There's nothing better than listening to your favorite album, which is why it's so unsettling when tracks stop playing on your Apple device. And when you take a look at the track listing, you may find some of your tracks are grayed out. What's happening?

Often this is because your device is offline. Typically, you'll regain access once you get online again.

Licensing is another common cause. The music industry is built around a territorial licensing system, with labels owning different rights and then selling them or staggering release schedules –- sometimes even on AI-generated tracks.

This territorial licensing model means artists or labels sometimes remove tracks from Apple Music's catalog, or don't make them available in a specific region at all. When that happens, the song will not be available and will appear grayed out. There is nothing you or Apple can do about that.

How to check if it is a licensing problem

To check if a track's licensing has been revoked, open Apple Music/iTunes, click in the sidebar, right-click the column headers, (where it says Name), and check the box for , which shows:

• Track likely removed by artist or label
• Exclamation mark (!): A local sync issue

There are other causes that the following guide will help you address. 

If your tracks are still grayed out and you've verified that it's not a licensing issue, here are some other things you can try.

I always recommend a full restart of your device. That's as easy as switching your Mac or PC off and on again, or running a force reset on your iPad or iPhone. Turning things off and switching them on again solves a lot of consumer tech problems.

Delete and redownload the track

Select the track, delete it and then search for it in Apple Music and download it again. If the track is unavailable, it has probably been removed from the platform.

Check for sync e

The Music app may have developed a glitch; let's fix it:

• : Open Settings > Apps > Music and switch off. Wait 30 seconds, turn it on again and open Apple Music.
• : Open Apple Music, choose in the menu bar, and uncheck the item. Wait a few seconds, then turn it on again.
• Click the gear or profile icon, choose  and then select the tab at the top of that window. Find , turn it off, click  and re-enable it after a few seconds.

Still having trouble? The issue could run deeper than your phone's settings. Here's how to see whether it's a problem with your Apple account.

To protect minors, Apple Music's Content Restrictions feature prevents playback of explicit-tagged tracks. Override this in in Apple Music on Windows, or in System Settings > Content & Privacy on Apple devices. Just set it to explicit content.

Check your Apple Account

Another reason music sometimes seems to disappear is because songs were purchased using a different Apple account than the one you are currently using. You'll regain access once you log out of your current account and log in with the correct one.

Reset your Apple Account

As a last resort, you can try signing out of your Apple account on your device in t > Media & Purchases and tapping the button before signing in again.