Some Apple Music Subscribers Experiencing Library Syncing Issue Across the iPhone and Mac - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Some Apple Music Subscribers Experiencing Library Syncing Issue Across the iPhone and Mac

by

Over the past few months, some users have been unable to sync their Apple Music library between their iPhone and Mac, seemingly due to a bug.

iOS 17 Apple Music Feature
Affected users receive the following error message in the Music app on the Mac:

Genius results can't be updated right now. An unknown error occurred (18004).

There are complaints about the issue across the Apple Support Community, MacRumors Forums, Reddit, and elsewhere on the internet.

The underlying cause of the issue is unclear, and it's not entirely clear if a fix will require software updates, or if Apple can implement a server-side fix. We've reached out to Apple for comment, and we'll update this story if we receive a response.

This issue comes after another Apple Music bug related to playlists was fixed last month.

Tag: Apple Music Guide

Popular Stories

Four iPhone 18 Pro Colors Mock Feature

iPhone 18 Pro: Pre-Orders and Release Date

Sunday August 16, 2026 8:24 pm PDT by
Apple has yet to reveal when the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra will be announced and released, but the dates usually follow a familiar pattern. As usual, the event is expected to take place in the first half of September. Labor Day falls on September 7 this year. The last time the holiday was on that day was in 2020, but the iPhone event that year was delayed until October due to the...
Read Full Article
iPhone 17 One Year Later Thumb 1

Should You Buy an iPhone 17 Now or Wait for iPhone 18?

Friday August 14, 2026 12:15 pm PDT by
For the first time since Apple started selling standard and "Pro" iPhones, we're not going to get an entry-level iPhone model this fall. Apple doesn't plan to release an iPhone 18 in September, and will only launch the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and foldable iPhone Ultra. The lower-cost iPhone 18 won't come out until spring 2027. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
Read Full Article • 117 comments
iPhone 18 Pro Rumored Colors

What's Coming in September: New iPhones, Apple Watches and More

Thursday August 13, 2026 4:20 pm PDT by
Apple will introduce at least five new devices at its iPhone-centric event next month, and it's also possible we'll get devices waiting on Siri AI like the Apple TV. iPhone 18 Pro The iPhone 18 Pro is going to look like the iPhone 17 Pro, but with a smaller Dynamic Island. It's getting some internal updates, including a new Wide camera with a variable aperture for more control over lighting ...
Read Full Article • 25 comments

Top Rated Comments

arkitect Avatar
arkitect
34 months ago

Unreliable sync was the reason I gave up on Apple Music during a 90-day trial a couple of years ago. You know what service never gave me that problem? Every competitor I've ever tried (Pandora, Spotify, Deezer).
Exactly this.

I was burned by Apple Music in the transition from iTunes to Apple Music — my carefully curated music library literally — yes, literally — destroyed.

An 800GB+ music library that had been carefully sorted in albums and playlists. Mangled.
partial albums uploaded. Lossless files replaced by lossy.
Cover artwork? Pffft. Mixed and matched… missing.
Artists mixed up and ignored.

Broke my heart.

Unless there is a major rebuild from the foundations up, I will never be tempted to again.

Why other services could achieve it and the giant Apple cannot is a mystery.

And yet, how often do we hear that Apple really cares about music. "It is in our DNA" they say… yeah sure.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mrmister Avatar
mrmister
34 months ago

I was burned by Apple Music in the transition from iTunes to Apple Music — my carefully curated music library literally — yes, literally — destroyed.

An 800GB+ music library that had been carefully sorted in albums and playlists. Mangled.
partial albums uploaded. Lossless files replaced by lossy.
Cover artwork? Pffft. Mixed and matched… missing.
Artists mixed up and ignored.

Broke my heart.
I have never subscribed to Apple Music because of stories like this one. And syncing to my iphone has steadily become more and more of an ordeal—so much so I often just drop new material onto the phone with WALTR PRO, an app that exists to basically do what Apple can't be bothered to figure out.

Disgraceful that the people who invented the iPod can't do music and playlist transfers. This shouldn't just work—it should be seamless.

It's awful.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M
Motawa
34 months ago
Thanks for mentioning it! Maybe Apple will now give at least just a little ****.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
erikkfi Avatar
erikkfi
34 months ago
Unreliable sync was the reason I gave up on Apple Music during a 90-day trial a couple of years ago. You know what service never gave me that problem? Every competitor I've ever tried (Pandora, Spotify, Deezer).
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bustycat Avatar
Bustycat
34 months ago
The more Apple Music syncs, the more albums get split.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vegetassj4 Avatar
vegetassj4
34 months ago
Remember the good ole days when you would plug in your iPhone to power, and it would wirelessly wake your Mac, sync, backup, etc. with iTunes then the Mac would resume sleep?

Pepperidge Farm Remembers™

Attachment Image
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments