iTunes

Not everyone who owns an iPhone or iPad has a Mac, which is why Apple made its mobile devices compatible with Windows PCs, too. Using USB, you can you can connect an iPhone or iPad to a Windows PC to set up the device, charge its battery, share its internet connection, transfer files, and sync content. This article shows you how to back up your iOS device on a Windows PC. Make Sure You...

If you plan to give away, sell or trade in your Mac, you should de-authorize your iTunes account on the computer first, as this removes its access to content that you bought from the iTunes Store, iBooks Store, or App Store, including things like music, movies, TV shows, apps, and books. Apple puts a five-computer limit on an account for accessing iTunes protected content, so it's worth...

If you connect your iOS device to your computer to back up your data instead of using iCloud, some of your most private data is not backing up. For security reasons, by default, an iTunes backup will not include saved passwords, Wi-Fi settings, website history, or Health data. You can save information like passwords and website history in an iTunes backup if you encrypt it, which is an...

For $24.99 per year, or about two dollars per month, iTunes Match keeps all of your music in iCloud so you can access any song at any time from any device instead of picking and downloading your favorite playlists every time you sync your device. Plus, Apple will provide you with high quality playback using 256 Kbps AAC DRM free versions of your music, even if your original copy was lower...

Apple introduced an additional layer of security for iPhone, iPad and Mac users in 2013 by rolling out two-step verification for Apple ID accounts. Two-step verification prevents anyone but you from accessing your Apple ID account, even if they know the password, by requiring a four-digit verification code sent via SMS or Find My iPhone on trusted devices. When you enable two-step verification,...

Google today acknowledged an ongoing issue causing a number of iPhone, iPad and Mac apps to display incorrect one-star ratings in its search results on the web, and confirmed that a fix should be implemented by early next week. "I'm happy to share that we've been working hard on providing a solution, and a new fix has been scheduled for the next release, which should be rolling out early...

Apple has implemented a carrier billing feature that lets Russian customers purchase iTunes content like apps, movies, music, and books using a phone number, reports CNBC. Purchases made with a phone number linked to an iTunes account are then added to a user's monthly cellular telephone bill without the need for a credit card, debit card, or iTunes gift card. For its new mobile payment...

Apple has updated its system status page to reflect widespread issues affecting multiple Apple products and services since approximately 7:30 PM Pacific, including the App Store, Apple TV, iBooks Store, iTunes Match, iTunes Store, Mac App Store and Radio. Many users are also unable to fully access or use the Apple website, Apple Online Store, Apple ID, Apple Music, FaceTime, iCloud,...

For the first time since the iTunes Store launched in 2003, Apple has added a way for customers to pay for purchases without using a credit, debit or iTunes gift card. Starting with German carrier O2, customers can now link a phone number to their iTunes account and use carrier billing for purchases, per TechCrunch. Apple's new mobile phone bill option for iTunes accounts (Image: Carsten ...

Along with updates for iOS, OS X, and watchOS 2, Apple today released a new version of iTunes, iTunes 12.3.1. The update is a minor one, with the release notes only saying it improves overall stability and performance. The iTunes update can be downloaded from the software update function in the Mac App Store. iTunes 12.3.1 comes just over a month after the release of iTunes 12.3, which...

Just over two months after the launch of Apple Music, the streaming music service has received a mix of praise and criticism from early adopters. Beats 1 and curated playlists are among the most acclaimed features of Apple Music, while a confusing user interface and iTunes library issues have caused frustration among some users. Addressing those issues, iTunes executive Oliver Schusser told T...

A growing number of users on Twitter are reporting issues with Apple Music, Beats 1, iTunes and the App Store as nominees are announced for the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) exclusively on Beats 1. MacRumors can confirm that many of Apple's cloud-based services are currently not loading or are displaying error messages in the United States and Canada. Apple has updated its System Status ...

Outside of a one-month hiatus in January 2015, Apple has offered a wide range of songs through its weekly "Free on iTunes" program since April 2004, but for the last two weeks, the company has released no free tracks. The last free iTunes release was on June 30, 2015, as tracked by MacRumors forum volunteers, coinciding with the launch of Apple Music in over 100 countries. Apple has since...

Apple today released iTunes 12.2.1, a minor update that introduces some much needed bug fixes for iTunes Match and other features introduced with Apple Music. Apple Music was first released two weeks ago, but included several major bugs with iTunes Match that caused the deletion of entire music libraries and other issues, such as an inability to sign up for Apple Music for former iTunes Match...

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on Tuesday voided $532.9 million in damages awarded to patent licensing firm Smartflash LLC in February in an iTunes-related patent lawsuit, per Reuters. The report claims federal judge Rodney Gilstrap has set a new damages trial on September 14 after ruling that "his jury instructions might have 'skewed' jurors' understanding of the...

Apple is no longer signing the iOS 8.3 software update for all compatible iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices, meaning that users can no longer downgrade to that version using iTunes. Apple is now only signing iOS 8.4 and later. iPhone, iPad or iPod touch users that have jailbroken their device on iOS 8.3 should not worry about accidentally updating to iOS 8.4, as an untethered jailbreak is...

A number of iCloud services are currently experiencing downtime in the United States, Canada and other countries, an issue that became widespread within the past hour or so. A significant number of users have tipped MacRumors and posted on Twitter and other social media platforms about being unable to sign into iCloud or access related services such as Mail and Find My iPhone. iTunes is ...

Software maker OpenTV has filed a patent lawsuit against Apple based on accusations that several of the company's products and services, including iTunes, infringe upon five of its patents related to streaming digital video. The civil suit was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, and OpenTV is seeking undiclosed compensation for the alleged patent...

Apple will launch a revamped streaming music service in June at the company's annual Worldwide Developers Conference, according to 9to5Mac and TechCrunch. The report claims the new Beats-based service will debut at Apple's WWDC keynote, likely during the week of June 8, as opposed to an announcement taking place at the upcoming " 9">Spring Forward" media event on March 9."Apple currently plans to ...

A federal jury in Tyler, Texas has ordered Apple to pay $532.9 million to patent licensing firm Smartflash LLC for using its patents without permission, reports Bloomberg. The court found certain iTunes apps to be infringing upon the Texas-based company's patents related to digital rights management, data storage and managing access through payment systems. Apple argues that Smartflash is...

Apple has added a support document to its website stating that customers who use an AOL username to sign into the iTunes Store, App Store or iBooks Store will be unable to continue doing so starting March 31 (via 9to5Mac). Apple customers must convert their AOL username to an Apple ID account in order to maintain access to the storefronts following the deadline."Starting March 31, 2015, AOL will...

Earlier in the month, Apple's London-based iTunes team posted a job listing describing an "Editorial Producer" who would have past experience reporting on pop culture, with specific background in music journalism (via Music Ally). While far from definitive, the job post could be hinting at some editorial-related expansions coming to the revamped Beats/iTunes merger set to launch later in the...

While the Grammy Awards happened last weekend, information on a few Apple-related conversations happening at and around Clive Davis' pre-Grammy party are just now beginning to emerge, reports Billboard. Representing Apple at the gala were Tim Cook, Eddy Cue, Jimmy Iovine and iTunes VP Robert Kondrk, with the Apple executives chatting with a number of music industry representatives during the...

Apple is working on a new Beats-based paid music streaming service that will be deeply integrated into iTunes on Mac and the stock Music app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, according to 9to5Mac. The report claims that the Apple-designed streaming service will also be available for Android and through a new Apple TV app in the works."Based heavily upon cloud streaming, Apple’s new service is...

Apple today released iTunes 12.1 for OS X Yosemite, introducing a new iTunes widget for the Notification Center. With the widget, it's possible to see what song is playing, skip ahead, and favorite. When listening to iTunes Radio, there's an option to purchase the song that's being played, right within the widget. Today's update also includes performance improvements when syncing an iPhone, iPad, ...