Although iTunes Genius offers many cool features (Genius Mixes, Genius Playlists, and suggestions for music you might like based on your tastes), it can be frustrating for some users.
Every time you sync an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with your iTunes library, iTunes sends Genius data to Apple. Sometimes this takes just a few seconds, but if you have a lot of music or it’s been a while since you last synced, it can take a long time for Genius to send that data, which makes syncing take a long time too (and I mean a long time ). I have waited half an hour or more).
If you find yourself annoyed by how long Genius takes, you may want to turn it off. But what to do if you don’t see an option to disable iTunes Genius?
Turning off Genius is usually pretty easy, but there are two Apple services you may be using that could prevent you from doing so. You won’t be able to easily turn off iTunes Genius if you’re an Apple Music subscriber or if you use iTunes Match, Apple’s service that places a copy of your music library in your iCloud account and lets you keep your music in sync across multiple devices. In both cases, that means you’re using iCloud Music Library. While it’s on, you won’t be able to turn off iTunes Genius.
How to turn off Genius if you don’t use iCloud Music Library
If you’re not an iTunes Match or Apple Music customer, and therefore don’t have an iCloud Music Library, turning off Genius is usually as simple as:
- Clicking the File menu in iTunes. (On older versions of iTunes, click Store and skip to step 3.)
- Click Library .
- Click Disable Genius .
The names of the menus used to disable Genius are slightly different depending on the version of iTunes you have. Take a look at this article to learn more about how versions vary.
However, before you turn off Genius, keep in mind that turning it off will also turn off features you want, like Genius Mixes and personalized recommendations for music you’ll like, and will turn any Genius playlists you’ve created into a playlist. traditional breeding.
Turn off Genius if you use Apple Music or iTunes Match
If you’re an Apple Music or iTunes Match subscriber, things are a bit more complicated. In that case, you may have tried the instructions above and not seen an option to disable Genius in the File menu. This is because Genius is always enabled while you use iCloud Music Library, and you have to use iCloud Music Library with Apple Music and iTunes Match. While iCloud Music Library is on, you can’t turn off Genius.
Genius is available to all iTunes users who activate the feature. Both Apple Music and iTunes Match require a subscription, which you probably want to keep. But if you want to keep Apple Music or iTunes Match, you’ll also need to keep iTunes Genius on no matter how long it takes to sync.
Of course, you can turn off iCloud Music Library and then turn off Genius. This won’t affect music already added to your iCloud Music Library account (ie, it won’t be removed), but you won’t be able to access it again until you turn it back on. When you do, iTunes will have to spend some time reconnecting to iCloud Music Library and syncing any new information about your library.
If you’re an Apple Music or iTunes Match user and still want to turn off Genius, you need to turn off iCloud Music Library first. This is what you have to do:
- Open iTunes on a computer connected to the Internet.
- Click on the iTunes menu .
- Click Preferences .
- On the General tab , uncheck the box next to iCloud Music Library . Then click OK .
- Click File .
- Click Library .
- Click Disable Genius .
How to turn iTunes Genius back on
If you later decide you want to recover iCloud Music Library or Genius, simply go to the Preferences menu and turn iCloud Music Library back on.
