Your icloud library session has timed out. Is it possible to sync my media library with an external hard drive? There is no longer a limit for uploading photos to the cloud

Imagine that you are a representative of that small segment of iTunes users who keeps their media library in perfect condition. Each album is required to be assigned a cover, all tags are meticulously written, thousands of songs are rated, and the number of hand-selected playlists has exceeded the second ten. For you, music is more than just a collection of bytes. You accumulate your media library over the years by buying albums at iTunes Store or searching for rare recordings on torrents. And the files themselves are not stored in corners hard drive, and in the automatically generated iTunes file library - arranged in folders and always at hand.

And then one fine morning you notice that your wonderful media library is sick. Yes, she is so sick that with every moment the desire to shoot her (so as not to suffer) only increases. After all, some real nightmare is happening before your eyes. Several duplicates of the same album appear, the covers are completely confused, the playlists are filled with completely arbitrary songs. Moreover, when playing songs, their content is completely at odds with the metadata! “No, no, this is Bob Dylan, not Cage the Elephant!” is spinning in your head, but you can’t help it.

This is exactly what happened to me. The only difference is that my catastrophe was not spontaneous. It did not arise on its own. It arose after iTunes updates until the long-awaited version 12.2, which brought us Apple Music and iCloud Music Library. If I and hundreds (if not thousands) of other iTunes users knew in advance what awaited them, we would not have made any sudden movements. However, the “Enable iCloud Photo Library” button seemed harmless enough at first glance.

For some reason iCloud could not cope with uploading the library to the cloud, and near each songs put a warning that, supposedly, this composition has already been uploaded to iCloud. My first suspicion was my iTunes Match subscription, which I canceled at the end of last year. Perhaps due to some error, the files were still left on the server, and Apple Music's actions caused some kind of conflict. Multiple comments on the Apple forums support my theory that it was former iTunes Match subscribers who faced similar horrors.

However, purely outwardly it seemed that all the confusion was caused solely by a malfunction in the program itself - supposedly, an attempt to enable iCloud Media Library caused a “linear shift” of metadata. Moreover, the records that were among the first to be added to iTunes were “distributed” - which also looked a little strange. Fast enough in the depths file system backup copies of the iTunes library itself were found in .itl format - iTunes prudently makes a backup before each software update. (backups are located at C:\Users\\Music\iTunes\Previous iTunes Libraries)

By “substituting” the last found .itl instead of the current library, we were able to return iTunes to the state it was in before the update. Unfortunately, this was only the beginning of my torment. It turned out that taking advantage of its permissiveness within the iTunes Media catalog, iTunes replaced metadata not only in its database, but also directly in files. Moreover, he scattered the “corrected” files inside his directory as desired. Naturally, previous version The database was dismayed by this turn. It turned out that when I tried to play some songs, I got an error saying “File not found.”

The following paragraphs describe the process of “curing” the media library in fairly small technical details. If you are not interested, you can scroll through the article until the next similar warning.

And how could he even be found? There were several hundred broken songs; searching for them all manually and moving them to their original location (also manually correcting the metadata along the way) was not an option. Using the golden rule “no one will help you except yourself,” I decided to use the language Python programming, extremely convenient for writing this kind of scripts. The main task was the same - to delve into the organization of the iTunes library database file and find a way to determine the “past life” of the damaged file in order to then return it to its place.

A similar loophole was found quite quickly. iTunes, after launching with a new .itl file, automatically generates XML document, in which it stores information about its media library. In the XML file you can find information about each individual composition - title, album, artist, genre, and so on. The most interesting field turned out to be “Persistent ID” - this is a code set of letters and numbers that is assigned to a file when it is added to the media library and doesn't change no matter what happens to him. It was from this field that it was possible to determine what kind of song was actually in front of us. And considering that the information about the song also included its location, the task finally became completely understandable and tangible.

That is, it was necessary to compare two XML file- with correct information and with incorrect information. If songs with the same Persistent ID have different file locations, you just need to move it, simultaneously clearing it of metadata - iTunes itself will then “pull” them from its library.

I admit that my Python development skills are quite mediocre, so I had to suffer quite a bit to implement this simple algorithm. When writing the program, the built-in library plistlib (which turns plist-XML into a conveniently formatted “dict”) and the external library mutagen (for working with ID3 tags and more) were used. In the end, development and debugging took me a little over eight hours, but the resulting script did exactly what I expected from it.

I will not post the script in open access, since its operation requires special conditions and I cannot guarantee its performance in each individual case. However, if you, like me, are faced with the problem described above, be sure to contact me - I will provide the code and tell you how to use it. You will always find current contacts in my.

At this point the technical details end and the thoughts continue that “ Apple has already not that one"

After my music was almost completely disinfected, I made another attempt to connect iCloud Music Library - this time by clearing it first. It didn't help. Another warning about “duplicates”, another metadata disaster. True, the second time it didn’t cause so much horror - literally in two clicks everything returned to its original state. However, after that, I finally decided that Apple Music is not for me, and until it is fixed, it is simply impossible to use it.

As far as I know, this has already happened before - with launching iTunes Match. It's good that I didn't encounter this then. But I’m already anticipating your comments that “everything is working fine for everyone, and here you are rubbing some bullshit on me.” So no, it doesn't work. Comments on

Apple - worldwide famous company, which is the most the best manufacturer computer devices. This company has high demand in the market and constantly surprises its users with new developments. Their products include mobile phones, tablets, laptops, computers and much more. Each development has high quality and is definitely part of a huge Apple systems. But the company is not known for technologies alone, since some of its departments are actively developing and software, which can be used exclusively by the buyer of their equipment.

And today we will talk about a well-known and still quite young software product, which is known as the iCloud media library. In this article we will look at what this program is, how to use it, what functions it has, and what you can generally expect from it. It is worth recalling that Apple constantly supports its developments, regardless of the year of their production, simultaneously releasing various updates and extensions.

What kind of program?

So, the iCloud media library is the connecting link of all the equipment that was developed by Steve Jobs' company. This program represents a certain virtual storage, which is capable of synchronizing all the devices you have with each other. The main condition, of course, is production by one company. It's no secret that almost every device uses a single account for its native equipment, that is, you will not be able to connect several developments with each other until you confirm your account, pass verification and identify serial numbers. For example, you can synchronize mobile phone and a tablet, then connect a computer to them, etc. An important requirement is the presence of the Internet and initial knowledge program control, although all this is contained in the proposed instructions that are provided with the product. Everyone can manage the iCloud media library; the main thing is to start using it, and in the future you will not have any questions or misunderstandings.

What is it for?

We've figured out the basics, but what functions does it contain? Is this interesting and useful application, which can make our devices easier to use? Indeed it is! iCloud Photo Library iTunes allows you to easily synchronize data between devices using cloud storage. That is, all data stored on the iMac has a copy in the cloud storage, and this allows you to receive data from any device and move everything necessary information without unnecessary reasons, registration and waiting. Convenient, isn't it?

iCloud Music Library allows you to maximize short terms transfer any digital data and process it on another device within a minute. The data includes mainly multimedia files, but you can also use simple documents, presentations, etc. You just have to take into account the amount of storage memory.

How to enable it?

Everything is clear about the functionality, but how to enable the iCloud media library? This is quite easy to do, since standard settings allow you to use a switch between the sleeping and active state of the program. To do this, you need to go to the device settings, find iCloud menu and find the “iCloud Media Library” sub-item, then simply activate the slider, and the function will be available to you. Do not forget that use requires registration and creation of a single account for devices. After all these steps, you will be able to log in and exchange data with virtual server. The server has a limited amount of memory, which must be filled wisely, otherwise you simply will not have enough space. But this is just the initial stage of using storage, which can be expanded in the future. You can also specify in the settings exactly what data you will synchronize and which devices to recognize.

Photo storage

So, the iCloud media library is turned on, now all that remains is to start using it and admire the convenience. The first function of the service is cloud transfer photographs. If iCloud is in your active state, then every photo you take during the day will have backup copy in the service. It will be stored for some time to protect you from accidental deletion of data. Then you can simply delete it from your phone, and it will remain in your cloud storage forever. Quite a convenient method, especially when you have to take photographs often. But that's not all the features, as iCloud comes with a photo editor. It is, of course, not as advanced as, for example, Photoshop, but it allows you to edit color scheme and cut out the excess from the frame. And this is already more interesting than any similar service; the most interesting thing is that you can use the editor from any device.

Video storage

iCloud Media Library is recommended for use by absolutely everyone, from ordinary users ending with business people. Why is the application so popular? Everything is quite simple: iCloud, in addition to the main storage and synchronization function, allows you to use various editors for multimedia files. For example, in addition to the content of video recordings in the storage, they can also be edited and converted at your discretion. You witnessed an unusual phenomenon, filmed what was happening, quickly edited it in iCloud, left it for storage and from there uploaded it to any video hosting service.

Efficiency, convenience and ease of management are the main advantages of this service. And this already opens up great opportunities for maintaining a personal video diary and active employment in the field of video recording. Editor at at the moment has standard features, but this is not the limit, since in the future it will actively develop.

Music content storage

iCloud Music Library, as you already understood, offers standard features and an accompanying editor. The main functions allow you to create audio albums and store all information in the cloud, and the editor allows you to process without much effort and knowledge audio tracks, create your own tracks and simply edit the resulting audio recordings.

At first glance, these are not very popular functions, but it’s worth remembering how many people are engaged in similar work, and now that it’s possible to always have them at hand convenient editor, this is already taking place and is becoming popular. These are, in fact, all the functions that the iCloud media library has. There are few of them, but they are detailed and may well be useful at any time. Considering it's a century now digital technologies, it is worth understanding the importance of these skills and capabilities. Various social networks, a huge abundance of videos and many other examples - all this will require you proper operation With various options data. But there is one small and not very pleasant problem that is easily solved, but is emerging more and more often.

Problems with use

If you can't enable iCloud Music Library, what should you do in this situation? Oddly enough, this is not the result of a breakdown or deception. The program cannot be activated if you do not have a registered account and licensed products. Yes, currently there is huge amount counterfeits of Apple products, which look absolutely original and fresh, but in reality it turns out that under the layer of beauty there is an empty blank, without the ability to use various services and other features.

To determine whether the original is in front of you or not, it is worth remembering important rule: Buy products exclusively from specialized Apple Centers. Even large retail chains do not hesitate to sell counterfeit goods. Be careful and you will immediately save yourself from many problems and extra costs. As for the inability to connect, this problem lies in the lack of Internet or registration of space in the cloud storage. It's easy to fix these problems, the main thing is to find the time for it.

Main purpose

iCloud Media Library, at first glance, is designed to store data from any device in virtual space. But on the other hand, it is this service that can solve main problem, which concerns the unpleasant situation when a user forgets his password and his device is blocked. Thanks to this cloud storage, any user can special problems Reset your device, thereby saving all data. This will allow you to avoid problems with blocking and continue to use your device. And other opportunities that relate to the free transfer of data, their editing and publication in social networks, - all this is just nice addition to the main purpose.

Program requirement

How to disable iCloud Music Library? Before answering this question, it is necessary to consider what is required for this program to work? After all, if the basic conditions are not met, then the inclusion of this development simply will not be necessary. There are only two conditions: the use of a licensed device and the presence of the Internet. There is also a requirement to register an account, but this is completely different. Regarding the Internet: it must be provided to you by the operator mobile communications By special rates. And we already talked about the licensed device earlier in this article. Implementation of these simple rules will help you get rid of problems and use your device calmly.

How can I turn it off?

How to disable iCloud Music Library in iTunes? This is as easy to do as when you turn it on. You just have to go to the menu of your device, find special setting, which is referred to as iCloud, and redirect the slider towards disabling. After this, your device will not sync with the cloud storage, which will allow you to store data on your device. Now you know how to disable iCloud media library, however, this is not recommended, since this function has a lot of positive and useful services, which you will surely find useful.

Further development

Here, in fact, is all the information that concerns iCloud service. Now you know almost everything about this Apple service, however, it is also worth recalling that all these features were implemented quite recently and do not yet constitute a full-fledged service. Apple Company stated that it would actively develop its creation, add editors, expand the space and simply organize the use of this service. As for the storage capacity, Apple has already implemented its plans, however, its expansion is paid, although not for a lot of money.

iCloud Photo Library is a relatively new option iOS platforms, and therefore not all users yet understand why it is needed and what benefits it provides. In this article we will tell you what this option is, how to enable it, disable it, and what problems can sometimes arise on the device when it is enabled.

In essence, this option is a kind of alternative to the good old photo stream. When you turn it on, in the settings cloud storage, all photos and videos are automatically uploaded to the cloud, in addition, they can be viewed and edited on all devices on which you are logged in to the same Apple ID as on the device with the activated media library. In this case, changes made on one of the devices are automatically transferred to others. However, changes are not transferred to the cloud, so if you change your mind, you can always download the original from the repository.

The key difference from a photo stream is that the user, firstly, has the opportunity to store not only photos, but also videos in iCloud. And, secondly, the quantitative and time restrictions disappear. You can add no more than 1000 photos to the photo stream in 30 days and each photo is stored, again, no more than 30 days.

The fact that the new option expands the possibilities in terms of backup content is, of course, a definite plus. But at the same time, as a rule, it confronts the user with the need to purchase additional space in the cloud.

Apple allocates 5 GB to each iOS device owner free space in iCloud, and this is not small, but when we're talking about About photos and videos, gigabytes run out very quickly. Thus, the user either has to buy more space or clear out the media library in a timely manner. However, if you are not a lazy person, the need for regular “cleaning” will not be a problem.

Enable or disable your media library

By default the option is disabled, to enable it:

Please note that when you turn on the slider, it will appear additional menu- in it you can specify how you want to save photos and videos on the device - you can choose optimized storage, don’t worry, the originals will be in the cloud, but it will be easier for your “apple” to “breathe”.

Before uploading content, it makes sense to clarify how much photos and videos currently weigh; perhaps the available 5 GB is not enough for you. You can view the “weight” in the iCloud menu - “Storage” / “Management”, then select the backup copy and look at the value opposite the line “iCloud Media Library”. If you only have 5 GB of space in the cloud, but you have already accumulated 10 GB of content, then it is impossible to turn on the iCloud media library without losing some files.

As for turning it off, everything is very simple. If for some reason you decide to disable iCloud Music Library, simply deactivate the corresponding slider in the Settings menu.

iCloud Music Library in the Music menu

Media Library works not only for photos and videos, it also allows you to combine music on all devices with a single Apple ID and active subscription on Apple Music. To create public access Audio files must include a media library:

Unfortunately, sometimes when activating the option, users are faced with the problem of being unable to transfer music via iTunes to an iOS device. In the support section of the official Apple website, the following “first aid” is recommended in such a situation. First you need to open iTunes, click “File” in the main menu, then “Media Library”/”Update...”. If this does not work, you need to make sure that the device on which the unified media library files are not available is configured with the same Apple ID as the device with the original media library. In addition, we remind you that the Apple ID you are using must have an active Apple Music subscription.

Hi all! Yes, with exactly this problem - music cannot be recorded on the iPhone via iTunes, as many as 2 acquaintances contacted me in the last day! To be honest, I was a little confused when I first heard about this problem, since until that day no problems had arisen - you take a song from iTunes and drag it to your iPhone or iPad. But as it turned out, after latest updates iOS, something has changed in iGadgets, and now I’ll show you what exactly!

iCloud Music Library

The problem is buried in iCloud, or more precisely in the iCloud Music Library section, which synchronizes all songs on all your devices. What exactly is happening there, in this media library and how it exactly works, I won’t say. And even Apple itself seems to be confused as to why they need iTunes Match, iTunes Music Store and iCloud Media Library! I don’t want to puzzle over how iTunes Match and the iCloud Music Library interact with each other, I’ll just say that by turning off the Library in Settings, you can record music to your iPhone/iPod/iPad from your computer via iTunes.

Before turning off the iCloud library, let's go to Music and see what's there:

As you can see, there are several folders and playlists - this is what I currently have on my Mac in iTunes (I deleted the untitled folder from iTunes, but it doesn’t want to disappear from the iPhone):

And in this mode we Can't transfer music to iPhone via iTunes from a computer... We can only listen to music online or download some song or folder to the device if we click on "..." to the right of the folder or song and click on Make available offline, although this does not always work:

How to turn off iCloud Music Library

Now let's figure out how to get rid of this scourge and return to the original, classic look. Go to Settings on your iPhone/iPod/iPad, scroll down to the Music section, and then turn off iCloud Music Library inside!

If for some reason reason iPhone swears that he will delete all the music on the device - calmly ignore and delete! After this, the Music program on the device will show what it should, that is, nothing. In my case, we see some playlists and music, but this is only what I have already bought for myself in iTMS :)

Now you can safely connect your iPhone to iTunes and record music in any way convenient for you!

By the way, after turning the iCloud media library on and off several times, folders with numbers appear in the playlists - this is most likely an iOS bug and will have to be fixed in the next update... Deleting these folders is very simple - click on “...” on the right and click on Delete.

As a result, I still don’t understand through what mechanism the iCloud media library works - through iTunes Match (taking into account that I’m not subscribed to it) or something else. Again, if iCloud Music Library allows you to listen to all the music from your computer, then why is this Match needed!? Most likely this is somehow related to Apple Music, but again, how? In general, I have more questions than answers. If you know the details, write in the comments, otherwise I’m completely confused!

Also don’t forget to subscribe to my group on social networks -

Where is the application for iOS, why can I freely use it on a computer, but on iOS only with third party applications? But it's even harder to understand all the benefits iCloud Drive and iCloud Photo Library (which is still in beta) for photos. We figured out all the intricacies of the new services and how it will affect photos.

There is no longer a limit for uploading photos to the cloud

Previously, only 1,000 photos were stored in iCloud. New ones were loaded automatically and the thousandth and first photo replaced the very first one. Now, according to information on the Apple website, the number of photos you can upload is limited only by the amount of space in your iCloud Drive.

This is the main reason to buy additional iCloud storage. By purchasing an additional 20 gigabytes for a dollar per month, you can store all your photos in the cloud.

Now you can optimize the space occupied by photos on your device

After enabling iCloud Photo Library, you can check the box for “Optimize iPhone storage space.” This feature allows you to upload original photos to the cloud, leaving compressed copies on your gadget. The differences between them are small iPhone screen you won't notice, but extra space will appear. If you have a large media library, then there may be a lot of free space.

Videos are also uploaded to the cloud

But, as you understand, they require much more space. If you have a lot of videos, then the minimum tariff plan 20 gigabytes may not be enough. The free 5 gigabytes are not even worth talking about. But this is great news for those who have a lot of videos that they don't want to lose.

You can view your photos in the browser

By going to iCloud.com, in the “Photos” tab, you can view all your photos that have already been synchronized. You can also upload photos here from other devices, for example, from a computer.

The originals are always safe

If you want to edit a photo, you don’t have to worry about the original - it will always be stored in the cloud. Moreover, all changes made to the photo will be synchronized and available on all devices.

30 days for deleted photos

Deleted photos are not deleted, excuse the pun. All deleted photos are moved to the Recently Deleted folder, where they are available for another 30 days. During this time they can be returned. If you want to immediately delete a photo once and for all, you will have to delete it again, but from this album.

You get the same 30 days if you turn off iCloud Photo Library. All photos will be available for uploading for 30 days, and then will be deleted from Apple servers.

Conclusion

These are all the changes we found. Overall, the iCloud media library has many advantages and is practically complete absence cons. There is no catch, but in order to fully use the function, you will have to buy extra bed in iCloud Drive.

Plans start at $0.99 for 20 gigabytes per month and should be enough for most people. If you are an avid photographer, and your library contains thousands of photos or many videos, then you will have to give Apple a little more money. But this is money for safety and reliability.

Are you currently using iCloud Photo Library and will you be purchasing additional iCloud Drive storage?