Losing your iTunes library can be devastating, especially if you’ve spent years curating and collecting music, movies, TV shows, apps, and more. Fortunately, with some effort, there are methods to try and recover your lost iTunes data. Here’s what I recommend doing this year if you experience an iTunes library data loss:
Make Use of iTunes and iCloud Backups
The best defense against iTunes library data loss is having regular backups. iTunes itself provides backup options, and Apple’s iCloud service can also be used to store iTunes content online.
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I always make sure to configure iTunes to create local backups of my library by going to Preferences > Advanced and checking “Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library”. This saves copies of all imported media files.
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iCloud Music Library is another backup option. When enabled in iTunes, all your music purchases and imports get copied to iCloud, allowing download to different devices. This protects against local data loss.
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For movies, TV shows and apps, iCloud backups also help by synchronizing iTunes purchases and downloads to Apple’s cloud. I enable iCloud Backup in iOS/iPadOS to get this protection.
If I ever lose my iTunes library, my first step is to restore from the most recent iTunes and/or iCloud backup if available. This gets me as close as possible to my original library contents.
Use Data Recovery Software
If no backups are available, third-party data recovery software provides another avenue to retrieve lost iTunes media files and information.
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Applications like iBoysoft Data Recovery are designed to restore iTunes music, videos, and other media from both Macs and PCs.
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I can scan my computer’s hard drive or any connected external drives with software like this to recover deleted files that once belonged in my iTunes library.
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Recovery software can also help get back iTunes media lost due to accidental formatting, corruption, or even malware.
Depending on the situation, data recovery apps may retrieve a substantial part of my lost iTunes library by finding music, videos, podcasts, audiobooks, and more that remain on my storage devices.
Re-Import Previously Acquired Media
Beyond backups and recovery software, re-importing media I’ve acquired in the past provides a manual way to rebuild my missing iTunes content.
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I make it a point to keep the original files for anything imported from CDs or downloaded from other sources over the years. I can add these back into iTunes one album or video at a time if needed after data loss.
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For past iTunes purchases, I can review my account purchase history and download previous music, movies, apps, and other content to iTunes again. Re-downloading purchases may be time-consuming but typically works.
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If I used iTunes to rip DVDs or transfer camcorder footage in the past, I can repeat those processes again to get the resulting files back into iTunes.
Though tedious, re-importing media I directly added to my iTunes library previously could restore at least a portion of lost content.
Check iPod/iOS Device Syncs As a Last Resort
If all else fails, my final hail mary is to check any iPods, iPhones, or iPads I’ve synced with iTunes in the past. These iOS devices cache some media and information from my iTunes library locally when synchronized.
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I can connect past iPods or iOS devices to my computer and see if their cached iTunes content can be recovered. Any music, podcasts, videos, or apps detected may be transferable back to iTunes.
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iOS device backups in iCloud or iTunes also potentially hold remnants of my iTunes library. I can browse backups looking for media files or iTunes information to salvage.
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While time-consuming and unlikely to fully restore my library, scouring old iPod syncs and iOS backups may find bits and pieces of my lost iTunes content.
Attempting to recover iTunes holdouts from iPods and iOS devices is typically my last resort, but has helped in the past when all else failed.
Don’t Give Up Hope!
Losing an iTunes library is extremely discouraging, but various recovery options exist. I always make sure iTunes backups are in place for my huge media collection now, but even without them, recovery software, re-importing media, and digging through iOS device syncs can sometimes get a significant portion of lost iTunes content back. Don’t abandon all hope if you lose your iTunes library! With some effort, recovery is often possible. Just be sure to backup regularly going forward.
