Now that digital music is an essential part of our daily lives, having efficient control over how and when we download our songs is vital. In Apple Music, this aspect is particularly important as it affects both our mobile data usage and device storage. Let's see how to manage automatic downloads on our Apple devices to make the most of our music libraries.
What are and how do automatic downloads work
Automatic downloads in Apple Music are a feature that allows our devices to automatically download the songs we add to our library. This feature is especially useful to ensure that we always have our favorite music available, even when we don't have an internet connection.
This prevents us from having to stream them using mobile data when we are without a Wi-Fi connection. However, it is also true that these downloads can take up valuable space on our device and even quickly consume our mobile data depending on our settings.
How to enable or disable automatic downloads
Enabling or disabling automatic downloads on our devices is really simple. On our iPhone or iPad, we'll do it like this:
- Open the Settings app on our iPhone or iPad.
- Go to Music.
- In the "Downloads" section, toggle Automatic Downloads on or off.
On the Mac, we'll do it like this:
- Open the Music app on our Mac.
- From the Music menu, choose Preferences.
- Select the General tab.
- Check or uncheck the Automatic Downloads box.
- Click OK.
How to configure automatic downloads
Automatic downloads basically have two options: whether they are done over mobile data or only over Wi-Fi, and the limit of space they will occupy on our device.
By nature, Macs do not have mobile data connections, and since they usually have large amounts of storage, neither of the above options is available. So let's see how to adjust downloads on our iPhone or iPad. To set a limit on the size these downloads can occupy, follow these steps:
- Open the Settings app on our iPhone or iPad.
- Go to Music.
- In the "Downloads" section, toggle Automatic Downloads on or off.
- Go to Optimize Storage.
- Choose the size you want to occupy.
It's important to note that the size of downloads will only decrease when necessary. If the device has enough space, the limit can be temporarily exceeded until space needs to be freed up.
The decision to allow or not allow downloads via mobile data largely depends on our data plan and personal preferences. To configure this option:
- Open the Settings app on our iPhone or iPad.
- Go to Music.
- In the "Downloads" section, toggle Downloads over mobile data on or off.
Managing automatic downloads in Apple Music allows us to balance having immediate access to our favorite music and maintaining efficient control over storage and data usage on our devices. By adjusting these options properly, we ensure that we enjoy our music exactly as we want.
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