With iTunes or the new Apple Music app, you can share your entire music library from your computer to your laptop, iPhone, and more. This allows you to save space on your devices and share your music with your friends and family. However, this method only works if all your devices are using the same Apple ID on the same network. Here’s how to share your iTunes music from your Mac or Windows computer to another computer or iOS device.

Before you can access your iTunes music library from other devices, you first have to set up Home Sharing on your computer. Here’s how to set up Home Sharing on a Mac and a Windows 10 PC:

How to Share Your Apple Music Library From a Mac

To share music from a Mac computer, open the iTunes or Music app and sign in. Then open System Preferences and go to Sharing > Media Sharing > Home Sharing. Finally, sign in again and click OK when you see the pop-up message.

  1. Open the Music or iTunes app on your Mac. You can find either of these in the Applications folder.
  2. Then click Account. You can find this in the Apple Menu Bar at the top of your screen when you click the app.
  3. Next, click Sign In. If you see your Apple ID and password listed at the top of the drop-down, you can skip the next step.
  4. Then enter your Apple ID and password. If you don’t remember your Apple ID or password, click Forgot Apple ID or Password?
  5. Next, click the Apple icon in the top-left corner of your Mac’s screen.
  6. Then select System Preferences.
  7. Next, click Sharing.
  8. Then select Media Sharing. You can find this in the left sidebar.
  9. Next, click the box next to Home Sharing. You can also change the name of your shared library or choose to update your play counts, share photos, and share media with guests from this window.

Note: If the Home Sharing option is grayed out, you might have to authorize your computer. To do this, open the iTunes or Apple Music app and click Account > Authorize > Authorize This Computer. However, you can only set up Home Sharing on up to five computers at once. To find out more about how to authorize and deauthorize your computers, check out our step-by-step guide here.

  1. Then enter your Apple ID and password and click Turn On Home Sharing.
  2. Finally, click OK.

Once you set up Home Sharing on your Mac, you will be able to access that computer’s music library on your other computers and devices. However, you will have to sign in to those other devices with the same Apple ID.

How to Share Your iTunes Library from a Windows 10 PC

To share music from a Windows computer, open the iTunes for Windows app and sign in. Then click File in the menu bar at the top of the window and go to Home Sharing > Turn on Home Sharing. Then sign in with your Apple ID again and click OK.

  1. Launch the iTunes for Windows app.
  2. Then click Account. You can find this at the top of the iTunes window.
  3. Next, click Sign In and enter your Apple ID and password. If you are already signed in, you can skip this step.
  4. Next, click File in the menu bar. You will see this at the top of your window.
  5. Then hover your mouse over Home Sharing.
  6. Next, click Turn on Home Sharing.

Note: If you get a pop-up message that asks you to authorize your computer, click Authorize > OK. If that doesn’t work, check out our step-by-step guide on how to authorize or deauthorize your computer on iTunes here.

  1. Then sign in with your Apple ID and password and click Turn on Home Sharing. Remember, you want to use the same Apple ID across all devices on your Home Sharing network.
  2. Finally, click OK.

Once you set up Home Sharing on your Windows 10 PC, you will be able to access that computer’s music library on your other computers and devices. However, you will have to be signed into those other devices with the same Apple ID.

How to Access a Shared Library on Another Device

To access a shared iTunes library on another device, you need to set up Home Sharing on a Mac or Windows computer first. Then you can share, import, or even stream music from up to five computers. Home Sharing will only work if the following requirements are met:

  • Your devices have the latest iOS, iPadOS, or macOS update.
  • Your PC must have the latest version of iTunes for Windows installed.
  • All your devices must be connected to the same WiFi network.
  • All your devices must be signed into the same Apple ID account.

Note: You also need to have the Music or iTunes app open and running on your Mac or Windows computer. If you want to know how to stop your computer from shutting down, check out our step-by-step guides on how to turn off sleep mode on your Mac and how to turn off sleep mode on your Windows 10 PC.

How to Access a Shared Apple Music or iTunes Library on an iPhone

To access a shared iTunes or Music library on your iPhone, go to Settings > Music and tap Sign in under Home Sharing. Then open the Music app on your iPhone and select the Library tab. Next, tap Edit and select Home Sharing.

  1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone. This is the gear-shaped icon on your home screen.
  2. Then scroll down and select Music.
  3. Next, tap Sign In under Home Sharing. This is the last option on your screen. If you see your Apple ID is already entered under Home Sharing, you can skip the next step.
  4. Then tap Sign In or Use Other Apple ID. If you select Use Other Apple ID, you will have to enter another Apple ID and password.
  5. Next, open the Music app on your iPhone.
  6. Then tap Library. You will see this in the bottom-left corner of your screen.
  7. Next, tap Edit. You can find this in the top-right corner of your screen.
  8. Then scroll down and select Home Sharing.
  9. Finally, tap Done. You will see this in the top-right corner of your screen.

This allows you to see the music libraries from any of your computers on the Home Sharing network. You can then play any music from your shared libraries by clicking Home Sharing in your iPhone Library.

When you select a shared library, it will take a moment for it to be loaded. This will only take seconds if you have a relatively small library. However, if you are sharing a huge library, this can take much longer.

If you can’t add any more music on your iPhone because it’s full, check out our guide on how to free up space on your iPhone here.

How to Access a Shared iTunes or Apple Music Library on a Mac

To access a shared iTunes or Music library on a Mac, open the Music app and sign in using your Apple ID. Then click Library in the left sidebar and select a shared library from the drop-down menu.

  1. Open the Music or iTunes app on your Mac.
  2. Then click Account in the menu bar.
  3. Next, click Sign In.
  4. Then enter your Apple ID and password.
  5. Next, click Library in the left sidebar of the app.
  6. Then select the shared library you want to access. It might take a minute to load your shared library, depending on how large it is.

Once you have selected the shared library you want to access, you can then click the drop-down menu in the bottom-right corner to show all items or just the items that are not in your library.

You can also import any songs that are not in your computer’s library by clicking the three-dot icon at the bottom of an album or to the right of a song.

How to Access a Shared iTunes Library on a Windows 10 PC

To access a shared library on a Windows 10 PC, open the iTunes app and click Account > Sign In and enter your Apple ID and password. Then click the Music drop-down button and select a shared library from the list.

  1. Open the iTunes for Windows app.
  2. Then click Account. You can find this at the top of your window.
  3. Next, click Sign In. If you already see the correct Apple ID at the top of the list, you can skip the next step.
  4. Then enter your Apple ID and password. Remember, this must be the same Apple ID that you used on the other computer.
  5. Next, click the Music drop-down button. You can find this in the top-left corner of the window. It is to the right of the arrow buttons and to the right of the Library This might have a different label, depending on what media you are accessing now.
  6. Finally, select the shared music library that you want to access.

Note: If you don’t see your shared library in the drop-down list, you might have to disable IPv6 on your computer. To do this, open the Windows search bar by clicking the magnifying glass icon in the bottom-left corner of your screen. Then type Control Panel in the search bar and select Open. Next, go to Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center and select your network on the right side of the window. Then click Properties and deselect the box next to Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6). Then restart your computer and try again.

This article has been updated with more accurate information.