How to cancel your Apple Music subscription

Posted:
in General Discussion edited October 2020
Apple does make cancelling subscriptions straightforward, once you know how, but it's less clearcut with Apple Music since you'll want your own music to still be available to you.

We should say, incidentally, that an Apple Music subscription is a good deal
We should say, incidentally, that an Apple Music subscription is a good deal


You can cancel your Apple Music subscription at any time and from any Apple device bar the Apple Watch. To be sure that you won't get charged next month, though, be certain to cancel at least one full day before the end of your billing period.

It's quite likely that you don't happen to remember when your billing period ends, though. Unlike, for instance, credit cards where you may always be paying at the end of the month, your Apple Music subscription renews on the one-month anniversary of whenever you signed up.

So when you've decided to cancel, the job is checking when you're paid up until, then ending that subscription -- and dealing with your own music afterwards.

Cancelling on an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch

Find out the date you will next be charged for Apple Music

  • Go to Settings

  • Tap on your name at the top

  • Choose Subscriptions
Depending on whether you have subscriptions now or have ever had any, you may see two lists. The first is Active, meaning what you're currently paying for, and the second is Expired about cancelled ones.

Cancelling Apple Music on an iPhone
Cancelling Apple Music on an iPhone


You may have to scroll down to get to Apple Music, but when you do, you'll see two things. One is the next billing date and the other is a description of the type of subscription you have. That description will say, for instance, that you're on the student program, the family sharing one, or subscribed as an individual.

It will also tell you whether you're paying annually or monthly.
  • Tap on Apple Music Subscription

  • Tap Cancel at the bottom of the screen
Your iPhone or iPad will ask you to confirm that you want to cancel. Tap Confirm.

That's it, you're done. Apple Music will continue being active until the next billing date, but then it will cease and you'll not be charged more.

How to cancel Apple Music on your Mac

Subscription cancellation is handled on the Mac via the Mac App Store.
  • Open the Mac App Store

  • Sign in if you haven't already

  • Click on your name

  • Click on View Information

  • Scroll down to the heading Manage

  • Click on Manage to the right of the screen
Cancelling Apple Music in the Mac App Store on Macs
Cancelling Apple Music in the Mac App Store on Macs


You'll be asked to enter your password for this account. Then you'll get a list of all the current subscriptions and you can choose Edit next to Apple Music.

Apple will, as always, show you other options to keep you paying at least something, bit there is a Cancel Subscription button too.

How to cancel Apple Music on your Apple TV

On an Apple TV 4K or Apple TV HD, open the Settings app.
  • Click on Users and Accounts

  • Under the Users heading, choose the second option
This screen is a little confusing. As you go into it, the top line Current User is highlighted and you can think that's where you have to go next, but it isn't.

Cancelling Apple Music on Apple TV
Choose that second option, not the Current User one.


Instead, the second option has your name and the word Account. Click on that.

On the screen that appears:
  • Click on Subscriptions

  • Choose Apple Music Subscription

  • Click Cancel Subscription

What happens after you cancel Apple Music

Regardless of which device you cancelled on, all of your Apple devices will continue to have the full Apple Music service -- up to the end of your billing period.

Do note that if you have a family account with Apple Music, everyone in your family loses it too. Tell them in advance and they can decide whether to get their own subscription, although it won't include any playlists they've built up so far.

You're also going to have to learn, or re-learn, how to get music onto your device. Since the iTunes app is gone, the quickest way is to plug in your iOS device and select it in the Finder.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 6
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    Yeh, they hide it pretty well...
    But I got used to doing it as my grandson (on my Family Plan) kept opening new subscriptions -- mostly just to try them.

    But, if I ever cancelled his Apple Music there would be hell to pay.  He loves it.   So do I.  I can't remember the last time I listened to a CD or the radio.
    ...  I just wish that I could start Apple Music on my phone from my Apple Watch.  It's cumbersome to have to fish my phone out of my pocket & start it up.   Apple Watch has me so spoiled!
  • Reply 2 of 6
    jcs2305jcs2305 Posts: 1,336member
    Yeh, they hide it pretty well...
    But I got used to doing it as my grandson (on my Family Plan) kept opening new subscriptions -- mostly just to try them.

    But, if I ever cancelled his Apple Music there would be hell to pay.  He loves it.   So do I.  I can't remember the last time I listened to a CD or the radio.
    ...  I just wish that I could start Apple Music on my phone from my Apple Watch.  It's cumbersome to have to fish my phone out of my pocket & start it up.   Apple Watch has me so spoiled!

    I am not sure which AW you are using.. but you have the choice to to play what is on the Apple watch or iPhone.  If you tap the music on the watch it gives you a choice of what is playing on Apple Watch or iPhone. If you tap " On iPhone" you can scroll and choose ( Playlists, Artists, Albums, songs ) start playing a song and it will show on your iphone and watch as the track that is playing. Hopefully I explained that clearly... B)

    I just tried it with my Series 5 watch.. I had been listening to an audiobook  and switched to AM using the steps I described.

    Took me a bit to figure out as I was coming from an original AW that wasn't able to update to the newest WatchOS. 

    dhawkins541
  • Reply 3 of 6
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    jcs2305 said:
    Yeh, they hide it pretty well...
    But I got used to doing it as my grandson (on my Family Plan) kept opening new subscriptions -- mostly just to try them.

    But, if I ever cancelled his Apple Music there would be hell to pay.  He loves it.   So do I.  I can't remember the last time I listened to a CD or the radio.
    ...  I just wish that I could start Apple Music on my phone from my Apple Watch.  It's cumbersome to have to fish my phone out of my pocket & start it up.   Apple Watch has me so spoiled!

    I am not sure which AW you are using.. but you have the choice to to play what is on the Apple watch or iPhone.  If you tap the music on the watch it gives you a choice of what is playing on Apple Watch or iPhone. If you tap " On iPhone" you can scroll and choose ( Playlists, Artists, Albums, songs ) start playing a song and it will show on your iphone and watch as the track that is playing. Hopefully I explained that clearly... B)

    I just tried it with my Series 5 watch.. I had been listening to an audiobook  and switched to AM using the steps I described.

    Took me a bit to figure out as I was coming from an original AW that wasn't able to update to the newest WatchOS. 


    LOL...  They hid THAT one well too!  (at least well enough that I never found it -- which is probably a pretty low bar)

    Thanks!  That just made my life a little easier.
    ... I should have looked harder -- it was too obvious an omission for Apple to have ignored it or missed it.

    Now my phone stays in my pocket -- which simplifies getting in the car and out of it as well -- and brings it back closer to the old days of simply turning the volume button on the radio.  That was the one thing I was disliking about Apple Music:  fussing with the phone when I got into the car.

    (and I too graduated up from the original to the AW4 last fall.  That really changed things -- now I wear it 23 hours a day and often leave my phone at home or in the car.   Who needs that big clunky old thing?   LOL...)
    edited February 2020
  • Reply 4 of 6
    mknelsonmknelson Posts: 1,120member
    Apple Music fun thing: Open Music on your phone, tap Airplay, select your AppleTV for the "source" boxes and tell the AppleTV to Airplay to some speakers connected to an Airport Express (or Sonos I suppose). Then use the Apple Music app on your phone to control the AppleTV Air-playing to the other speakers.
  • Reply 5 of 6
    Yeh, they hide it pretty well...
    But I got used to doing it as my grandson (on my Family Plan) kept opening new subscriptions -- mostly just to try them.

    But, if I ever cancelled his Apple Music there would be hell to pay.  He loves it.   So do I.  I can't remember the last time I listened to a CD or the radio.
    ...  I just wish that I could start Apple Music on my phone from my Apple Watch.  It's cumbersome to have to fish my phone out of my pocket & start it up.   Apple Watch has me so spoiled!
    You could just tell Siri to do it. 
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