Song star ratings disappearing on Mac and iPhone after cable syncing
I’m experiencing recurring loss of song star ratings in my personal Music library of approximately 56,000 songs.
I use a MacBook Pro and an iPhone 16 Pro, now running iOS 27.0.1. I sync through Finder by cable. Sync Library is OFF on both devices. My music consists of iTunes Store purchases, CDs I’ve ripped, and purchased MP3 files.
I rate songs on the Mac and use a Smart Playlist to find unrated songs. Recently, over 50 songs I played and rated during the past three days returned to that playlist. Checking individual songs confirmed that their ratings were gone on BOTH the Mac and iPhone. I noticed this hours after a cable sync, so I cannot confirm exactly when the ratings disappeared.
What I’ve found so far:
- Ratings survive quitting and reopening Music, and have survived restarting the Mac.
- Cable syncing successfully transfers ratings in both directions during individual tests, but the loss recurs later.
- Spot checks suggest iTunes Store purchased AAC (.m4a) songs are particularly affected. I haven’t established whether this is exclusive to those files.
- Finder sync frequently stalls at “Step 4 of 4: Waiting for changes to be applied.”
- The problem remains after installing iOS 27.0.1.
I also accepted an Apple Music free trial, which I cancelled but remains active until December 19. I don’t know whether that is related.
Has anyone experienced this with cable syncing? Is there a way to prevent ratings from being overwritten or cleared without rebuilding the library or enabling cloud syncing?
I have backed up my Music library database and can provide specific affected songs for troubleshooting.