One fine day, I was on my way to college, plugged the earphones in order to listen to music on iTunes and I was surprised! Most of the song I want to listen to was greyed out on iTunes and ended up listening to songs that I don’t usually listen. Well, that was enough to feel a bit frustrating because the actual reason was unknown to me.

If you’re victimized with the same consequences, you’ve landed on the right post. Follow the guide that will help you to fix the iTunes songs greyed out the issue. Without further ado, let’s get started.

Also read: What to do when iTunes won’t connect/detect iPhone, iPad, or iPod

Apple Music Subscription Service

If you’re already subscribed to Apple Music. Below is some valid reason why you’re songs greyed out:

Reason 1: You might have not been connected to iCloud Music Library, click on the icon located in the upper-right corner of iTunes to reconnect.

Reason 2: The song is no more available in your region, or in Apple Music.

Reason 3: You have Restrictions turned on for explicit lyrics.

Reason 4: There might be changed done to an album.

Restart Your Device

Restarting your iDevice is the major thing you can do. Here’s how to do that:

For iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch who have Home buttons: Press Home and Power at the same time until the Apple logo is displayed.

For iPhone 7, 7+, and iPod 7th generation: Press and hold both the side volume down buttons for 10 seconds until the Apple logo is displayed.

For iPhone 8 or above, iPad with no home button present: Press and release the volume up button, then press promptly release the volume down button, now, press and hold the Side button until the Apple logo is displayed.

Check Audio Format of

The songs are unable because they are might be unsupported formats or DRM protected tracks. Here’s how to check this issue:

Step 1: Visit iTunes, and select the song with the issue.

Step 2: Right-click and choose Get Info.

Step 3: If the song is unsupported or DRM protected then you will get to see “Protected” next to Kind.

If you want to resolve the issue, you have to subscribe Apple Music or iTunes Matches.

Check iTunes Settings

Sometimes, somehow iTunes turn on the Check Selection setting, this makes your song gray out. Just right-click on the required song, at the bottom menu search for “Check Selection”, just uncheck the selection. Clicking on Check Selection will let you play songs and add them to your playlists, etc.

Re-download the Song

If you already have purchased the song in the past, then simply you can re-download it to resolve the issue. Here’s how to do that:

Step 1: Click on the iTunes located at the top right.

Step 2: Click on the Purchased option by clicking on your account from the drop-down menu.

Step 3: Just re-download the song to see if the issue is resolved.

ReAuthorize and DeAuthorize iTunes Songs

Sometimes, Apple forgets to authorize your song. Here’s how to refresh the authorization:

Step 1: Click on Store menu option on the top of iTunes, to de-authorize your computer in iTunes.

Step 2: Proceed to De-authorize your computer, then sign out of iTunes from your account.

Step 3: Reboot the computer and log in to your iTunes account.

Step 4: Re-authorize your computer back in iTunes.

For iPhone or iPad

If the issue is encountered on iPhone or iPad, just try to delete the song and re-install it as mentioned above. Here’s another workaround you can try:

Step 1: Visit Settings > General > Storage > Music (go to Storage & iCloud Usage, choose Manage Storage under storage for older iOS).

Step 2: Select on the Song and tap on edit, then tap on the symbol located at the left of every song and select Delete. You all song will be deleted.

Step 3: Now, sync your iPhone to your iTunes and re-install all the songs.

This should have resolved the issue. This usually happens if you removed the song from your computer other than iTunes when you sync it, this remove song shows removed or appears as greyed out.

Read next: “Connect to iTunes” – iPad is disabled | How to Fix