How to copy music from an iPhone to a PC
The songs on the phone as files, every playlist as M3U and CSV, over the cable. No iTunes sync, nothing uploaded.
Last updated 25 October 2026. Written by BlackBox Tools, the maker of PhoneFerry.
The short answer
Plug the iPhone in, open Music in PhoneFerry, and the songs and playlists on the phone list with title, artist, album and length. Pick what you want and press Copy to PC: each song lands as its own file named by artist and title, and each playlist comes with an M3U that any player opens and a CSV for a spreadsheet. Songs that live only in Apple Music streaming are not files on the phone and cannot be copied by anything.
Step by step
- Install PhoneFerry and plug the iPhone in. Download PhoneFerry from blackboxtools.com, install it, connect the cable and tap Trust on the phone.
- Open Music. Click Music in the sidebar. The songs on the phone list with title, artist, album and length, and the playlists beneath them. The list says how many songs have their files on the phone.
- Pick and copy. Select songs or a whole playlist and press Copy to PC. Each song becomes a file in the folder you choose, and a playlist adds an M3U and a CSV beside the files.
Questions
Does it work without iTunes installed?
PhoneFerry needs Apple's USB driver, which is installed by the free Apple Devices app from the Microsoft Store or by iTunes. It never syncs with iTunes and never changes the phone's library.
What about Apple Music streaming songs?
Songs streamed or downloaded from Apple Music are protected and not files PhoneFerry can copy; no PC program can. Songs you bought, ripped or added from a computer copy as files.
Can it put music on the iPhone?
No. Putting music into the iPhone's own library needs Apple's sync signature, which no program outside iTunes handles reliably. Files, including audio files, can go into an app on the phone that shares files, such as VLC.
What does it cost?
Each copied song is one trial item; the first 100 are free with no time limit. Then $14.99 once, for two PCs, for life.