As one of the most popular online media stores worldwide, iTunes is well known to most of us especially who use Apple devices, like Mac, iPhone, etc. However, due to its powerful and complex features, there could be some hidden functions even for those who use iTunes a lot in their daily entertainment lives. Let alone if you are not familiar with iTunes so much. To help you know better and make more of iTunes Store when buying movies, burning CDs, requiring refunds, etc., we are listing the top 10 most useful iTunes Store tips and tricks in the following review, mainly including the most frequently asked questions and solutions about using iTunes Store.
Complete Guide to iTunes Store - Top 10 FAQs & Solutions
1. How to Create and Authorize iTunes Store Account
In case you are new to iTunes, to get started, we'll show you the simple tutorial on creating iTunes account as well as authorizing the computer with your iTunes Store account. To create an iTunes account, also known as Apple ID, you can use either computer or iOS devices. Take PC for instance. On desktop or laptop, launch iTunes and click the Account menu > Sign in. In the pop up window, choose Create Apple ID. Then follow the iTunes instructions to sign up an account by entering the email address, password and other information and click Continue button. Input the payment info as required and click Create Apple ID for confirmation.
Once the iTunes account is created, you can buy any digital content, like music, movies, TV shows or audiobooks from iTunes Store with your new account. But if you want to use those purchased media from the iTunes Store, you'll have to authorize your computer to play them. For more details and complete guide on authorizing iTunes, you can read on the following post.
2. How to Burn CDs in iTunes
In addition to a largest online digital store, iTunes also works as an easy-to-use burning program, allowing you freely burn any music and playlist to CDs. It only takes a few steps and clicks to burn iTunes songs to disc. To get it work as expected, make sure the songs are already authorized to play through your iTunes account.
Launch iTunes and click on File > New > Playlist to create a new playlist. Then import the tracks you want to burn to CD into the newly created playlist. Once you have the playlist in the order you want, insert a blank CD into your computer. Go back to that playlist and right click Burn Playlist to Disc. Set the preferences for CD burning, such as the disk format, speed, etc. And then click Burn to start copying your songs to CDs.
- See also: How to Burn Apple Music Songs to CD
3. How to Find Purchase History in iTunes
If you use the iTunes Store a lot, you'll find your computer space can't meet the library requirement one day. Then you may have to clear the library by deleting some old purchased content regularly. But what if you want to view the old iTunes purchase history? Don't worry. iTunes offers you a straightforward way to find those purchased items in seconds. On iOS devices, open and sign into iTunes app with your iTunes account. Click the More option on the bottom of the screen and tap Purchased. Then you can select Music, Movies or TV Shows. Moving on you can find Recent Purchases. Click on that option and you will get the 50 purchases or transactions you've made in the past. Meanwhile, you can choose All or Not on This iPhone to limit the list.
4. How to Set Up iTunes Match
Costing $25 a year, iTunes Match is a backup service that enables your music synced across all your Apple devices and prevents the lost of your music. To set up iTunes Match, simply click the Store menu in iTunes and then click Turn On iTunes Match. Head to Subscribe for $24.99 and sign in to your iTunes account. Then iTunes Match will begin to scan your music library and match the songs. Any songs that are both in your iTunes library and the iTunes Store are automatically added to your account. Once all your songs are uploaded, click Done and you'll be able to share your music across all the devices that have access to your Apple ID.
5. Restrictions of Buying or Renting Movie in iTunes Store
Although iTunes offers an easy access for you to any digital content, there are some essential limitations brought by iTunes movies you should be aware of. The most well known restriction of iTunes movies is that they are protected by Digital Rights Management, a copyright protection method used by Apple to control the use of iTunes videos. In result, only Apple's own devices are authorized to play the iTunes movies. And for iTunes rentals, customers only get 48 hours to finish watching the movie. If you are using Android smartphone for watching movies, then you'd better keep this in mind before buying movies from iTunes Store.
6. How to Unlock DRM from iTunes Media with One Click
Not only the movies in iTunes Store are protected by DRM, but also the other items, like Apple Music songs, audiobooks and iBooks ePub are locked as well. It makes us difficult to play the iTunes media on non-Apple platforms. Fortunately, as the demand for removing DRM from iTunes media becomes stronger, there come a variety of iTunes DRM removal tools to help us completely get away from DRM trap. If you want to remove DRM from all kinds of iTunes media, including movies, TV shows, music, books, etc, you are recommended with ViWizard iTunes DRM removal solutions, including the DRM Media Converter, Audio Converter, iBook Copy, etc. For the complete guide on removing DRM from iTunes media, you'd better visit the following link.
- See also: How to Remove DRM from iTunes Media
7. How to Get Refund from iTunes Store
You may also wonder what iTunes refund policy should be, as you may find there's something wrong with the item you purchased from iTunes. If your situation is acceptable by iTunes refund policy, then you should follow the steps below to ask for a refund:
Head to Report A Problem and sign in. Choose Music, Films, TV Programmes, Apps, or Books for your purchase. Locate the item and click Report a Problem. Click Choose a Problem and describe it. Click Submit. Apple Support will then review your request for a refund before approving it. It usually takes 5-7 business days.
8. How to Use iTunes Parental Controls
If you share the same iTunes account with your kids, then you probably want to block access from your computer to selected iTunes Store content for them. To do so, iTunes Restrictions will help you. To enable that option, simply open iTunes program on your desktop or laptop computer. Click the iTunes menu (on a Mac) or the Edit menu (on a PC). Click Preferences > Restrictions tab. Then you will be able to disable some sections from iTunes Store for your kids.
9. How to Delete iTunes Duplicates
As your iTunes library becomes bigger and bigger, it will possibly end up with duplicate copies of the same song. For a large library, it's no easy job to find those duplicates. Luckily, thanks to iTunes built-in View Duplicates feature, you can easily identify any duplicates in seconds.
To do that, open iTunes and click the View menu. Then click Show Duplicate Items. iTunes will display a list of just the songs it thinks are duplicates. When you find a song you want to delete, use the technique you prefer to delete songs from iTunes. After that, click Done in the top right corner and return to the normal view of iTunes.
10. How to Use iTunes Gift Cards
Another great feature that makes iTunes more fun is the gift card, which can be sent to other iTunes users in use of buying any desired music, movies, TV shows, books or other content sold in iTunes store. The iTunes gift card values from $10 to $50. You can send a gift certificate to anyone via email or buy the physical gift card from Apple store or other electronics stores.
Nick Orin is a review writer, software geek and Mac OS enthusiast. He spends all his free time in searching useful software and gadgets to share with others.
