Fix iTunes Playlist Disappeared and Restore iTunes Playlists

The "iTunes playlist disappeared" problem can occur for a variety of reasons, such as iTunes upgrades, music library displacement, or careless deletion, etc. For whatever reasons, it's urgent for you to fix this problem to prevent further data loss. Currently, there are two ways for you to fix this issue: Recovering the disappeared iTunes playlist with the old XML file or recovering from the iTunes backup. You can pick either of them as your solution.

To prevent such tragedy from happening to your music files, we provide solutions to backup & restore music files from your iPhone/iPad. 

Part 1. How to Recover Disappeared iTunes Playlists with the Old XML File

One simple way to restore missing iTunes playlists is to use the previous iTunes music library to replace the broken one. Here's how to do it.

Step 1. Copy and paste the iTunes music library to a place where you want it.

• Quit iTunes completely and open the iTunes music folder. (Mac users: Go > Home > Choose Music folder > Open iTunes folder; Windows users: /My documents/ My music/ iTunes)

• Find a file named iTunes Music Library.xml and drag it to your desktop or somewhere else that's convenient for you.

Step 2. Import the old iTunes music library to iTunes

• Open your iTunes, and click on "File." 
• Select "Library." 
• Click on "Import Playlist..."
• Choose the iTunes Music library.xml you just saved.

Part 2. Recover Missed iTunes Playlists with iTunes Backup

If you have ever backed up your iTunes playlists on your computer, then you can directly restore the disappeared playlists from iTunes backup.

Step 1. Run iTunes on your computer.

Step 2. Find and click the "File" option > "Library" > "Import playlists."

Step 3. Navigate to the playlists file on your computer and then move them to your iTunes.

Part 3. Recover Deleted Music from iTunes

The problem "iTunes playlists disappeared" may not frequently occur in your life, but "music disappeared" does. If you accidentally delete important songs from iTunes, try the below solutions to take them back without hassle.

1. Check Trash or Recycle Bin

The first thing you need to do when you accidentally delete music is to check your Trash on Mac or Recycle Bin on Windows. On Windows PCs, you can use the taskbar at the bottom of the display to find the Recycle Bin. On macOS computers, you can find the Trash app at the right-hand end of the Dock.

2. Restore Deleted Music from iTunes Store [Purchased items]

For purchased songs, you have an extra option to recover music - restoring purchased items from the iTunes store. Here are the steps.

Step 1. Open the iTunes Store on your iPhone or iPad.

Step 2. Tap the More button (three dots) at the bottom of the screen.

Step 3. Tap "Purchased" and then tap "Music."

Step 4. Find the music you want to redownload and tap it.

3. Recover Deleted Music with an iOS Data Recovery Tool

If neither of the above-mentioned solutions works to help you out, then try this powerful iOS data recovery tool - EaseUS MobiSaver, which enables you to recover all kinds of data, whether you have a backup or not. It has a fast recovery speed and a high success rate of recovery. Everything you need for a recovery tool can be found on this tool. 

Now, you can download it on your computer to have a try!

Step 1. Connect your iDevice to your computer and run EaseUS MobiSaver > Choose a recovery mode you wish to use, here choose "Recover from iOS Device" > Click "Scan" to proceed.

Step 2. After scanning, this program will find & display all your Apple Music files and other lost data after scanning the iOS device.

Step 3. Select your wanted files and click the "Recover" button to get all of them back.

Bonus Tip. How to Backup Music to Computer

As you can see, either iTunes playlists or songs disappear can be a nightmare. To prevent such problems from happening again, it's necessary to make regular backups of them. You can do this with iTunes or iCloud. But except for them, here we will mainly recommend a different backup solution - using this professional iOS backup tool - EaseUS MobiMover to make a copy of your important music or other iOS data. Compared with iTunes and iCloud, this program is more flexible and efficient. You can either use it to backup all music or specific music to your computer.

If you need to, you can also move music to an iPhone from a computer or copy music from one iPhone to another.

To back up iPhone music to computer:

Step 1. Connect your iPhone to the computer and run EaseUS MobiMover. "Allow" it to access your iPhone data and "Trust" this computer. Then, click "Audio" and "Music" to proceed. 

Step 2. Click "Music" to choose desired music files and click "Settings" at the right top corner to navigate a safe location on your PC for saving the files.

Step 3. Click "Transfer to PC" to start the transferring.

The Bottom Line

Overall, there are two main solutions to recover disappeared iTunes playlists. Whichever way you eventually choose, we hope you can complete your task. In case that your music gets deleted by accident in the future, we also give you some solutions to retrieve them. 

As you can see, data loss can happen anytime and anywhere. To prevent that from happening, it's necessary for you to regularly back up your music with the method offered in the final part.