Despite the larger capacity options available, it’s not uncommon to find yourself desperate to free up space for a movie rental, photos or app. If you are on the go, it can be difficult to find areas where you can free up storage space. If you make it a habit to regularly sync your music, then you can safely delete songs from your iPhone, freeing up valuable space. With iOS 5, the process of deleting music from your iPhone is super easy. If you subscribe to iTunes Match, you can also re-download tracks without having to connect to your Mac/PC.
To delete songs from your iPhone, simply navigate to the track in the Music app and swipe right. You’ll be prompted to click on the ‘Delete’ button, which will remove the song(s) from your iPhone. This process remains the same for albums and even at the artist level. With a swipe and a click, I can delete my entire collection of Vanilla Ice. Not that I would do something crazy like that, but the option is there if I were to need space while on the go.
Deleting Songs in iOS 6
I have confirmed that the method described above does indeed work in iOS 6. The requirement is that you do not have iTunes Match enabled. Navigate to Settings > Music > iTunes Match (Off). Double click the home button, then press and hold the Music icon. Press the “-” sign to quit. Relaunch the Music app and you’ll see only the files that physically on your iPhone. Swipe to delete them from your iPhone.
How to delete songs from your iPhone is part of a continuing series of iPhone tips, tricks and basics.
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You wouldn’t happen to know how to delete songs directly from your iPad would you? I’ve tried the “swipe” method but it’s just not bringing up the remove button. Am I doing something wrong or can I just not do it?
Its not working for me. I have ipod generation 1 or 2 and it won’t work.
What he means is that all you have to do is this;
1. Go to music
2. Either go to songs or artists
3. Find the song you want to delete or get rid of.
4. Swipe the song left
5. Press delete
6. Your done, as easy as cake
thks bro….
Mekenzie, thanks so much for this! I have been trying to figure this out for a little while now and your answer was by far the best!!
thanks it helped me
Ya im on da same page as ashley…
thanks
@ashley : i’ve tried this and it worked fine with me., i was able to delete my songs ., i just swiped the title of the song/artist/album and it appeared
Iy deleted all my songs on iPad perfectly apart from 3 , and I dnt know why …..? Grrr
I think its in the ‘recently added’ playlist you can’t delete i have the same problem
Thank you man im glad i found your article and be happy with my iPhone
When i click set right there is no delet button!
Hi
How do you restore the deleted music? I accidentally erased my favorite album off of my iPad, and even though I’ve synced my iPad with iTunes, the deleted song doesn’t come back!
Make sure it’s set to sync in iTunes. Connect your iPhone to your Mac/PC and iTunes should launch. Click on your iPhone and the ‘Music’ tab. Does the album have a check next to it?
Yes it work’s on my phone! Thank’s!
Go to the iTunes store and go to purchased on the bottom. Hit music. Hit not on this iPod on top.
My problem is the grey circle next to songs, which were interrupted downloads. They try to download, but won’t. I’d like to delete them, but the swipe right doesn’t work. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
Sorry for the late response. Your best bet is to try removing via iTunes or try a restore of your iPhone. Not the easiest method, but guaranteed to fix the issue.
Thanks, easy when you know how.
I have iPhone 3? I think. And the swipe method doesn’t work with my phone. Am I going to have to sync and delete from library? Or is there a shorter way…
i’ve tried swiping but the delete option never shows up. Am I diong something wrong?
i have done the delete, but when i sync it come back, i don’t want it to come back after syncing. i try and delete it from itunes under my phone -> music, but i can’t delete it.
Connect your iPhone to your Mac/PC. Within iTunes, click on your iPhone and then select the ‘Music’ tab. Here you can control what music gets synced to your iPhone. The songs are probably re-syncing.
thank you so much! Ive been wanting to delete the old songs I downloaded before but I didnt know how. I was amaze how easy to delete it hahahaha laughing at myself after .you just swipe it towards left and the delete will appear. thanks a lot. its so easy!
I can,t dealet music
At first I thought Apple customers were so stupid that someone needed to
write a How-To for deleting files. I’m forced to use an iPhone for
work and the UI is HORRIBLE. The simplest tasks are tedious and
designed to force you into either the app or iTunes store. No
user-generated content allowed.
Thanks, I’ve been trying to do this all evening and FINALLY I came across the correct advice. Much Appreciated
Cheers pal!
There are some songs I want to delete, but they appear faded on my phone and I can’t swipe to bring up the delete button. Any ideas or solutions?
Thank you finally found the delete button. So simple!
thank you i totally forgot that slide right even was a possiblity
great time for IOS 5, but how about an update for IOS 6 as this doesnt work anymore
Works for me in IO6 on all but the song I just posted about.
I have a song listed twice and one won’t play, or let me delete it. Any
suggestions? I think it was an interrupted download and when I synced
it, it added it again. I’d like to delete the unplayable one but can’t
with swipe. It doesn’t appear in iTunes either.
Hey Tim, as I mentioned on Twitter, you might want to try to do a restore. I think you’re right, the interrupted download has left that file in limbo. Good luck and report back. My apologies for the late response.
Thank you God ! Thank you man, i am glad i found your article. I am happy now with my iPhone, too
Thank you! That was so helpful.
Awesome. Glad you found it helpful.
the swipe and delete method does NOT work in io6. apple removed the feature (much to the chagrin of its users). frustrating
Did NOT work no option to delete I could swipe left all day
Do you have iTunes Match turned on?
I was very frustrated by the inability to move my music from one laptop to a new one. It’s shouldn’t be this complicated. In the end, this tip was a workaround and there should be an easier way to do it, but I’m very grateful!
Thank you very much.
Hi, got an iphone, kids filled it with ‘their’ music for me….my dilema; im deleting songs in the car then when i back up the iphone on the PC it brought them all back, now i cant remember which ones i deleted!!! Question: How do delete songs off my iphone and try and remember which ones i need to delete from itunes OR can you some how ‘mark’ songs on the iphone to know which ones to delete OR can you have itunes know which songs have been sync’d and not sync again so they dont come back? i.e. Some of my kids music isnt bad but not all of it
thank you !!!finally you make it so easy.
I have iOS 4.3.3 and iPhone 3GS, so I can’t find the iTunes Match! I searched my whole iPhone, and I can’t find it!
The bigger question all should be asking is; WTH are you doing with Vanilla Ice on your phone to begin with?!?!?!?
THANK YOU!!!! Everything else I have looked up has been so difficult. This is exactly what I was looking for!
I WAS ABLE TO DELETE MOST OF THE SONGS ON A ALBUM THAT I DON’T WANT ANYMORE BUT SOME OF THE SONGS WERE NOT HIGHLIGHTED AND IT DIDN’T WORK ON THEM. ANY IDEAS?
It real work for me,thank you for your help.
Ta!:)
After deleting some music from my I Pad the icons are still there cluttering my music box. How do I get rid of them??
I deleted the songs by holding the icon til the X came then deleted them. The files are still there but empty and cluttering! It won’t let me swipe and delete these empty files!!!
My problem is that when I link to iTunes, it re-adds the songs I’ve deleted. Any way to the an auto sync off? Because I can’t delete the songs off the phone via iTunesi
My problem is that when I link to iTunes, it re-adds the songs I’ve deleted. Any way to turn the auto sync off? Because I can’t delete the songs off the phone via iTunes
I try the swipe method on my iPad and it don’t work
it worked on my iphone thanks for the information!
SWEET! Thanks for the info! I was just about to use up all my storage because I had downloaded songs before I started using iCloud to store my music. This cleared off like 1700 songs.
You are now my God. I worship you, O master of the Universe.
why wont it work??
stop saying this is “easy”. it’s not easy, it’s asinine. That you had to post a “how-to” on what should be a self-explanatory task proves that this is yet another design flaw from Apple.