If I Cancel My Apple Music Subscription, Can I Get It Back? [Answered!]

You signed up for an Apple Music subscription but, for one reason or another, decided you could not justify the cost at that time.

So, you canceled it. 

But now you find yourself wishing you had kept the subscription. 

You realize that Apple Music made it easy to stream a massive variety of music and that other subscription-based services of the same ilk are just as pricy, if not more so.

Can you get your Apple Music subscription back? Or did you lose your chance to enjoy everything that Apple Music has to offer?

If I Cancel My Apple Music Subscription, Can I Get It Back?

If you cancel your Apple Music subscription, you can get it back at a later point. You will just need your Apple ID and passcode to get it back. Bear in mind that the free trial you had the first go-around was a one-time deal, so you will not get another free trial to the app and will be charged right away.

I love my Apple Music subscription and have no idea how I ever listened to music on the go without this app.

But, should I ever delete it, I can at least take comfort in knowing I can get it back.

I’ve done some research into what it takes to get your subscription back, so allow me to share with you everything that I have learned so far.

How do I join Apple Music to start with?

Joining in the first place is pretty darn simple. 

First-timers will get a three-month trial period to the app.

After that, you will be defaulted to the Individual Plan (which costs $9.99 per month) unless you select one of the other plans (Family, Student, or Voice). 

You can switch between these plans at any time, but college students will need valid proof of student status. 

You can take advantage of that subscription for up to four years.

How can I cancel my subscription if I’m not happy with the app?

Okay, let’s say you already have the app but are ready to cancel your subscription. 

Perhaps it just isn’t meeting your needs or is costing you a little too much money every month. 

If you want to cancel from your iOS-powered device, here is how you go about doing it:

1. Open up the Music app.
2. Find your profile icon in the upper-left corner, then click on it.
3. Tap View Apple ID.
4. Go to Subscriptions, then tap on Manage.
5. Tap on your membership.
6. Go to Renewal Options, then toggle Automatic Renewal to ‘Off’.
7. Tap on Done.

You can also cancel through your PC or Mac, and here’s how:

1. Open iTunes.
2. Tap Sign In, then enter your Apple ID and passcode.
3. Tap on your name, then select Account Info.
4. Put in your passcode if you prompted to do so again.
5. Go to the Account Information screen, then scroll down to Settings.
6. Tap on Manage, which is on the right side of the screen.
7. Locate your membership subscription, then tap Edit.
8. Head over to the iTunes Edit Subscription interface.
9. Click on “Cancel Subscription”, then “confirm cancellation”.
10. Toggle Auto Renewal to Off.
11. Go to iTunes and disable automatic renewal.
12. Tap Done, which will return you to your Account Information page.
13. Tap Done to go back to the iTunes Store. Now, you’re all done.

What happens after I cancel my subscription?

If you want to keep your downloaded tracks active, your membership needs to be active. 

Otherwise, your songs will disappear from your iTunes library. 

This is because every single offline Apple Music track is an .m4p file with DRM protection that is linked to your Apple ID.

Portable media players outside of Apple Music do not recognize these .m4p file extensions.

You can choose to buy these songs on iTunes, and this means you get no DRM .m4a song files. 

However, doing this can cost more than a monthly subscription fee to the app, so you could be looking at a more expensive way of listening to your favorite music. 

Your only other option is to convert Apple music into MP3, AAC or other unprotected audio files for listening after you unsubscribe.

Can I get my subscription back at some later time?

You can always sign up again at a later time. 

Apple leaves its membership open-ended; join when you want, leave when you want, join again later if you want. 

You are not contractually obligated to stay, and you won’t be banned for life just for unsubscribing from the app.

Will I get another free trial if I want to re-subscribe?

The only catch with canceling and re-joining the app is that you won’t get another free trial period. 

That’s a one-and-done deal. 

Apple will give you 90 days free when you first sign up, but if you decide to cancel before or after that window is up, you won’t get another shot at a free trial.

Your preferred payment method will be charged right away, then again on the month, every month (unless you sign up for an annual plan).

How can I keep my playlists after unsubscribing?

When you cancel your subscription, all your playlists will go ‘POOF!’ But you can keep songs forever if you remove DRM from your AM songs and playlists. 

You have the ability to add or download music to your iTunes Library or the AM app, use a music converter that works with Apple files, and put them into an output format that you can play on your device when you are offline.

Of course, this can be a rather time-consuming process and means you will be taking up internal storage space on your device.

Closing Thoughts

Canceling your Apple Music subscription is simple, and Apple will welcome you back if you decide you miss it.

Personally, I don’t plan on leaving the app any time soon. 

There are millions of songs that you can easily stream from your device, and you don’t even need to be listening in on an iPhone to do it.

If you need to switch to a cheaper plan, Voice and Student will shave a few bucks off your monthly bill and might be worth switching over to instead of straight-up canceling your membership.