How to Put Music on iPod Shuffle

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Last Updated: February 24, 2025 Tested

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Syncing Music

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Adding Individual Songs

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Autofilling Your Shuffle

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Q&A

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Warnings

This wikiHow will teach you how to put music on your iPod Shuffle using iTunes. Apple has made it super easy to add songs to your iPod, and you actually have a few different options to choose from. If you want to add your whole music library to your iPod Shuffle, you can sync your music using iTunes. It's also possible to just add individual songs to your iPod. You can even set it up so new music is automatically added to your iPod Shuffle whenever you plug it into your computer. Whatever you're trying to do, we've got you covered! The steps below will walk you through each process.

Things You Should Know

Connect your iPod Shuffle to your computer.
Add music to your iPod Shuffle using iTunes.
If you connect your iPod Shuffle to a computer that isn't yours, all the music on it will be erased.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Syncing Music

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1
Open iTunes on your computer. The icon looks like a multicolored music note inside a white background with a multicolored ring around the outside.
- If iTunes prompts you to download the most recent version, do so.
2
Connect your iPod to your computer. Using your iPod cable, plug the USB end into your computer and the other end into your iPod's headphone/charging port.
- If your iTunes has auto-sync for music enabled, simply opening iTunes and plugging in your iPod will add any new music you've downloaded to your iPod.
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It's in the top-left part of the window.
It's under "Settings" in the left pane of the window, under your iPod's image.
It's at the top of the right pane of the window.
6
Select the music you want to put on your iPod Shuffle.
- Click Entire Music Library if you want to put all the music in your iCloud Music Library on your Shuffle. If your iPod doesn't have enough storage for your entire library, iTunes will start from the beginning of the list and fill your Shuffle with as many songs as it can hold.
- Click Selected playlists, artists, albums, and genres to choose the music you want to sync to your Shuffle. Then scroll down and check the boxes next to the music you want to put on your iPod.
- Check Automatically fill free space with songs if you'd like iTunes to randomly select songs to fill up the remaining storage space on your Shuffle. This option will only appear when you've clicked Selected playlists, artists, albums, and genres.
The music you selected will be put on your iPod Shuffle.
It's a triangle above a line, at the top of the left pane and to the right of your iPod's image.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Adding Individual Songs

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1
Open iTunes on your computer. The icon looks like a multicolored musical note inside a white background with a multicolored ring around the outside.
- If iTunes prompts you to download the most recent version, do so.
2
Connect your iPod to your computer. Using your iPod cable, plug the USB end into your computer and the other end into your iPod's headphone/charging port.
- If your iTunes has auto-sync for music enabled, simply opening iTunes and plugging in your iPod will add any new music you've downloaded to your iPod.
It's in the top-left part of the window.
5
Click a "Library" option. In the "Library" section in the left pane of the iTunes window, there are several ways in which to view the music in your library:
- Recently Added
- Artists
- Albums
- Songs
- Genres
6
Click and drag an item onto your iPod. Drag a song or album from the library on the right side of the window to your iPod's icon in the left pane of the window, under the "Devices" section.
- A blue rectangle will surround your iPod's icon.
- You can select multiple items by clicking on them while holding down Ctrl (PC) or ⌘ Command (Mac).
Do so by releasing the mouse or trackpad button, which will start the upload to your iPod.
It's a triangle above a line, at the top of the left pane and to the right of your iPod's image.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Autofilling Your Shuffle

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1
Open iTunes on your computer. The icon looks like a multicolored musical note inside a white background with a multicolored ring around the outside.
- If iTunes prompts you to download the most recent version, do so.
Using your iPod cable, plug the USB end into your computer and the other end into your iPod's headphone/charging port.
It's in the top-left part of the window.
It's under "Settings" in the left pane of the window, under your iPod's image.
It's in the "Options" section.
It's under "On My Device" in the left pane.
It's at the bottom of the left pane.
When you sync, iTunes will automatically fill your Shuffle with a selection of music from the source you choose.
9
Click Settings… to the right of the pop-up. To adjust the Autofill settings options:
- Check Replace all items when Autofilling to remove all old music and replace it with new music watch time you Autofill your Shuffle.
- Check Choose items randomly to add random tracks from your selected source when you Autofill.
- Check Choose higher rated items more often to ensure that more highly-rated songs are added when Autofill is set to random.
- Adjust the Reserve space for disk use slider if you want to set aside space on the Shuffle for use as a flash drive.
It's a triangle above a line, at the top of the left pane and to the right of your iPod's image.

Community Q&A

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Question

Can you download music off of a phone to an iPod Shuffle?

Community Answer

Yes, if you get a cable that connects to your phone and your iPod Shuffle. If not, you will have to put the music file onto a computer first.

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Question

I can't get the volume to turn down on my iPod. What is wrong with it?

Community Answer

Try powering it off completely and turning it back on again. If that doesn't work, look for videos or get it fixed.

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Question

What do I do if iTunes doesn't automatically show up?

Community Answer

Launch iTunes and you should see file name "Shuffle" or something similar. Click it and you're done.

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