As an Apple Music user, I know all too well the frustration of not being able to delete a playlist. I recently had this same issue and it took me some time to figure out what was going on and how to fix it. I’m here to share my experience and the solutions I discovered, in hopes that it will help other owners of Apple Music who may be struggling with the same problem.
Deleting a playlist on Apple Music should be simple. However, if you’re having issues, you may need to force stop the application and restart your device. Alternatively, turn off the syncing with your computer and try deleting the playlist again.
| Issue | Possible Causes | Solutions |
|---|---|---|
| Cannot Delete Playlist | – Remove Download vs. Delete | – Choose “Delete from Library” instead of “Remove Download” |
| from Library | ||
| – Sharing is ON when creating new | – Turn off “Public Playlist” option | |
| playlists | ||
| – Different Apple IDs | – Use the same Apple ID on all devices, turn off sync and then turn it on again | |
| – Folder Synced on iTunes | – Connect your phone to the laptop, unsync the two devices, and delete the playlist | |
| – No Delete Button | – Force-stop the Apple Music app and restart your phone |
Table of Contents
How Can I Delete a Playlist on Apple Music?
Luckily, the process is quite straightforward. To remove the playlist, follow these steps:
- Open the Apple Music app on your phone
- Select “Playlists” from the menu
- Scroll through and long tap on the playlist that you want to delete
- Tap on “Delete from Library”
- Finally, click on “Delete Playlist”
Troubleshooting: Why Some Playlists on Apple Music Can’t Be Deleted
In most cases, following the steps outlined earlier will guarantee to delete a playlist on your Apple Music. Yet, if you’re facing a problem, it may be due to one of the following issues:
- Remove Download vs. Delete From Library
If you’re trying to delete a playlist from Apple Music, you need to make sure you’re selecting the correct option when prompted. There’s a difference between deleting something from your downloads and deleting it from your library.
When you choose “Remove Download,” you’re simply just removing the songs from the phone storage. However, the music will still be in your music library. This means that you’ll be able to see them on the phone app, as well as the library on your iPad or Mac.
If you want to remove a playlist across all devices, you should tap on “Delete from Library.” Just make sure your sync is on. If that doesn’t work, you can turn off the sync and delete, and then turn it back on.
- Sharing Is ON When Creating New Playlists
When you create a new playlist on your Apple Music account, you have the option of either sharing this list to your profile or making it private. The default option is having the sharing turned on.
Sometimes, sharing a playlist could make deleting it difficult. To turn off sharing, you should first open the playlist you want to be deleted. Then, click on the three dots in the upper right corner of the page.
Now, toggle the “Public Playlist” option off. Finally, tap on Done.
- Different Apple IDs
Do you have more than one Apple device and you’re finding some difficulty deleting a playlist? Chances are you’ve used different Apple IDs to sign into the Apple Music service.
So first, make sure you’re using the same Apple ID on all your Apple devices, like Mac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Then, turn off the sync, and on again.
Now, any action made on the music app on one device will reflect on all the rest.
- Folder Synced on iTunes
Another reason that you can’t delete a playlist from Apple Music may date back to the time before you’d subscribed to the music streaming service. iTunes was around way before Apple Music was developed.
If you’d made a playlist using iTunes on your laptop and synced it to your phone, you won’t be able to remove it using the Apple Music app. Instead, you have to connect your phone to that same laptop you’d made the folder on, and then unsync the two devices.
After that, you can follow the basic steps of deleting the playlist that was mentioned earlier.
- No Delete Button
Finally, this problem may come across as a little strange. Some Apple Music users reported that their “Delete” button was missing. This meant that they had no way of removing unwanted playlists from their music accounts.
In this case, we’d suggest force-stopping the Apple Music app on your phone then restarting your phone. After that, try deleting the music playlist again.
Read more: Why is Apple Music un-downloading songs?
Conclusion
You may have tried and wondered, why can’t I delete a playlist on Apple Music?
Although it may be frustrating, there are a few reasons why this can happen. The good news is that with a little digging, you can find out where the problem lies. Then, you’ll be able to remove that playlist.
Read more: Why does my Apple Music play random songs?
You should try making the playlist private first to see if you’ll be able to delete it then. If that didn’t work, try force-stopping the app and restarting your phone. Alternatively, sync your phone with the laptop you’d used when creating the playlist and delete it from there.
