technology news: How to transfer your music from iTunes to Android

samedi 24 août 2019

How to transfer your music from iTunes to Android

iTunes with Android Phone 3

Even though streaming services like Spotify and Tidal are taking over the market, many music lovers prefer to download and save their music to their hard drive. Despite its flaws and the fact that Apple is moving away from the venerable service, Apple's iTunes is still one of the most popular ways to do so, but it isn't easy to sync your iTunes library with an Android device.

There is no iTunes for Android, so you'll need to go through a few extra steps to get everything working. There are a number of ways to transfer transfer your music from iTunes to any Android phone or tablet, which we've listed out below. Check out the full guide and decide which method is right for you.

How to transfer your music from iTunes to Android:

Copy your music files manually
Sync iTunes with Google Play Music
Stream iTunes on Android with Apple Music
Download a third-party app

Copy your music files manually

Connect Android device to PC via USB cable

The least technically challenging way to transfer iTunes music files onto your Android device is copying them manually. All you need is a USB cable to connect your phone to your computer, and a bit of patience.

How to copy iTunes music to Android manually

Create a new folder on your desktop.
Copy the music files to transfer into the new folder.
Connect your Android device to your computer with a USB cable. You may need to adjust your phone settings to transfer files via USB (the option should appear in your notifications).
Navigate to your Android device storage on your computer and copy-paste or drag-and-drop the music folder.

This method can be tedious if you want to copy over individual tracks rather than entire albums. You might also lose album art and track metadata, depending on which Android music player you use.

Sync iTunes with Google Play Music

google play music 1

The cloud has revolutionized the way people interact with their files, and music is no different. Now, with Google Play Music, you can sync your entire iTunes library to the cloud and listen to it wherever you go. It's by far the easiest way to sync a large number of files from iTunes to Android.

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There are, however, a couple of important caveats. First of all, you will need an internet connection, at least for the initial set up. Because Google Play Music is essentially a music streaming service/cloud storage, you will pretty much be using your data all the time unless you pin all your albums. Pinning simply downloads the music to your phone's storage. There's also a 50,000 song limit, but this probably won't be an issue unless you have a truly massive library.

How to transfer iTunes music via Google Play Music

Download Google Play Music Manager to your PC.
Install the program and run it.
During set-up, there will be an option to Upload songs to Google Play.
Select iTunes and finish the initial set-up.
Sit back and let the program upload all your songs to Google Play Music.

Stream iTunes on Android with Apple Music

Listening to iTunes on Android with Apple Music

If you don't want to abandon the Apple/iOS ecosystem entirely, then Apple Music is a good way to access iTunes on Android. There is not an iTunes app for Android, but there is an Android app for Apple Music. Like Google Play Music, it allows you to stream your entire iTunes library from your Android phone or any other device by simply logging into your Apple Account.

Apple Music also allows you to stream 50 million songs and listen to curated playlists, but there is a catch. Unlike Spotify, there is no free version. In order to stream iTunes music to Android, you will need to pay a monthly subscription fee of $9.99. If that's not a dealbreaker, here's how to do it.

How to stream iTunes on Android with Apple Music

Open iTunes on your PC and navigate to Preferences.
In the General tab, turn on iCloud Music Library and click OK. The option is grayed out unless you have an Apple Music account.
Download the Apple Music app on your Android device.
Sign in with your Apple ID. Your iTunes music should be available to stream.

If you're not able to find your iTunes music, there are a number of ways to fix it:

Make sure you're signed into the same Apple ID on both devices.
Update the app to the latest version on all devices.
Refresh your iCloud library by going to File > Library > Update iCloud Music Library.

Syncing iTunes and Android with a third-party app

Sync iTunes on Android with doubleTwist app

Several third-party programs allow you to directly transfer your iTunes music to Android. One of our favorites happens to be the doubleTwist app for Windows. This application lets you transfer your playlists, music, and videos from iTunes to your Android phone.

When syncing files using doubleTwist, take note that the copied music files will stored in the Music folder inside the internal memory of the phone or tablet.

How to sync iTunes to Android with doubleTwist

Install and launch doubleTwist on your computer.
Connect your Android device to the computer. Make sure USB Mass Storage mode (or MTP) is enabled.
Your device should be recognized automatically, which will trigger a syncing window.
On the Music tab in doubleTwist, place a check mark beside Sync music and select all the sections you want sent to your phone (playlists, albums, artists and genres).
Tap the Sync now button at the lower-right corner to begin transferring your music to your Android phone.

That's it for our guide to getting your iTunes music on Android!