
I can't play a song
If you can't play a song, check the following:
- If you can’t play a song purchased from the iTunes Store, you may have exceeded the number of computers on which you can listen to your purchases. If you “authorize” five computers (by playing purchases on those computers), you can't listen to the purchases on a sixth computer until you deauthorize one of the five authorized computers. (For instructions on deauthorizing a computer, click the first link below.)
- If you're listening to a shared library or playlist, iTunes skips iTunes Store purchases if your computer hasn't been authorized to play them. To listen to a purchased song in a shared library or playlist, double-click the song. If your computer isn't authorized to play songs purchased by the person who is sharing the song, you'll need to enter that person's Apple or AOL account ID and password to hear the song.
- You might be trying to play an AAC file that was not created using iTunes or downloaded from the iTunes Store. Songs you download from the iTunes Store or import into your library using the AAC encoder are encoded using the new MPEG-4 AAC format, and play in iTunes and on your iPod. Other AAC files that you find on the Internet or elsewhere won't play in iTunes.
- If you’re trying to play a song on a CD that you burned using iTunes, make sure the equipment on which you're trying to play the CD is appropriate for the disc's format. For example, if you burned a CD-RW disc, you can play it only on your computer and some newer CD players. If you burned an MP3 disc, it should work in your computer and on special MP3 CD players, but not on standard consumer audio CD players. You can't play DVDs burned using iTunes on most consumer DVD players.
- If you have a slow Internet connection (128 Kbps or less) and are trying to play a song preview in the iTunes Store, the preview may not play smoothly. Choose iTunes > Preferences, click Store, and select "Load complete preview before playing." Then try previewing the song again.
- If you're listening to a playlist that includes a song preview, the playlist stops after the song preview. Double-click the next song in the playlist to resume playing the rest of the playlist.
Related Topics
Authorizing a computer to play iTunes Store purchases
