UK Edition
Apple Music libraries wiped after downloading Pokémon Go - How to get your songs back
IPhone owners and would-be Pokémon Go players living in countries where the game is yet to officially launch have expressed outrage after a trick to get a copy caused all of their Apple Music tracks to vanish.
Pokémon Go may now have more users than Tinder and is approaching as many as Twitter, but has only been officially released in the US, Australia and New Zealand - in part because its popularity has caused problems for the servers running the game.
Eager to get their hands on some Pokémon, iPhone users in the UK and other countries have resorted to altering the region settings on their devices and setting up new Apple ID accounts.
But an unexpected consequence of the workaround has left users angry: all of the data in Apple Music disappeared.
To download the iPhone app in a country where Pokémon Go hasn't been released, users have to sign out of one Apple ID and create a new one that has access to the App Store from the US, Australia or New Zealand. This automatically signs the user out of their Apple Music account, deleting their data.
How to get your music back
Luckily, there's a simple way to get your saved Apple Music tracks and playlists back that doesn't involve hours of manually re-downloading songs and albums, and lets you carry on playing Pokémon Go.
- Log out of your new international Apple ID account by opening the App Store app, scrolling down to the bottom, selecting your Apple ID and then choosing "Sign Out"
- Sign back in to your old account, the one registered with Apple Music, by opening the Apple Music app and going to "Account" in the top left hand corner. Enter your details and tap "Sign In"
- Exit Apple Music and open Settings -> Music -> turn "iCloud Music Library" on and select "Merge"