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How to cancel/stop Apple Music subscriptions from automatic renewal after free trial

Apple Music officially launched today in iOS 8.4 alongside an integrated radio service featuring the 24/7 live streaming station known as Beats 1. Everyone is getting a free three month trial, but once that ends, Apple will start charging the credit card on your Apple ID with either the $9.99/month plan or the $14.99/month family plan (depending on what you selected when first signing up). If you want to cancel your subscription, or just keep it from auto-renewing so you can go month-to-month and manually activate it when you want, below we’ve put together a quick guide on how to do so across platforms:

iTunes:

1. Click on your account (the silhouette icon) in the upper right of iTunes

2. Select “Account Info”

3. Navigate to Settings and click “Manage” next to subscriptions

4. Click the “Edit” button next to “Apple Music Membership” (only necessary if you have multiple subscriptions). If not you’ll go direct to next step:

5. Click “Off” next to Automatic Renewal (this is also where you can switch your plan type)

iOS:

1. Tap your account (the silhouette icon) in the upper left of the new Apple Music app

2. Tap “View Apple ID”

3. Scroll down and tap “Manage” under in the Subscriptions section

4. Hit the toggle button to turn of auto-renewal (this is also where you can switch your plan type)

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Comments

  1. cristianko27 - 9 years ago

    LOL this is gonna be bad for people who dont know its automatic….
    cant wait to see the backfire apple will get. smh

    • Automatic renewal is a pretty casual thing. For instance it’s on Xbox Live Gold as well so people who use technology should know that.

    • TfT_02 - 9 years ago

      Spotify and Netflix both use the exact same mechanism as well… This is indeed a very common practice and fair at it as well. Why give someone a free trail period if they don’t have the means and methods to pay for the actual service they are trying out?

    • Gregory Wright - 9 years ago

      Auto renew is commonplace on many subscriptions. Sure, there will be many dummies who forget to cancel if they do not want to renew.

    • asmi8803 - 9 years ago

      Yep, thought apple would be different. At the end of the trial they should be upfront and honest and ask if you’d like to continue. I the it when companies then make it harder than it needs to be to unsubscribe. Apple used to do things like this differently. We all know the reason it’s done this way, it’s in apple like if you ask me.

      • They send you an information email after you start the trial and they will definitely send you an email when your trial is about to end ;)

  2. wecklsound - 9 years ago

    That pic from Taylor… Drove me mad.

    • PhilBoogie - 9 years ago

      Same here. I immediately scrolled down to read the article. An informative article, I may add.

  3. Rhys Morgan - 9 years ago

    Bizarre that so much of their web backend systems haven’t been updated with the iOS 7 aesthetic.

  4. rtd5943 - 9 years ago

    So what happens to downloaded content if you decide not to renew at the end of the free trial?

  5. So what happened when I tapped at free trial and it asked me to pay the monthly fee? Does it mean I get 3 months free and it will take money after those 3 months? Since I’ve already received a receipt for the monthly price. I’m confused.

  6. I don’t use any of the streaming services, but I did sign up for Apple Music because I wanted to see what all the hype and I thought you had to be subscribed to listen to Beats1 Radio. Well once inside the streaming service, I found it to be not very interesting. Also I found out Beats1 Radio is available for free to everyone with/without a subscription. So I will not be renewing once the free trial is over. Thanks for posting this “How To”.

    • iondarie - 9 years ago

      In Romania the price is 4.99€ / 5.56$ For the individual plan. Quite a difference in price i wonder why?

  7. SPN (@spn1971) - 9 years ago

    Does free trial ends for everyone on Sep 30 or 3 months after you sign up whenever you sign up?

  8. CJ Aguilar (@cjspotless) - 9 years ago

    Help! I don’t see the Subscription on my iphone and on my itunes on my laptop. Is there an alternate way or any tips how I can make the Subcriptions appear?

    • Barbara Wilt Eichin - 9 years ago

      I am having the same problem. I am the Family Organizer and one of my children signed up (with my okay). I am wondering if the subscription can only be managed on his device.

    • Barbara Wilt Eichin - 9 years ago

      As it turns out, the subscription could only be managed from his apple ID.

  9. teyg - 9 years ago

    It shows to me $4.99 single user and $7.99 flor family group… Wierd!

  10. proudinfidelusmc - 9 years ago

    People, if you want to listen to Beats1, you don’t need to subscribe. Just log in with your Apple ID. The subscription is only if you want to be able to download content to your device and a few other extras. You can still listen to “radio stations” just like with iTunes Radio before without paying.

  11. vandy75 - 9 years ago

    Thanks for the information. It was very helpful.

  12. Inaba-kun (@Inaba_kun) - 9 years ago

    I signed up for the trial and have already turned off auto renew. The selection of content on apple music here in the UK is rather feeble. It’s a tiny fraction of the regular iTunes music store. After around half an hour of browsing I’d found only a couple of artists with anything on apple music. (All have a large selection on the store)

    It’s certainly not worth £10 a month, well not unless you’re into incredibly mainstream music.

  13. Brenda Loy - 9 years ago

    what about if you don’t have subscriptions on?

  14. Danny Showalter - 9 years ago

    Just do not sign up for the service. No worries. I tried iTunes Match and then stopped the subscription. I found these services are not for me.

  15. ankit1290 - 9 years ago

    Hi i want to know i havent added my credit card info on one of my apple devices and its not letting me login on apple music.Is there any work around as i want apple music.

  16. Gaurav Gajghate - 9 years ago

    I cant see subscriptions in my account info.I tried by both the ways -itunes in PC and Iphone,Kindly suggest.Thanks.

  17. Apple music , will we get an app for device below IOS 8.4……………. iPhone 4 on IOS 7

  18. Norman Singer - 9 years ago

    I don’t have anything that says auto renewal. Mine says 1 month- expired September 10, 2012
    Renewal options. This is most confusing. I am not going to be able to cancel it.

  19. Jonathan G Cronjé - 9 years ago

    I activated my Apple Music subscription – only to realise it was done on the wrong region. Now Apple will not allow me to change my region without cancelling with subscription. I’ve deactivated auto-renew, but it is still active. Any way I can delete/dismiss the free period or do I have to wait until my 3 months is done.

    • Anthony De-Richelieu - 9 years ago

      Hi. I also need to change the country but I can’t because it says I need to unsubscribe from the apple music which I can’t do.

  20. Eric Baldwin - 9 years ago

    This post and all the comments only refer to stopping auto-renewal. Is it possible to cancel membership before the 3-month trial?

  21. iDarkanio (@DDBeecham) - 9 years ago

    can i stop the free 3 month trial??? i need to change my credit card info and it does not allow me because of the free 3 months!!!

    • aasonting - 9 years ago

      +1 this apple music is really terrible, i try to cancel but cannot , i call apple support and they give me sorry because I need to wait until 3month trial finish before I can change. This is soooooooooo bad

  22. Michelle Suzanne Powe - 9 years ago

    How to cancel apple music immediately and not have to wait til the end of the free trial? I need to dj a party tomorrow and can’t manually add back my playlists of songst that i own appparently being an apple music subscriber. Itunes says itunes match is on so the manual sync option is not available for me to select.

  23. Paulette Constable - 8 years ago

    doesn’t give me this option for the streaming service

  24. Elsie Sandefur - 8 years ago

    It will not let me unsubscribe what can I do

  25. Theresa Rhyne - 8 years ago

    I have turned off my automatic renewal and I still got billed for it. Apple sucks a big one

Author

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jordan Kahn

Jordan writes about all things Apple as Senior Editor of 9to5Mac, & contributes to 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, & Electrek.co. He also co-authors 9to5Mac’s Logic Pros series.