Buying a song, app, book, or movie from the iTunes Store is usually easy and worry-free. Click or tap a few buttons and in no time you’ll be enjoying your new media.
But sometimes there are problems with your iTunes purchases. If you lose your Internet connection during the purchase or download, or there is an error on Apple’s part, you may end up paying and not being able to enjoy your new content.
Some of the common problems that occur in these situations include:
- A partially downloaded file that cannot be played or used.
- A charge to your credit card, but not a download.
- A file that appears to have downloaded completely, but does not play.
- A failed purchase.
If you are facing one of these problems, here are 4 steps you can follow to get the content you want from iTunes.
1. The purchase did not go through
The easiest of these problems to resolve is if the purchase simply didn’t happen. In that case, you just have to buy the content again. You can verify that the purchase was not made with iTunes by following these steps:
- Open iTunes.
- Select the Account menu .
- Select View my account.
- If you’re prompted to sign in to your Apple ID account, sign in and select Sign In.
- Scroll down to the Purchase History section .
- Select See all.
- Here you can see when your most recent purchase was and what it was.
You can perform the same check using the iTunes Store or App Store apps on an iOS device:
- Tap the app to see the type of purchase you’re looking for, either from the iTunes Store or the App Store.
- In the App Store, tap the profile icon in the top right, then Purchased .
Then tap My Purchases . If you have Family Purchases, tap on the individual family member you want to view.
You can tap Not on this iPhone at the top of the app. This shows purchases that are not currently installed on your device.
- In the iTunes Store, tap the More tab at the bottom, then tap Purchased . Tap on Music, Movies, or TV Shows to view the specific media you have purchased. If you have Family Purchases, you can tap on the individuals in your Family Plan below.
In both cases, if the item you were trying to purchase is not listed, you were not charged and the purchase did not go through. Just go back to the iTunes or App Store and purchase it as you normally would.
2. Find available downloads in iTunes
In some cases, you may come across a download that starts and then stops before it is complete. If that’s the issue you’re facing, you should be able to restart the download easily by following these steps:
- Open iTunes.
- Select the Account menu .
- Select Search for available downloads.
- If you’re prompted to enter your Apple ID, do so.
- Select Verify.
- If you have a purchase that didn’t download or was interrupted, it should start downloading automatically.
3. Redownload using iCloud
If your purchase was successful and the item you’re looking for doesn’t appear when you search for available downloads, there’s an easy solution to get the missing content: iCloud. Apple stores all your iTunes and App Store purchases in your iCloud account where you can easily re-download them.
Read this article for step-by-step instructions on how to use iCloud to redownload iTunes Store purchases.
4. Get support in iTunes
The first three options on this list should resolve the issue for most users. However, if you’re one of the unlucky few who still has a problem even after trying it, you have two options:
- Get assistance from Apple’s iTunes support team. For step-by-step instructions on how to do this, read this article on how to request support from the iTunes Store.
- Use Apple’s online help site to determine the best type of support for you. This site will ask you a few questions about your problem and, based on your answers, provide you with an article to read, a person to talk to, or a number to call.
BONUS: How to Get a Refund from iTunes
Sometimes the problem with your iTunes purchase isn’t that it didn’t work. Sometimes the purchase went through fine, but you wish it didn’t. If that’s your situation, you may be able to get a refund. To learn how to do this, read How to get a refund from iTunes.