Are you having trouble syncing local files to your iOS device? You’ve come to the right page.
In this article, you will learn how to sync songs on Spotify to iPhone and what to consider before syncing.
One of the best features of Spotify is the ability to play offline. However, this aspect doesn’t seem to work most of the time.
Many users complain about not getting songs to sync on the iPhone. The songs can’t be downloaded, so they aren’t playable.
If you encounter the same problem, we’ve got you!
To sync songs on Spotify to iPhone, you need to gather a few requirements, such as your device, the Spotify app, and a subscription. Next, get the songs you want on your device by using a USB, turning on Local File Discovery, or tapping Download on the app.
Before proceeding to the actual steps of syncing songs to your iPhone, let us discuss the things you need to consider.
What to Consider Before Syncing Songs on Spotify to iPhone
Imported audio provides better quality without having to change your settings.
However, there are a few prerequisites. You need to get each of them right to make the sync smooth.
1. Using The Desktop App To Add Songs
You need to access the desktop app to add files to your Spotify account. It’s the only way to sync your files for both Windows and Mac.
2. Available for Spotify Premium only
Syncing files is only available for Spotify Premium users. You can’t play your local files if you have not paid for the upgrade.
3. The File Formats You Can Save And Sync
Spotify only supports mp3, .mp4, m4p, and .m4a files (except lossless formats). You need to convert your files if it is not in these formats.
These are some of the things you need to consider if you want to sync songs from Spotify to your iPhone.
Let us now proceed to the steps.
How to Sync Songs from Spotify to iPhone
Syncing music from Spotify to your iPhone is useful for listening to music you own or made on your phone.
Whether you’re an artist, aspiring to be one, or have a few records that are not on the Spotify network, you can bring them to the app so you can listen to them on the go.
You’re going to need a few devices to make this happen successfully. One, you’re going to need access to a computer with the Spotify app since that’s where you want to save your songs initially.
Second, you want to get your iPhone so you can finally sync the songs to your phone so you can listen to them wherever you are.
Here are the steps that you need to follow to get your songs to your iPhone:
Step #1: Get the Songs You Want to Sync on Your Computer
The first thing you need to do is get the songs you want to sync on your computer.
You’re going to have the local files for those, and you want to save them to a computer with the Spotify app installed.
So, grab your USB and transfer all of the files to your computer. The goal here is you want Spotify to identify the songs you want to save initially, then sync them into the system.
Your iPhone won’t be able to do that since you can’t upload MP3, MP4, and other supported file formats.
Here’s how to organize the songs you want to sync on your computer:
- Transfer the audio files to your computer’s hard drive.
- Create a folder you want to store your files.
- Organize the audio files and transfer them to your folder.
Note: Make sure you remember your folder’s address so you can find it quickly.
Step #2: Turn on Local File Discovery on Your Spotify Desktop App
After getting all of the audio files you want to be synced into Spotify ready, you’ll want to prepare the app.
The first app we’re going to work with is the Spotify Desktop app.
It’s the only Spotify app that’s capable of detecting audio files from your file storage system.
It’s also easier to do all of these steps on your computer since you’ll be able to navigate to your saved folder more quicker.
Here’s how to switch on local file discovery on your Spotify Desktop app:
- Launch the Spotify app on your computer.
- Click on your profile name in the top-right corner.
- Select Settings.
- Scroll down and find the Local Files section.
- Toggle the switch On for Show Local Files.
Note: To make it easier for you to know that your local files are saved on Spotify, turn off the Show songs from Downloads and Music Library option.
Step #3: Specify the Source Directory on Your Spotify Desktop App
Now that you’ve switched on local file discovery, you can now start the process of syncing your songs to Spotify.
You’re now going to tell the Spotify Desktop app where to find all your audio files. To do this, you’re going to need to add a source.
You can have multiple sources from different folders if that helps you organize your local audio files.
You can add as many sources as you want. Just make sure that you’re going to select the correct folder path so Spotify can locate your files.
Here’s how to add your saved folder as a source on Spotify:
- On the Spotify app, go to your profile name and click on Settings.
- Find the Local Files section.
- Click on the Add a source button.
- Locate the folder with your audio files.
- Click OK.
Note: You can add multiple sources, which means you can organize your audio files into different folders and add them one at a time.
Step #4: Add Your Local Files to a Playlist
After syncing your files to Spotify, you’ll know that it’s successful if you can see a new item in your library.
It’s going to be marked with a folder icon instead of an album thumbnail. The name is also going to be “Local Files” instead of a playlist.
When you can see this in your Spotify library, it means that your files are successfully imported, and you can now proceed to sync them with your iPhone.
Before that, we recommend that you add that to a playlist to make the process run smoothly.
Here’s how to add your imported audio files to a playlist:
- On your Spotify app, choose the Your Library tab.
- Select the Local Files panel.
- Click on the three dots opposite the song and add it to a playlist.
- You can also create a new playlist for all your important files.
Tip: To create a playlist, you must click on Create a Playlist and add the entire Local Files folder to it.
Step #5: Turn On the Local Files Settings on the Spotify App
At this point, we’re now done with the Spotify Desktop app. We can now move on and complete the process on your iPhone’s Spotify app.
If you turn on local file discovery on your desktop app, you’ll also need to do the same on your iPhone app.
You want to do this to ensure that your phone can detect the files from your computer.
Here’s how to turn on file discovery on your iPhone’s Spotify app:
- Open the Spotify app on your iPhone.
- Tap on the gear icon to open the Settings.
- Scroll down to Local Files.
- Toggle the switch to the On position.
Pro Tip: Your computer and iPhone need to be on the same network so the two apps can sync your imported files.
Step #6: Tap on the Download Icon on Your Spotify App
Finally, we’re at the last step that will sync your songs on Spotify to your iPhone.
As soon as you open your Spotify account, you’ll find that your new playlist should be on there. You should now have access to those songs.
Here’s how to download the imported songs to your iPhone:
- Open the Spotify app on your iPhone.
- Go to My Library.
- Scroll through your playlists, and find the one with your files.
- Tap on the playlist.
- Tap on the Arrow Down icon to download the songs to your iPhone.
That’s it! It might seem a lot, but if you’re a heavy Spotify user, you should be able to get this done in under 5 minutes.
It does take a couple of devices to make this happen, so make sure you have one that can open the Spotify Desktop app to get it started.
You can also contact Spotify customer support if you run into any issues importing and syncing your files.
Read Next: How to Enable Device Broadcast Status Spotify?
Bottom Line
Now that you know how to sync songs on Spotify to iPhone, you should be able to load music that’s not on the platform on your phone.
You can finally listen and enjoy them whenever you’re on the go since they’re already saved to your phone.
Finn Wheatley holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from UCL, London. He helped small data science consultancy firms, helping large corporations to grow their data capabilities, deploy advanced machine learning-based analytics and troubleshoot tech-related issues. Check out more about him here.