Apple music, iPhones and hearing aids (or AirPods)

The story starts with a decision to give hearing aids (private) another go, as I wanted to get more out of using them, and my NHS ones were not hitting the spot completely – for instance I couldn’t stream music to them, so I wasn’t wearing them most of the time … and what could I be missing?!?!

That started a diversion into looking at why I couldn’t play some tracks from my Apple Music Library when I was in the garden!

Duh! Of course not … I’d switched off “Download when not on WiFi”. You can see how long it’s been since I’ve used headphones!

Then I noticed that I had duplicate entries in my Library on the iPhone. One, the download from a ripped CD, the other a download from Apple Music. That’s not what I want … surely??

Better ask Claude …

To transfer music from your Apple Music Library to your iPhone without duplicating entries or requiring downloads, follow these steps:

1. Connect your iPhone to your computer with a USB cable

2. Open iTunes (on Windows) or Finder (on Mac)

3. Select your iPhone when it appears in the sidebar

4. Go to the “Music” tab in the device settings

5. Check “Sync Music” and select “Selected playlists, artists, albums, and genres”

6. Choose exactly which music you want to transfer

7. Click “Apply” or “Sync” to transfer the selected music

This method ensures the music is physically transferred to your iPhone’s storage, so it will always be available offline without needing to download from Apple Music again. The synced tracks will appear as a single entry in your library rather than creating duplicates.

However, I ought to cleanup my iPhone first …

To clear all music from your iPhone before syncing your downloaded music from Apple Music, here’s what you need to do:

1. On your iPhone, go to Settings

2. Scroll down and tap on “General”

3. Tap on “iPhone Storage”

4. Scroll down and find “Music” in the apps list

5. Tap on “Music”

6. Tap “Edit” in the top-right corner (if available) or look for “Delete App” at the bottom

7. Choose “Delete App” (don’t worry, this only removes the music data, not the app itself)

8. Confirm the deletion

9. Reinstall the Music app from the App Store if needed

Alternatively, if you’re using a Mac or PC:

1. Connect your iPhone to your computer

2. Open Finder (Mac) or iTunes (Windows)

3. Select your iPhone when it appears

4. Go to the “Music” tab

5. Uncheck “Sync Music” and click “Apply”

6. This will remove all synced music from your iPhone

Once you’ve cleared the music, you can follow the syncing steps to transfer your downloaded music library without creating duplicates.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Thank you Claude. All sorted!