How to Reduce Data Usage by Apple Music on iPhone

Want to reduce data usage by Apple Music on iPhone?

If you’re on a limited Cellular Data budget, streaming Apple Music may not be the best choice you have. With the audio quality that it provides, your data plan will be exhausted even before you know it.

But before you stop using Apple Music on data or go for its alternatives, understand that the platform supports a wide range of audio quality, each with a different data consumption limit. The lowest quality available consumes around 1.5 MB of data for a three-minute song, while the high quality uses around 6 MB for a three-minute song. 

Apple also supports lossless formats like ALAC or Hi-Res, which may consume up to 145 MB for the same song. So, for those that have a limited data plan, you must do everything possible to reduce data usage by Apple Music on iPhone. Lucky for you, we’ve provided all the efficient tips below, so you don’t need to look anywhere else.

Just go through this guide till the very end!

1. Download Music for Offline Listening.

Apple Music is not just a streaming platform but also one of the best apps for downloading music and playing them offline. When you’re subscribed to Apple Music, you can save songs, albums, and even playlists to your device.

That way, only the downloading process consumes data. When you play these audio files later, your device will no longer require an active internet connection, thereby saving your cellular data. 

2. Disable Automatic Downloads. 

Although downloading music on your iPhone can help you conserve data, it may also increase data usage. So, if you have enabled automatic downloads from the Music setting, your device will automatically download all the music tracks in your library. This can be done regardless of whether you’re connected to Wi-Fi or Cellular Data. 

To fix this, consider disabling the automatic downloads option. Here’s How:

1. Head over to the Settings app from your iPhone. 
2. Scroll down and tap on Music. 
3. Lastly, turn the toggle off for Automatic Downloads. 

This method will solve your issue by only allowing you to control which songs to download.

 

3. Reduce Apple Music Sound Quality.

To further reduce data usage by Apple Music on iPhone, you need to choose the lowest quality for your downloaded songs along with the streaming files since you’re not always going to avoid the latter. This will save your data plan significantly.

Here’s how to reduce Apple Music sound quality for downloaded songs:

1. Go to the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. From there, scroll down and tap on Music.
3. Next, select Audio Quality.

4. Then, tap on Downloads.

5. After that, select High Quality.

Follow the steps below to reduce streaming quality:

1. Open the Settings app on your device.
2. Scroll down and tap on Music.
3. Then, select the Audio Quality option under the Audio section.

4. After that, tap on Mobile Data Streaming.
5. Then, select High Efficiency.

This should reduce data usage by Apple Music on iPhone. You may also do so by enabling Low Data Mode by following the next method from this guide. 

4. Use Low Data Mode.

If you prefer streaming, your monthly data limit may exceed depending on how much music you listen to. But don’t fret. You can reduce the data usage by Apple Music on iPhone by switching to Low Data mode. When enabled, your data will only be utilized by the opened platform, and all background activity will be halted.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Next, tap on Cellular. 
3. After that, select Cellular Data Options. 

4. Lastly, switch off the toggle for Low Data Mode.

5. Disable Download Over Cellular Data.

Another way to reduce data consumption is downloading files from Apple Music over Wi-Fi instead of Cellular Data. When you enable the associated option from Settings, Apple Music will not download songs when asked if you don’t have an available Wi-Fi network. The process will only begin when you get into a range of nearby connections.

Follow the steps below to do it:

1. Launch the Settings app on your device.
2. Scroll down and tap on Music.
3. Under the Downloads section, turn off the toggle next to Download over Cellular.

This method can help you save data on your iPhone. You may also disable cellular data for streaming animated artwork to greatly reduce data usage. Keep reading to find out how. 

6. Disable Cellular Data for Streaming Animated Artwork.

Apple Music also supports animated cover art for songs, albums, and playlists. These cover pages consume more data than still images for obvious reasons. But thankfully, you have the option to disable animated art for streaming music over cellular data. Once you do that, the animated art will only be available when your iPhone is connected to a Wi-Fi network.

Follow the steps below to do so:

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down and locate Music. Then, tap on it.
3. Then, tap on Animated Art.

4. At last, select Wi-Fi Only.

You should reduce the data usage by Apple Music on the iPhone by following this method.

7. Block Apple Music From Accessing Cellular Data.

In case you don’t want Apple Music to use Cellular data, you can block the app from accessing it entirely. That way, the platform will not stream or download content when it’s not connected to Wi-Fi.

Use the instructions below to do so:

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Scroll all the way down to Apps and locate Music. Then, tap on it.
3. At the top of the page, switch off the toggle next to Mobile Data.

This brings us to the end of our guide on how to reduce data usage by Apple Music on iPhone. Hopefully, you’ve managed to reduce data usage by following the methods mentioned in this guide. If you have further queries, leave them in the comments section below. We’ll get back to you in no time. 

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