the downloaded songs. If you have Screen Time enabled on your iPhone and want to disable it, here’s how you can do it.
1. Open the Settings app and select Screen Time. Then scroll to the bottom and tap on Turn Off App & Website Activity.
2. Finally, tap on Turn Off App & Website Activity to disable Screen Time. This will let you remove the downloaded songs from Apple Music.
Remove Installed Profile
Do you use iOS beta profiles (Developer/Public Beta) on your iPhone? Several Apple Support Community users suggest that a configuration profile on your iPhone might prevent those downloaded songs from getting deleted.
To check if your iPhone has an installed profile, go to Settings > General and you will find it listed below VPN & Device Management. Tap on it to get the delete button and hit it to remove the profile. It’s important to note that deleting a profile will also remove all the settings, apps, and data linked to it.
Note: You can invite your friends, colleagues, and other contacts with similar music taste to create collaborative playlists in Apple Music.
Disable Computer Syncing
Disabling syncing and removing downloaded songs can be a useful option for iPhone users who prefer to transfer music from their Mac or PC manually. You can also disable Computer Syncing to remove downloaded songs.
Reset Your iPhone
If previous methods didn’t work, the last option you can try is resetting all settings on your iPhone. Note that resetting all settings puts those options to the factory defaults. However, it doesn’t impact the data (contacts, messages, photos, videos, etc.) on your iPhone. Resetting your phone can be a great solution for fixing temporary glitches and refreshing system processes, which can help restore smooth functionality.
1. Open the Settings app, tap on General, and scroll down to the bottom to select Transfer or Reset iPhone. After that, select Reset.
2. To reset your iPhone, you will get five options. Select Reset All Settings and then enter your iPhone’s Passcode.
3. Finally, hit Reset All Settings.
After the reset finishes, you can set up your iPhone as new.
Downloads Not Needed
Downloaded songs help you beat the boredom when you don’t want to spend the expensive mobile data while you’re out on a trip or for a run. Hopefully, the solutions mentioned above will help you get rid of those downloaded songs and reclaim some storage space on your iPhone. Meanwhile, you can also explore the new features of Apple Music that arrive with iOS 17 and make the most out of it.
