Genius Playlist Shuffle

OK - so I love the genius playlist, but am I missing something? Why can't I shuffle the songs once the playlist is made?

I noticed the same thing -- just today.
Make a Genius playlist on your Mac or PC. Save it. Sync the iPhone.(May also work if you make one on the iPhone.)
You will now have a playlist with the little Genius symbol by it. Tap it. There is NO shuffle item at the top, as there is with any other non-Genius playlist.
What this means is, in order to play a Genius playlist you have to tap a song in it first, and then check to see if shuffle is on.
What if you want the iPhone to even select the first song for you by random (as it will in every other playlist if you tap the "SHUFFLE" item at the top)?
I realize you can start a song, make sure shuffle is on, and then FF to the next song, but that doesn't make the WHOLE list random. The song you tapped will NOT come up (unless you have repeat on).
This is a deficiency, or bug. Whatever you want to call it.

Similar Messages

How do i create and save a genius playlist in iTunes 12?

I can see my genius playlists from older versions of iTunes but I can't figure out how to make a new one!

Hi there Michael Moriconi,
You may find the information about Genius Playlists in the User Guide below helpful.
Use Genius Shuffle, Genius playlists, or Genius Mixes - iTunes Help
Create a Genius playlist
Create a Genius playlist: Move the pointer over a song, click , and choose Create Genius Playlist.
Change the maximum number of songs in a Genius playlist: Click next to the song total and choose a number from the pop-up menu.
Get new songs based on the same song: Click Refresh .
A Genius playlist has this icon next to it.
-Griff W.

I don't seem to have the genius playlist option on my iPod touch 5th generation-what to I do???

I didn't jailbreak my ipod or download any pirated stuff. I actually only found out that my ipod should have the genius playlist option after reading a review on it. But when I checked under playlists in my music app, only the 'purchased' playlist is showing. What do I do to get the genius playlist?????

Hi prefdave,
I apologize, I'm a bit unclear on the exact nature of your question. If you are talking about Genius playlists or Genius Mixes and syncing them to your iPod Touch, you may find the following articles helpful:
iPhone and iPod: Understanding Genius Mixes
iTunes 11 for Mac: Use Genius Shuffle, Genius playlists, or Genius Mixes
Regards,
- Brenden

Playlist shuffle issue.

I have a smart playlist called "Holiday" as I'm sure many of us have. After my update to iTunes 11, I cannot play that playlist on shuffle. All my albums/songs are listed, iTunes says there are 670 songs in the playlist, however when I hit the shuffle button, nothing plays. If you click the "Up next" button it says there are no songs in the playlist. This is happening only to this particular playlist. All my other playlists (smart playlist, genius playlist and manually created playlists) work fine.
I have done the following trying to correct the problem. I deleted the playlist and then recreated a smart playlist using genre. I deleted it again and manually created it by dragging the songs to it, I created a different smart playlist from another genre and it works fine. I creatd a manual playlist with a different name, but with all my holiday genre music in it and it doesn't work.
Wow...I think I just figured this out while typing. I have all my holiday music set to "Skip When Shuffling" so that it doesn't come up when I set my Library to "Shuffle". Who needs to hear Trans Siberian Orchestra in July? This worked fine in iTunes 10.x, as it skipped on a big shuffle, but shuffled when I played the "Holiday" playlist. This really does need to be fixed.
Kristy

After searching the archives here I see that this has always been the case. Maybe I didn't mark these songs to skip when shuffling until after last Christmas. So what I have to do is unmark these & then re-mark them after the holidays. Oh bother

Can't create a Genius Playlist from most 2011 songs.

For some reason, I cant seem to make a Genius Playlist from what seems like any song bought in the latter half of 2011. Is anyone else having this same problem? Any help is appreciated.

I've had the same problem since having my 4S on AT&T and now on my 5. Siri responds with "playing similar songs" but the previous playlist or shuffle keeps going. This used to work but I'm not sure which iOS update broke it.

Basic Questions about Genius Mixes vs Genius Playlists

I'm new to the Genius feature of iTunes, and I would just like a clarification. Please confirm and deny this basic understanding of what I think I've learned about how Genius works.
In another thread that I read, I think that it was mentioned that there is a difference between what Apple calls a "Genius Mix" and a "Genius Playlist." That distinction was lost on me in Apple's documentation, but someone here mentioned that they are not the same thing, which explained why, during iTunes' initial creation of Genius Mixes I could discover no corresponding Genius Playlist(s).
From what I can gather, Genius Playlists are the song lists which I, a user, can create in iTunes by selecting any song in my library as the seed and clicking on the Genius button. Those song lists can then be used as the basis for playlists which I can create and add to other playlists that I can create without using the Genius feature. Right?
In contrast, Genius Mixes are song lists that Apple generates over which I have no control and apparently cannot generate a playlist that I can save, for I cannot see which songs are included in any of the twelve various mixes (based on genres in my library) that Apple creates. Is that correct, or am I missing something here?
Ideally, I guess that I'd like to be able to see what songs are coming up in the Genius Mixes. I'd like to know if there are some hidden commands to allow me to generate such a list, which must be in a database somewhere in iTunes, that I can easily access, or not. But, if that is not possible, let me know, then I'll just relax and take what comes randomly as a surprise.
I guess that a question related to this might be: Are the Genius Mixes which iTunes generates fixed, in the sense that everytime I open iTunes, any given mix will start over at the first song its presumably invisible, inaccessible list? Or, does iTunes shuffle the deck of my Genius Mixes each time it loads? Since I apparently have no way to see the items in any Genius Mix, how can I ever know how many items in any given genre's mix? How will I ever get to the end of that mix?

Thanks for the dialogue, guys. You've both filled in some key pieces that were missing from my previously unsophisticated use of iTunes.
Until dknightd mentioned the iTunes DJ technique, I had not tried that feature out. What a great feature to use all by itself, as well as a complement to the Genius function!
My initial exploration of the iTunes DJ features shows it to be technique in which I can use the pull-down menu to draw upon several of iTunes lists (i.e., its internal data bases) as the sources of a DJ playlist, with the Genius Mixes being only one of those sources.
My initial tests, however, indicated that the playlist generated by using a Genius Mix did not reveal a close enough correlation to the songs which the selected Genius Mix actually played. And, as Chris CA points out, neither was there much of a correlation, if any at all, in regards to the play order. So, as a method for pre-viewing, or monitoring, which songs any Genius Mix was playing, or was going to play, I did not find the iTunes DJ feature to be that reliable.
However, the very fact that the iTunes DJ feature is drawing upon a selected Genius Mix as the source for the playlist is quite valuable, for that playlist gives me all the information I need to be able to preview and monitor a selection of songs stylistically associated with each other, in accordance with whatever programming algorithms govern the selections made by the Genius feature.
Seeing a list of songs in the iTunes DJ window that was generated by drawing upon a Genius Mix gives me options I did not know that I had. I have learned that I can either switch over to the iTunes DJ feature and play the songs in the its viewable list, which gives me a measure of control over what I hear, or I can continue to be surprised by what the Genius Mix will play for me, without my knowing what's coming.
As to creating a playlist based on a Genius Mix itself, I also know now that I have at least two options: (1) I can create a playlist in real time based on the songs which appear in the iTunes DJ window; or (2) I can go to the Music window of all songs, sort it by songs Last Played, and create a playlist of songs that any given Genius Mix has previously played.
Both of those options give me lot more power and flexibility in getting the most out of this really neat digital jukebox that Apple designed. Thanks for the enlightening tips.
I'll leave this thread open for additional contributions on this topic by others.

How To Add A Song To Genius Playlist?

I saved a Genius playlist. I deleted one song and tried to drag a different one into the saved playlist, but it won't go in. In fact I can't add any song. How do I add a song to a Genius playlist?
Thanks in advance.

HI Rod,
Creating a Genius playlist
You can have iTunes create a playlist from songs in your library that go great together.
Before you can create a Genius playlist, you must turn on Genius (the instructions are included below). To turn on Genius, you must be connected to the Internet.
To create Genius playlists, iTunes uses anonymous information about your library and other iTunes libraries.
To create a Genius playlist:
Select a song in your library and click the Genius button at the bottom of the iTunes window.
If you haven’t turned on Genius yet, click Turn On Genius.
Here are other things you can do:
To change the maximum number of songs in in a playlist, choose a number from the “Limit to” pop-up menu.
To save a playlist, click Save Playlist. You can add and remove items from a saved Genius playlist.
To get new songs for a Genius playlist (basing it on the same song), click Refresh.
While listening to Party Shuffle, choose Genius as the source (under Playlists) to create a Genius playlist that refreshes itself automatically.
Turning on Genius also displays the Genius sidebar, which shows items related to the selected song but not in your library. Use the sidebar to preview and download new music from the iTunes Store.
To turn off Genius, choose Store > Turn Off Genius.
* Make sure you did this before adding tracks to the Genius Bar: *To change the maximum number of songs in in a playlist, choose a number from the “Limit to” pop-up menu.*
See if that helps...
Carolyn
Message was edited by: Carolyn Samit

Genius playlists turn into normal playlists when plugged into iTunes

hi everyone,
my problem with my iPod touch is that when i make a new Genius playlist on the iPod, it turns into a normal playlist (i.e. one that you can't refresh and which is listed as a plain playlist underneath the Genius playlists) once i plug it into iTunes.
I updated my iPod touch (16GB) to the newest software version (3.1.3), and my iTunes is the most recent version (9.0.3.15). the problem persists.
i tried to fiddle around with iTunes a bit, so in Preferences > Devices, i checked the box to "prevent iPods and iPhones from syncing automatically". however, this simply prevented a new Genius playlist from showing up when i plugged the iPod into iTunes, and then when i checked the iPod itself, the Genius playlist was gone!
the computer i have been having these problems with is my work computer, and the iTunes library is empty. is there an off-chance that this has something to do with the problem?

An iPod (except for iPod touch) is not directly related (in a technical way) to an Apple ID. You can use a shuffle even if you don't have an Apple ID. And there is no way for Apple to "link" to a shuffle (like it can with an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch). So, I don't think the two things are related.
The Apple ID may have become disabled if someone tried to log in unsuccessfully (gave wrong password) more than a certain consecutive number of times. You'll need to contact Apple customer support, using the Contact Us link at the bottom right corner of this web page. First, try logging in with the Apple ID, to confirm it is really disabled. There are some sophisticated scams out there these days, that try to trick you into revealing your username and password with fake emails. Actually, if you are posting here after logging in with that Apple ID, it is not disabled.
For the shuffle, which model is it? This document shows the four types
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1719
If the light on the shuffle does not come on when connected, there is no power getting to the shuffle (which explains what you describe). The possible causes are (1) the USB port not working or not supplying sufficient power, (2) a faulty USB docking cable, or (3) a problem on the shuffle (such as a bad headphones jack or logic board).
If you can rule out (1) and (2) with some troubleshooting, the cause is more likely to be (3). If you use a USB hub, be sure to try it with a direct USB port on the computer, and test that port with something else (preferably something similar like a USB flash drive or port-powered external drive). If you have another USB docking cable, or if you can try the cable you have with another 4th (or 3rd) gen shuffle, that wound be a good test.

Siri can't create a genius playlist?

I have an iPhone 5S on Verizon with iOS 7.0.4.
Whenever I ask Siri to create a genius playlist based on the current song, it doesn't work. I'll ask Siri to "Play more songs like this" or "genius" and Siri will say that it is playing more songs like the current song, but it never creates the genius list. If I manually create the playlist via the Music app, I don't have a problem. Anyone else have this problem too? Or am I doing something wrong?
Thanks,
Chaiya

I've had the same problem since having my 4S on AT&T and now on my 5. Siri responds with "playing similar songs" but the previous playlist or shuffle keeps going. This used to work but I'm not sure which iOS update broke it.

Can I move my external drive library in order to create a Genius playlist?

Our iTunes library is stored on an external hard drive, and the computer we use it with is a desktop G3 (stop laughing) running OSX 10.3.9 (OK, really, stop laughing) and the latest version of iTunes I can use with that, iTunes 7 (end of comedy routine). Of course, this is the wife's computer which she only uses for email & internet, so it hasn't been a problem so far.
I would like to create some Genius playlists for that library utilizing my laptop which has 10.5.6 and iTunes 8.0.2.
Is it possible for my to connect the hard drive to my laptop and access that library in my laptop's iTunes for the purpose of creating some Genius playlists that would then be available back on the G3? It would be sweet if this wouldn't affect the laptop's small library stored on it's internal hard drive and in the default iTunes directory as well.
Thanks!

Actually you can store just some, but you always have to remember to option+drag in the future for those media:
Small hard drive? Split your iTunes library across multiple volumes - http://www.macyourself.com/2009/04/24/small-hard-drive-split-your-itunes-library -across-multiple-volumes/
Splitting & Managing Your iTunes Library - http://machintsandtips.com/i-j-k/itunes/splitting-managing-your-itunes-library/ - using option+drag to override iTunes from copying file to your default media folder.

I have a generation 5 Nano iPod. I have created Genius playlists and want to sync them to my iPod. How do I do this, as they are not shown in my library when syncing my music.

I have a generation 5 Nano iPod. I have created suggested playlists from the iTunes store using Genius. I want to move these playlists into the playlists in my library so they can be synced to my iPod. I don't seem to be able to do this, and can only listen to these Genius playlists on my computer. How do I transfer these?

On a 5th gen nano, you can actually create and listen to Genuis playlists on the iPod.
You can also set up automatic syncing to include Genius Playlists.
In iTunes, if the iTunes sidebar (along left side of window) is hidden, from the menu bar, under View, select Show Sidebar. In the sidebar, the Genuis playlists that you create are shown under GENIUS (not PLAYLISTS).
If you use automatic syncing, you set up the iPod's Music screen in iTunes (where the Sync Music checkbox is located). Genius playlists are shown on the iPod's Music screen, under Playlists, where you can select (checkmark) them as items to be synced to the iPod and maintained by iTunes.
If you use the manual method (with the Manually manage music and videos setting), there is no way to include the actual Genius playlists. However, you can create a new playlist manually on the iPod using iTunes. Then, drag the songs from a Genius playlist to that playlist on the iPod.

The Genius playlist and the 1st Generation ipod touch

I am just wondering, is the genius playlist ability not available to the 1st Generation iPod touch or does it only work on certain songs?
Because it would be really annoying if they limited to the 2nd Generation iPod touch only.

Another post here said to just go ahead and resync your iPod and it should start working. And it did for me. If that does not work make sure that genius is enabled on your iTunes, otherwise it will not add the functionality to your iPod.
Hope that helps

My iPod no longer appears as folder/file in Itunes when connected. Library, genius, playlists, etc. are present, but there is no longer cross reference with the iPod itself. Help!?

My iPod no longer appears as folder/file in Itunes when connected. Library, genius, playlists, etc. are present, but there is no longer cross reference with the iPod itself. Help!?

I just tried it again and this time a different message showed up "The iPod 'name' cannot be synced. The required folder cannot be found." I have no clue what folder it could be talking about.

Error in the iphone music app iOS7 with dozens of empty genius playlists

Im getting an error in the iphone music app in iOS7 with dozens of empty genius playlists even tho genius is OFF in my account settings and genius playlists are not selected for syncing with my iphone 5. All apps, iTunes and iOS 7 are updated.
The option to turn off genius under STORE menu is no longer available in the latest version of iTunes 11.1.
Thanks.

Love your comment:
"Oddly the option to Delete is, get this, under Save:"
LOL!!!!!!!!!
This is just nuts!
Whoever heard of hitting SAVE to DELETE something....Ha Ha Ha!!!
The lunitics are officially running the asylum.....who knows whet they will do next.
Design cars where you need to engage reverse to access drive.
Many thanks this worked for me and I would NEVER have found it without you.
I would NEVER have hit Save to Delete something...And I mean NEVER!
Maybe if I hit Cancel button below this text box, it will save the contents for me..... Unbelievable!!!

Turned off Genius, how do I restore Genius playlists from ipod to my iTunes

Hi,
I turned off Genius in iTunes by accident and my Genius playlists have been deleted. They are still on my iPod. I'd like to know if they will automatically sync back to iTunes when I connect my iPod or have I lost them for good?
Many thanks

Transfer iTunes purchases:
iTunes Store: Transferring purchases from your iOS device or iPod to a computer
For other music you need a thrid-party program like one of those discussed here:
Copy music

Genius Playlist Shuffle

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