How to Fix Music Disappeared from iPhone after iOS 18/17 Update
by Jenefey Aaron Updated on 2024-09-19 / Update for iOS 12
"After the upgrade I went into the music app and the library was empty. On further investigation I discovered that iTunes was reporting my Other storage at around 22GB. So, it would appear that the music is still there taking up a ton of space, but the Music app has lost track of all of it."
iOS 17 update brings tons of new features to your iPads and iPhones. With these new features, you can now do more tasks on your device with greater efficiency.
While the update has been good for many users, some users complain iPhone update lost music. The music tracks on these users' iPhones have suddenly disappeared. If you're one of them, check some ways available to fix music disappeared after iOS 18/17 update here.
- Part 1. Basic Fixes to iPhone Update Lost Music
- Part 2. How to Recover Lost Music from iPhone/iPad after iOS Update
Part 1. Basic Fixes to iPhone Update Lost Music
The first few methods here are very basic ones but they do work and you should follow them before you jump onto more complicated methods down below.
1. Make sure Show Apple Music on iPhone/iPad is Turned On
The first thing you need to verify on your iOS device is if the Apple Music service is enabled. If it is not, you may not see all of your music tracks on your device. It's pretty easy to turn on the Apple Music service on an iOS device and the following is how you do it.
Launch the Settings app on your iOS device and head to Music and enable the option that reads Show Apple Music. Wait for some time and your music tracks will become available on your device.
That's how you bring back the iPhone update deleted music tracks on your device.
2. Restart/Force Restart Your iPhone
Sometimes your iPhone requires to be hard or force restarted and this trick works to fix a number of issues on iPhones. The following is how you can force restart your iPhone.
iPhone 6s or below: Press 'Home' and 'Sleep/Wake' buttons simultaneously until apple logo does not get displayed.
iPhone 7/7 Plus: Hold 'Sleep/Wake' and 'Volume Down' button together until the Apple logo appears which will indicate that your iPhone has gone a restart mode.
iPhone 8/X/XS/XR/11/12/13/14: Press and release the 'Volume Up' button quickly. Do the same with 'Volume Down' button. Hold power button until Apple logo does not appear on the screen.
Open the Music app and see if your music tracks are now available.
3. Check If Lost music takes up Space on iPhone
Sometimes the music files may have just hidden themselves but they still do exist on your iPhone and all you have to do is find them. Unfortunately there's no direct way you can find such hidden music files on your device. However, iTunes will let you find those items and the following is how.
Connect your iPhone to your computer and launch the iTunes app. Click on your device and see if the "Other" media is occupying any memory space, especially the same amount of memory space as your music files. If it is, click on Back Up Now in the app and it will backup your iPhone. Then, click on Restore iPhone to restore the backup and your music files will become available on your device.
Part 2. How to Recover Lost Apple Music from iPhone/iPad after iOS Update
If the above methods didn't work for you, you may want to give a try to the below methods that will help you recover the music files on your iOS device.
1. Redownload Music on iPhone
If your music files are stored elsewhere and they are just not present on your device, you can simply re-download them on your iPhone or iPad. An app like iTunes will let you do that. Add all of your music tracks to iTunes and sync your iPhone with it.
2. Recover Disappeared Music on iPhone without Backup?
If you don't have a backup of your iPhone already and still wish to recover the music files, you will need to use a third-party app to be able to do the job.
There is a software called Tenorshare UltData that allows you to recover many kind of files including music for iOS devices. It's an all-in-one data recovery solution for iOS devices.
Download and run the software on your computer. Connect your iOS device to your computer and select Recover from iOS Device at the top in the software.
On the screen that follows, select Music on the screen that follows and click on Start Scan.
Checkmark the music files you wish to recover and click on Recover. Your selected files will be recovered to your device.
3. How to Recover Deleted Music on iPhone from iTunes Backup?
If you updated iPhone and lost photos and videos, you can restore them from iTunes backup. But you will be required to restore an entire backup which you will certainly not want to do as you only want the lost content back and not everything.
However, UltData will let you selectively restore music files from an iTunes backup and let's see how to do it:
Step 1: Download and launch the software on your computer. Connect your iPhone to your computer, click on Recover from iTunes Backup File, choose the backup, and click on Start Scan.
Step 2: Select the files you want to recover and click on Recover. The music tracks you selected in the software will be recovered to your iPhone.
4. How to Download Missing iPhone Music from iCloud Backup?
If the missing music tracks of your iPhone are in one of your iCloud backups, you can also restore the backup using the UltData software. Below is how you can go about doing that.
Step 1: Download and open the software on your computer. Plug-in your iPhone to your computer, click on Recover from iCloud Backup File at the top and sign-in to your iCloud account.
Step 2: Choose an iCloud backup and click on Next.
Step 3: On the following screen, choose what you want to recover and click on Next.
Step 4: Select the files to be recovered and click on Recover. There you go. Your selected music files will be extracted from the iCloud backup and be restored on your iPhone.
Conclusion
We hope the above guide helps you fix the iOS 18/17 update music gone issue on your iPhone and iPad. As you can clearly see, UltData offers the most flexibility to recover files on your iOS devices.