Apple Confirms Music Deletion Glitch, Says Fix Incoming in Future iTunes Update

[navaira]

"Apple: It Just Works. By The Way, Keep Offsite Backups Just In Case."

Let say there is 20 reports of this and assume there is 20 million iTunes users. That is 0,0001% which is tiny. Even if 2000 users reported this, it would be 0,01%.

My dog Gussie tells me 85.29% statistics on the Internet forums are false.

 

[acconda81]

Dumping my late 2013 macbook next week, fed up of the reliability of software and hardware! had all of the companies products and fed up! ready to convert back to windows desktop in time for the pascal GTX 1080, custom pc

 

[AFEPPL]

Not sue if its the same thing, but updated my iPhone a few weeks ago and i got on the aircraft yesterday, select music - all have been deleted. this is the second time I've had the issue where i come to want to listed to songs and they are not where i left them. So 9 hours flight with no music, thats apple/iphone. Pretty ****** all round.

 

[hans1972]

"Apple: It Just Works. By The Way, Keep Offsite Backups Just In Case."

There is a reason why Apple has built-in backup tools in both OS X and iOS. They want you to use them to protect your data from accidental loss. If Apple thought that their hardware, software and services were infallible, they would not include such tools and services.

My dog Gussie tells me 85.29% statistics on the Internet forums are false.

It was made as a point to illustrate how few many user reports you need to have a significant part of the user base experience it.

So let me ask you this question: How many percentages of a user base needs to experience an error to be widespread?
[doublepost=1463350138][/doublepost]

Why does iTunes have file management functions like the ability to delete/move files? Who is using a music player to organize their files?

iTunes is just not a music player. It has always been a tool to organize your music. Therefore it needs the ability to delete music. Of course, iTunes only deletes music in its library.

Music files you have stored outside of iTunes is not touched by iTunes.
[doublepost=1463350899][/doublepost]

That makes no sense. There were multiple users complaining about this for months. If it were just one person screwing up their music no one would know or care.

First of all, several persons can make the same error.

Also, if you look at all the reports people report about missing music, they are very light on details, no easy way to replicate them and in many cases several different problems/issues.

Can you point to lets say 20 of these complaints where is a detailed step-by-step explanation of what they did, what version of software they are using, which Apple services they have enabled and how their computer were configured, which let you replicate the problem?

The reports I have read almost always consist of: I did something in iTunes or Apple Music. Some of my music is missing.

 

[Abazigal]

It's situations like this that I see the merits of music streaming services. Just pay to play whatever music you want, and not worry about having to organise your music collection or that it might accidentally get deleted.

Of course, you need a steady internet connection, and this only lasts for as long as you pay, but might be worth the convenience.

 

[d00d]

Why does iTunes have file management functions like the ability to delete/move files? Who is using a music player to organize their files? It is like the one guy at Apple that was suppose to make a file manager for iOS walked into the wrong office and is now part of the itunes team.

Many people have it manage music files this way as it's been a core feature since nearly the beginning. You know, since before iOS was even a twinkle in Steve Jobs' eye.

 

[JungleNYC]

Bugs, bugs, bugs, never ending story of today's Apple...

You are so incredibly, and sadly, correct.

"It Just Works" is an unofficial motto that Apple should strive to get back to bright on, pronto.

In my opinion (humbly, of course) this should be job #1 for them on the software front. Making **** JUST WORK again. However they do that. If they need 8 "tock" cycles, so be it. Just. Fix. It.

Now, please.
[doublepost=1463356468][/doublepost]

If it was scanning his music to make it available across his devices, it sounds like an issue with iTunes Match, not Apple Music.

Match doesn't delete songs. If anything it duplicates them.

 

[Kabeyun]

I get you. But that easier bit is, naturally, the game changer. Our CDs are ready to play when we need them... unless you're where they aren't. That's why I just finished ripping them all.

As to the streaming bit, I'm a firm believer in ownership, not rental. Besides being termination-of-subscription-proof, content ownership is termination-of-availability-proof. This is true of video content as well. Netflix has periodically chosen to stop offering certain titles. My media server, on the other hand, never does.

 

[JungleNYC]

…a handful of morons (and it really is just a handful) didn't read the warnings carefully enough…

I have Match, and I've seen some of these warnings. They're terribly confusing, and poorly written. Every time I get one I cancel-out because I really don't understand what's going to happen. Especially with playlists, and adding non-Matched music to iCloud playlists. It's like "Wha???"

My point being that it's not just morons. It's us people with merely average intelligence, too

 

[Shadow5]

Apple Music is a hot mess. I haven't had anything get deleted yet, luckily. But I've had the wrong versions of songs play on my iPhone, as well as songs that I own not be available on my iPhone because Apple Music thinks it was a song that they removed from their service.

 

[Juicy Box]

There is a reason why Apple has built-in backup tools in both OS X and iOS. They want you to use them to protect your data from accidental loss. If Apple thought that their hardware, software and services were infallible, they would not include such tools and services.

When it comes to iTunes/iCloud music issues, TimeMachine may not work. It did not work for me. Luckily I had all the music backed up separately. But I could not get playlists, and other iTunes data back.

 

[silroc]

Not sue if its the same thing, but updated my iPhone a few weeks ago and i got on the aircraft yesterday, select music - all have been deleted. this is the second time I've had the issue where i come to want to listed to songs and they are not where i left them. So 9 hours flight with no music, thats apple/iphone. Pretty ****** all round.

SAME EXACT THING Happened to me on my 5 hour flight

I was furious. Why is iTunes fu$&1ng with my music?

Before this incident iTunes removed all music that was not purchased through apple.

These bastards are doing some dirty stuff

 

[xnu]

Erased music my entire music library. Thought it was a feature. I had it backed up on a detached hard drive, so i survived.
In other news... Photos destroyed my 44k Aperture library... Oh well, progress for progress sake. At least Apple is trying to address the issue, that is nice.

 

[Roy G Biv]

Does this only affect music purchased from iTunes of people who do NOT have iTunes Match? I have to re-download all my music purchased from them, but all music from other sources appears intact.

 

[bluefiberoptics]

Dumping my late 2013 macbook next week, fed up of the reliability of software and hardware! had all of the companies products and fed up! ready to convert back to windows desktop in time for the pascal GTX 1080, custom pc

I can totally understand the desire for that GTX 1080, but isn't a custom desktop PC not really in the same category as a portable laptop?

 

[John Mcgregor]

Dumping my late 2013 macbook next week, fed up of the reliability of software and hardware! had all of the companies products and fed up! ready to convert back to windows desktop in time for the pascal GTX 1080, custom pc

And a custom pc with gpu like that and Windows on top will be free of issues? LOL trollolol

 

[hans1972]

When it comes to iTunes/iCloud music issues, TimeMachine may not work. It did not work for me. Luckily I had all the music backed up separately. But I could not get playlists, and other iTunes data back.

The playlists created on that local Mac are stored in the file "iTunes Library.itl". It is very important to restore that file.

 

[DavidFell]

Your headline is misleading. It says Apple confirms an iTune Deletion Glitch. They haven't. They've confirmed that a small number of users REPORT deletions. That's not the same thing at all.

Apple today confirmed reports of an issue that causes music from personal collections to be deleted, telling The Loop it only affects a small number of users and that a fix is incoming in an iTunes update next week.

Last week, debate raged over the supposed glitch after Vellum's Jake Pinkstone wrote a blogpost complaining that Apple Music had deleted 122 GB of his personal music collection without his permission after he joined the service. The deletion occurred after Pinkstone had his music library scanned by Apple to make his collection available across his devices.

Confusion ensued after Pinkstone was told by an Apple Support Representative named Amber that Apple Music's matching system was "functioning as intended." When asked whether Apple Music was supposed to delete his personal music without his permission, Amber responded "yes." Amber's statement, however, was inaccurate according to Apple's own support document.

While the causation of the bug is still unknown, as Apple has failed to reproduce the issue, the company's statement suggests Apple has narrowed down the issue to iTunes rather than the Apple Music service. It's unclear whether the fix will arrive with a minor or major iTunes update. However, one possibility is iTunes 12.4, which will include a minor redesign and arrive in the next couple of weeks, according to a MacRumors source.

Article Link: Apple Confirms Music Deletion Glitch, Says Fix Incoming in Future iTunes Update

 

[pika2000]

EU law dictates if a device is faulty within 2 years you get a replacement. Apple once tried to challenge this ( http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/mac/eu-law-forces-apple-highlight-two-year-warranty-3348755/ ) , preferring customers buy Apple Care. So no it doesn't matter who made it, I'd still get a replacement. I arranged a replacement for my parents Samsung tablet a few years ago without any fuss.

If I go to UK with my US Samsung device, do you think they will help me?

Samsung USA denied service of my Samsung device, claiming that they do not support unlocked devices, period.
Sony Asia denied to even check my Xperia Z1 because it's not a local SKU.
Meanwhile, my Verizon iPhone got serviced in Singapore and Japan, no questions asked.
From my experience, Apple's support is superior than any other companies.

 

[gnipgnop]

The playlists created on that local Mac are stored in the file "iTunes Library.itl". It is very important to restore that file.

Exactly. And corruption of the .itl file is far more likely than iTunes "auto-deleting" original music files. That's an issue that I've actually experienced in my 10+ years using iTunes, and it can be alarming when it happens...but once you know what to do, it's a fairly easy fix.

 

[John Mcgregor]

Exactly. And corruption of the .itl file is far more likely than iTunes "auto-deleting" original music files. That's an issue that I've actually experienced in my 10+ years using iTunes, and it can be alarming when it happens...but once you know what to do, it's a fairly easy fix.

No, it's the least likely. I have had 0 issues with iTunes before iTunes Match and Apple Music. File corruption? What century is this?

 

[gnipgnop]

No, it's the least likely. I have had 0 issues with iTunes before iTunes Match and Apple Music. File corruption? What century is this?

A century where computers and applications still crash, and drives still have flaws.

 

[John Mcgregor]

A century where computers and applications still crash, and drives still have flaws.

Everything changed since match and streaming became available. Nobody was complaining about file corruption in numbers like that before.

 

[gnipgnop]

Everything changed since match and streaming became available. Nobody was complaining about file corruption in numbers like that before.

Complaining about issues with matching is not the same thing as "auto-deletion" of original files.

 

[Juicy Box]

The playlists created on that local Mac are stored in the file "iTunes Library.itl". It is very important to restore that file.

It didn't work. The songs were grayed out in the playlists, like they were different songs than the ones in the library. And would disappear as soon as I logged my match account.
[doublepost=1463399102][/doublepost]

Complaining about issues with matching is not the same thing as "auto-deletion" of original files.

If your matched songs were replaced with DRM versions, how is it not the same?