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msackey

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Oct 8, 2020
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I did not have issues downloading music to Apple Watch Ultra until the most recent update to WatchOS 9.1.

There's a "ghost" album/song that keeps indicating that it is downloading to the watch but I have never requested it to be downloaded. When I try to delete the download, at some point later the album/song will try to re-download again.

In addition, albums that I download will begin downloading and will show up on the Music screen of the Watch app, but at some point disappear no longer to show that it is an album either being downloaded or already downloaded.

In the screenshot below, it shows that an album by the Commodores is being downloaded (and it keeps spinning) even though I never asked it to be downloaded. I also had requested an album by Spyro Gyra to be downloaded and that has disappeared; that album is showing up on the Watch though.

What's going on? How do I fix?

vnrwr0347zv91.jpg
 
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Update: the Watch does show the various albums that I requested be downloaded to the watch. However, the Watch app on the iPhone does not show the albums that have been downloaded.
 
Ok. Did my run earlier than expected. Couple of things:
1. I downloaded additional 3 albums to Ultra. Although they downloaded, they’re missing album art. Furthermore, the Watch app’s Music section does not show these albums being available.
2. The songs do all play just fine.

I’m tempted to erase my Watch, unpair, and start over to see if this music issue is resolved.

Or, is that too drastic right now? Should I wait for next release? Wonder when next release would be coming. Before end of December?
 
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Ok. Did my run earlier than expected. Couple of things:
1. I downloaded additional 3 albums to Ultra. Although they downloaded, they’re missing album art. Furthermore, the Watch app’s Music section does not show these albums being available.
2. The songs do all play just fine.

I’m tempted to erase my Watch, unpair, and start over to see if this music issue is resolved.

Or, is that too drastic right now? Should I wait for next release? Wonder when next release would be coming. Before end of December?
No give the Watch a wipe and repair… wait you have Ultra. That’s brand new :/

You could try to erase and repair. Maybe it’s iPhone? 🤷‍♂️

As for me, a single album downloaded while Watch on my wrist, but the playlist needed to be on charger. Not sure there. Maybe too large? Maybe some songs need to synch with Music on phone? No idea….
 

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Ahhh figured it out…. So when it’s a large playlist the old Zone playlist just defaulted to “wait til charger”, but a newly added large playlist asked me if I wanted to download now or wait till charge cause it would use more battery

A336656C-4EDD-4F89-9202-17ECDAF38B1F.png2ED723A5-5318-48DF-864E-0251B3A6A615.png
 
Oof they weren’t kidding: 5% drop in battery downloading this music 😆
 
Man this features is SOOOO nice though. Wish it was there from beginning.
 
It might be a good idea for me to wipe my Ultra (yes, it's brand new! :) ) and start anew. The nice thing about Apple Watches is that starting them from new is not as big of a pain as it is to, say, start an iPhone from anew. There aren't that many things one has to re-download, with the exception of Wallet items to be re-added.

My Ultra was working just beautifully until this Music issue! :(
 
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I have the exact same issue. Ghost album and adding new albums.
I added a "like" to your post not because I like the problem; I like that you are also experiencing the issue, so it's good to know this is not a "me only" issue! I hope WatchOS 9.2 fixes this.
 
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I added a "like" to your post not because I like the problem; I like that you are also experiencing the issue, so it's good to know this is not a "me only" issue! I hope WatchOS 9.2 fixes this.
Yes good to know it’s not just you isn’t it so hopefully will get resolved in an update.

I have tried all sorts.
 
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Not really useful but ... took me freaking HOURS to download my 4.01GB workout album to the watch. There were some 20-30 min segments it didn't move at all. Just had to walk away and let it sit for half a day to move. This was before 9.1 came out. I really hope the wifi transfer is faster...

I make sure to download albums to my iPhone offline THEN download to my Watch offline. I have had issues with ghost albums before that just REFUSE to download for whatever reason (why I started doing offline).
 
I did not have issues downloading music to Apple Watch Ultra until the most recent update to WatchOS 9.1.

There's a "ghost" album/song that keeps indicating that it is downloading to the watch but I have never requested it to be downloaded. When I try to delete the download, at some point later the album/song will try to re-download again.

In addition, albums that I download will begin downloading and will show up on the Music screen of the Watch app, but at some point disappear no longer to show that it is an album either being downloaded or already downloaded.

In the screenshot below, it shows that an album by the Commodores is being downloaded (and it keeps spinning) even though I never asked it to be downloaded. I also had requested an album by Spyro Gyra to be downloaded and that has disappeared; that album is showing up on the Watch though.

What's going on? How do I fix?
My music app is now wonky with 9.1. It only syncs recent.
 
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No give the Watch a wipe and repair… wait you have Ultra. That’s brand new :/

You could try to erase and repair. Maybe it’s iPhone? 🤷‍♂️

As for me, a single album downloaded while Watch on my wrist, but the playlist needed to be on charger. Not sure there. Maybe too large? Maybe some songs need to synch with Music on phone? No idea….
I wiped my S8 and it didn't fix it but it cost me time to set everything back up
 
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The same thing is happening on other AWs as well: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/aw-s5-problem-syncing-music-with-watch-os9.2361927/

If you're having this issue, please call Apple Technical support and create a case. Only the people that handle calls are allowed to escalate the issue to the engineering team - the online support reps cannot. If enough people do it, they'll realize it's not an isolated incident and the likelihood of a fix becomes greater.
 
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I'm having the same issue with my series 7 Watch but I found that files will download directly to my watch if I go into the Watch Music app and select download the playlist/album/song from there. The downside is that you have to do this for each individual playlist/album/song but it seems to be faster than the normal sync.
 
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I wonder if beta version of WatchOS 9.2 mentions anything about this bug and whether it is being addressed. Does anyone know how to get a hold of the WatchOS 9.2 beta release notes? This music syncing issues seems really glaring and hopefully Apple would have it fixed for the next release (which I hope comes before December!).
 
I just talked to the apple support (for over an hour) and they said to me it is now just possible to copy music to the watch when you have the apple music subscription... :oops:

I also can't copy music to the watch (it is downloaded to my iphone and not in the cloud), the orange circles are just spinning now matter how long I wait.

The automatic downloading of the recent tracks that I've litened too are downloading to the watch but its not possible to do it manually.
 
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