Can’t Add Songs To A Playlist On Apple Music? Here’s Why

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Are you stuck trying to add songs to a playlist on Apple Music?

You’re not alone! This is a problem that many people experience. It has even caused some users to cancel their subscription.

Honestly, I don’t blame them. It is really annoying not being able to fully enjoy your favorite playlists, especially when you’re paying a monthly subscription.

Luckily, in this article you’ll find several fixes to leave this issue in the past.

Below, you’ll find a list of the 6 most common reasons why you can’t add songs to a playlist on Apple Music.

  1. Apple Music needs to be restarted.
  2. Your songs are not synced.
  3. A bad Internet connection.
  4. Apple Music needs to be updated.
  5. A corrupted cache.
  6. Server downtime.

Read on to forget all about this issue!

#1 Apple Music Needs to Be Restarted

As simple as it seems, sometimes when Apple Music isn’t working at its best just needs to be restarted. Fully closing an app can solve an issue that it might’ve encountered while running a background process.

You can easily restart Apple Music by following these quick steps:

Android devices:

Please note that this process may vary depending on your phone’s model

  1. Swipe up from the bottom of your screen, hold until you see your background apps, and then release. 
  2. Swipe up on Apple Music.

Windows PC:

  1. Type “Task Manager” on the search bar at the bottom of your screen.
  2. Click on “iTunes”.
  3. Select “End task”.

iPhone:

  1. Go to the Home Screen, then swipe up from the bottom of the screen and pause in the middle of the screen (Please note that if you have an iPhone SE, 8 or earlier, you’ll need to double-click the home button).
  2. Once you can see all the apps you currently have open in the background, swipe up on Apple Music to close it.

Once you’ve completed the steps above, launch Apple Music again and try adding a song to your playlist. You can do this by following these simple steps:

  1. Tap on “Search” at the bottom of your screen and search for the song you want to add.
  2. Tap on the three dots icon next to the song title.
  3. Select “Add to a Playlist”.

#2 Your Songs Are Not Synced

Adding a song to your playlist while using your phone, but not being able to find it on your computer can easily trick you into thinking that the “Add to a Playlist” feature is not working.

But, sometimes this happens because your songs are not synced across all your devices.

Fortunately, this issue can be easily fixed by following these instructions:

For iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch:

  1. Go to Settings and select “Music”
  2. Turn on “Sync Library”

For Mac:

  1. Open Apple Music.
  2. Click on “Music” at the top of your screen, then select “preferences”.
  3. Go to the General tab.
  4. Select “Sync Library” to turn it on.
  5. Click “OK” to confirm the process.

For Windows PC:

  1. Launch iTunes and connect your phone to the computer.
  2. Click on the phone icon at the top of the screen and go to “Summary”.
  3. Check the “Manually manage videos and songs” box.
  4. Go to “Music” and check the “Sync Music” box.
  5. Click on “Apply” and then “Done” at the bottom of your screen.

Please note that if your playlist has many songs, it might take some time to upload them and sync them across all of your devices.

#3 A Bad Internet Connection

If you can’t add your favorite tracks to a playlist, your Internet connection might be to blame!

If your Wi-Fi signal is weak, you won’t be able to enjoy all the features Apple Music offers, such as searching for new songs and adding them to your playlists.

Sometimes detecting a bad Internet connection might be tricky, but don’t worry! I’m here to help.

If you’re at home, the first thing you might want to check is your Internet Speed. You can easily do this by entering www.speedtest.net and pressing “Go”.

If the results show that it is running slow, try restarting your modem and router. This quick action might solve the problem in minutes, you’ll just need to:

  1. Locate your modem and router.
  2. Unplug them and wait 30 seconds.
  3. Plug in the modem and wait one minute.
  4. Plug in the router. If your router has a power button, press it. Then, wait two minutes.
  5. Try adding songs to your playlist again to see if the issue went away.

If you’ve completed the steps above, and the issue persists, please make sure that your Internet plan is fast enough to meet the demand of your devices.

If you’re like me, you probably love using multiple devices while doing your favorite activity. For example, you may be streaming your favorite TV show on your computer, while using social media on your phone.

While this allows us to be connected and entertained all the time, it can also make our Internet connection run slow.

Remember, the more devices and streaming services you have, the faster your internet plan will have to be.

Tip: Multiply the number of people living in your home by 25 Mbps. This way, if you have a family of four, you’ll need an Internet plan of at least 100 Mbps.

After completing all the steps above, please make sure that your Wi-Fi password is secure enough, and if not, try changing. On several occasions, people may use your Wi-Fi network without your consent, which can cause a slow connection.

If you’re not at home, please make sure your cellular data is turned on and enabled for Apple Music.

Tip: Before doing this step, turn off your Wi-Fi. This will stop Apple Music from constantly switching from your cellular data to a public Wi-Fi network.

To enable your mobile data, you’ll just need to:

For Android:

  1. Open Apple Music.
  2. Tap on the three dots icon in the top-right corner of your screen.
  3. Select “Settings” and go to “Mobile Data”.
  4. Turn on “Use Mobile Data” at the top of your screen.

For iPhone:

  1. Go to Settings and tap on “Cellular”.
  2. Turn on “Cellular Data”
  3. Scroll down until you find “Music” and make sure this option is turned on.

Once you’ve completed the steps above, you should be able to add songs to your playlists, share them with friends, download them, and enjoy all the features Apple Music offers.

If the issue persists, keep reading to learn more about other ways to fix it.

#4 Apple Music Needs to Be Updated

Apple Music constantly releases new updates that fix bugs and glitches that might be causing performance issues.

If you’re like me, you may have been putting off updating Apple Music, which may be the reason why you can’t add songs to your playlist.

Please follow this quick guide to update your app:

For Android:

  1. Open Google Play Store.
  2. Tap on the profile icon located at the top right of your screen.
  3. Select “Manage apps & device”
  4. Tap on “Manage”, then search for Apple Music.
  5. Choose “Update”
  1. Open the App Store.
  2. Click “Updates” at the top of the screen.
  3. Press “Install”
  1. Open Microsoft Store. If you don’t see it in the taskbar, you can look for it in the search box located in the lower-left corner of your screen.
  2. Select More (3 dots icon)
  3. Press “Downloads and updates”
  4. Click on “Get Updates”
  1. Select “Microsoft Store” in the search box at the bottom of your screen.
  2. Go to the library in the lower-left corner of your screen.
  3. Click on “Get updates”
  4. Select “Update all” or choose iTunes Music.

If you have an iPhone, you’ll need to update your device. Apple Music includes its updates on the new iOS versions.

To check if there are any software updates you might have missed, you’ll just need to:

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Tap on “General”
  3. Select “Software Update”.

#5 A Corrupted Cache

If none of the fixes above have solved the issue, you might want to try clearing your cache.

If you’re wondering what’s Cache, I got you! Its meaning is far from obvious, but understanding it can make everything simpler.

Your cache is a storage location that collects temporary data of apps and browsers. Apple Music, for example, stores lyrics, images, fonts, videos, and much more.

Your cache avoids re-downloading this information every time you launch Apple Music, which can make it load faster.

While your cache has great advantages, if there’s a problem with a file stored in your cache, your app can display data incorrectly, glitch, and cause some performance issues.

Clearing your cache every once in a while may help you get rid of these. Please follow this quick guide to do it:

Windows PC or Mac:

  1. Click “Edit” at the top of your screen and select “Preferences” from the drop-down menu.
  2. Go to the “Advanced” tab.
  3. Select “Reset Cache”
  4. Click “Ok” to confirm.

For Android:

  1. Go to Settings
  2. Tap on “Apps”
  3. Choose “Installed applications”
  4. Find Apple Music
  5. Look for the “Storage” tab
  6. Press “Clear app cache”

Please note that the process to clear an app’s cache in Android may vary depending on the phone’s model you have.

iPhone, iPad or iPod:

  1. Go to Settings and select “Music”.
  2. Toggle off “Sync Library”
  3. Wait a couple of minutes and then turn “Sync Library” on again.

Once you’ve completed the steps above, please restart your device and try adding songs to your playlist again.

#6 Server Downtime

If nothing has helped so far, it’s time for us to look at the platform’s servers.

These may be experiencing downtime due to coding errors or an overload of traffic, which can cause some technical issues, such as not being able to add your favorite tracks to playlists.

To check if Apple Music servers are down:

  1. Open your preferred browser.
  2. Search for “Apple System Status”.
  3. Click on the first option. This will show the Apple system status for your country.

You’ll know if the servers are causing this annoying problem if the circle next to Apple Music is red or yellow.

Sadly, the platform’s IT department is the only one who can solve this.

But don’t worry. Server downtime usually lasts only a couple of hours.

Conclusion

Apple Music has great features, but not being able to add your favorite tracks to a playlist can be really annoying, especially when you’re paying a monthly subscription.

Luckily, solving most of the causes behind this issue is really simple.

More often than not, syncing your songs, checking your Internet connection, clearing your cache, or updating the app, should do the trick.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this article. If you found it helpful, please make sure to check our other related content below. Here, at Tech Detective, we’re passionate about bringing quick solutions to everyday problems.