How to Download All Apple Music for Offline Listening Without Losing Your Mind

So, you’ve finally decided to cut the cord on your data plan, or maybe you’re prepping for a long-haul flight where the Wi-Fi is basically non-existent. You want your entire library ready to go. You want to download all Apple Music tracks you’ve spent years painstakingly adding to your library, but you’ve realized something annoying. Apple doesn't exactly make it easy. There is no giant "Download Everything" button staring you in the face. It’s a glaring omission that has frustrated users for over a decade. Honestly, it feels like a weird oversight for a company that prides itself on "it just works" UI.

The reality is that Apple wants you to stream. Streaming keeps you tethered to the ecosystem and uses data, which someone, somewhere, is profiting from. But for those of us who travel or live in areas with spotty 5G, having a local copy is a necessity, not a luxury.

The Smart Playlist Workaround (The Only Way That Actually Works)

Since there isn't a native toggle to grab your whole library in one click, we have to get a little bit clever. The most reliable method involves using the Music app on a Mac or the iTunes app on a Windows PC. You can’t really do the heavy lifting for this on an iPhone or iPad alone, which is a bit of a bummer.

First, open the Music app on your computer. You’re going to create a Smart Playlist. Go to File, then New, then Smart Playlist. This is where the magic happens. You want to set a rule that captures every single song you own. A foolproof way to do this is to set the criteria to "Time is greater than 0:00." Think about it—every song has a duration longer than zero seconds. Once you hit OK, this playlist will automatically populate with every single track in your cloud library.

Now, grab your iPhone. Open the Music app and find that new playlist you just made. You’ll see a little arrow icon or a cloud icon at the top. Tap it. Your phone will now begin the massive task to download all Apple Music content linked to that playlist.

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Be warned.

If you have 5,000 songs, your phone is going to get hot. It’s going to drain the battery faster than you can say "Cupertino." Do this while plugged into a charger and connected to a fast Wi-Fi network. If you try this over a cellular connection, you’re going to see a massive data overage bill that will make you weep.

Managing the Storage Nightmare

Space is the final frontier, and your iPhone's storage is the casualty. Before you commit to the download, you need to check how much room you actually have. High-quality audio files aren't small. If you’ve enabled Lossless Audio in your settings, those files are massive.

• Standard AAC files: Roughly 6MB to 10MB per song.
• Lossless (ALAC): Can be 30MB to 50MB per song.
• Hi-Res Lossless: Up to 145MB for a single track.

Do the math. If you have 2,000 songs and you’re downloading them in Hi-Res Lossless, you’re looking at nearly 300GB of data. Most people don't have that kind of headroom on their devices. If you’re tight on space, go to Settings > Music > Audio Quality and make sure "Downloads" is set to High Quality (AAC) instead of Lossless. Your ears probably won't tell the difference on a pair of AirPods Pro while you're sitting on a noisy bus anyway.

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There is a feature called Optimize Storage that you should probably know about. It lives in the Music settings. Basically, if your phone starts running out of space, iOS will automatically delete the songs you haven't listened to in a while. It’s smart, but it can be annoying if you suddenly find that your favorite deep cut is missing when you’re offline. If you want total control, turn this off.

Why Some Songs Just Won't Download

It’s the worst feeling. You see the progress bar moving, but then it hangs. Or worse, you see a bunch of grayed-out titles. Usually, this happens because of licensing changes. Apple Music is a rental service, not a store. Labels pull albums all the time. If a song is no longer available in the Apple Music catalog, you can't download it, even if it's still sitting in your library like a ghost.

Another culprit is the "Sync Library" setting. If this is toggled off on any of your devices, your downloads will get messy. Ensure that Settings > Music > Sync Library is green on everything you own.

Sometimes the app just glitches. It’s software; it happens. If a download is stuck, the oldest trick in the book usually works: sign out of your Media & Purchases (under your Apple ID settings), restart the phone, and sign back in. Just be careful—signing out often wipes your existing downloads, forcing you to start the whole "download all" process over again.

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The Desktop Strategy for Audiophiles

If you're using a Mac, you have more flexibility. You can change the download location to an external hard drive if your internal SSD is crying for mercy. Go to Music > Settings > Files and change the "Music Media folder location." This is great for people who have 100GB+ libraries and want to keep a local backup on a desktop setup.

Windows users are still stuck with iTunes, which feels like using a piece of software from a museum. It's clunky, it crashes, and it’s slow. But the Smart Playlist trick still works there. Just make sure you’ve authorized your computer in the Account menu, or iTunes will keep prompting you for your password every ten songs, which is enough to drive anyone to a rival streaming service.

Actionable Steps for a Seamless Offline Library

To get this done right the first time without crashing your device or running out of space, follow these specific steps:

1. Audit your library first. Delete the albums you added three years ago and never listened to. There's no point in wasting storage on clutter.
2. Toggle Audio Quality. Decide if you really need Lossless. For most, AAC at 256kbps is the sweet spot for mobile storage.
3. Create the "Master Playlist" on a computer. Use the "Time > 0:00" rule to ensure every track is included.
4. Connect to Power and Wi-Fi. Go to your iPhone, open the playlist, and hit the download button.
5. Disable "Optimize Storage." If you want to ensure your files stay on your device indefinitely, don't let iOS manage the deletion for you.
6. Check the "Downloaded" section. Once the process finishes, always verify by going to Library > Downloaded. If the numbers match your total library count, you're golden.

Once these files are on your device, they are yours to play regardless of your internet connection, provided you keep your Apple Music subscription active. If your sub lapses, those files will "lock" and eventually disappear. Keep that in mind before you head into the wilderness for a month. Management of a massive offline library requires a bit of maintenance, but once it's set up, the peace of mind is worth the initial effort.