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How to Tranfer Music from Mac to iPhone Quickly & Easily

Ditch iTunes away! Now it's time to try on best iTunes alternative to transfer music from Mac to iPhone 8/8 Plus/X and better manage iPhone music library (delete songs; create playlist) at one go.

By Rico Rodriguez to iTunes｜Last updated on Mar. 13, 2023

iTunes is the main method that Apple users use to sync data between iPhone and computer. When someone switches from Android to iOS, upgrade to a new iPhone, add new songs, you can always move the music though iTunes on Wi-Fi or USB cable.

Step 1: Open iTunes and connect your iPhone to Mac.
Step 2: Click the Device icon at the upper right corner and select Music from the sidebar.
Step 3: Enable Sync Music and decide to sync the entire music library or selected songs. Then click Sync.

Why is iTunes Not the Best Way to Transfer Music from Mac to iPhone?

iTunes is Apple's default and official tool for the music transfer task and the process seems to be simple. But this doesn't necessarily mean it's the best. In fact, iTunes has posed many errors and limitations when syncing songs from macOS to iPhone.

1. "Some of the files were not copied to the iPhone because iCloud Music Library is enabled on this phone".
2. iTunes songs are not accessible, greyed out with dotted circles.
3. Can't see "iPhone music library" option in iTunes...
4. Music can't be synced with error codes like -5000, -69, 13010 and error 13014.
5. iPhone music library is messed up with duplicate songs...

• iTunes won't sync non-Apple music to iPhone, including music downloaded, ripped from CD, shared with friends.
• iTunes will erase the iPhone music that is not stored in the iTunes library.
• iTunes won't sync music in formats not supported by Apple.

• iTunes does not sync the music info, let alone batch edit music title, singer, albums, composer and year.

• The jailbroken iPhone 8 can't sync with iTunes, not to mention syncing music from Mac to iPhone.

Other Ways to Transfer Music from Mac to iPhone

#1 Transfer Songs to iPhone via Dropbox

Step 1: Download and install Dropbox on both the Mac and iPhone. Login to your account.

Step 2: Open Dropbox on your Mac and click the upload button and add the songs into the Dropbox app.

Step 3: Open the Dropbox app on your iPhone and you can add the songs into Favorites playlist to get them offline on your iPhone.

Limits:

* Dropbox supports music in .mp3, .aiff, .m4a, and .wav formats.

* Dropbox supports a space of 2GB.

* Mac music to iPhone transfer speed depends on the internet speed.

Check full guide to sync music to iPhone

#2 Transfer Songs to iPhone via Streaming Services

Various music streaming services is another way to transfer music from Mac to iPhone or vice versa. For Apple users, the most obvious choice is Apple Music. After subscribing to Apple Music, users can add any songs into their account and download them for offline playback on iPhone, iPad, Mac and other devices. Beyond Apple Music, there are Spotify, SoundCloud, Google Play Music, Amazon Prime Music, Tidal and many more. Most of them will provide the option to purchase and download offline.

Limits:

* You have to pay for all the songs you want to download from the streaming services.
* You can't add music purchased or acquired elsewhere to the app.