Find out what song is playing with Shazam on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch (2024)

Use the Shazam app,Music Recognition in Control Center on iPhone and iPad, Siri, and more to help you discover new music.

Shazam identifies a song by creating a unique digital fingerprint to match what you’re hearing with one of the millions of songs in the Shazam database.

Use the Shazam app

Use the Shazam app to identify songs. You can then find your previous Shazams in My Music in the Shazam app. And if you change or lose a device, you can still access your previous Shazams because they've been backed up to iCloud.

Identify songs with the Shazam app

  1. Open the Shazam app on your device.
  2. Tap or click the Shazam buttonFind out what song is playing with Shazam on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch (1).
  3. On iPhone or iPad, tap the play button next to a Shazam to listen to a preview. If you have an Apple Music subscription, you can listen to whole songs in Shazam. You can also connect Shazam to other music streaming services that Shazam supports.

You can switch to other apps while Shazam tries to identify a song. When Shazam identifies the song, you get a notification.

If you don’t have an internet connection, the app still creates a unique digital fingerprint to match against the Shazam database the next time your device is connected to the internet. If a song can’t be identified, it will disappear from your pending Shazams.

Identify songs automatically

Shazam can automatically identify what’s playing around you with Auto Shazam.

  1. To turn on Auto Shazam, touch and hold (or click and hold) the Shazam button Find out what song is playing with Shazam on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch (2).
  2. To turn off Auto Shazam, tap (or click) the Shazam button.
  3. To have Shazam automatically start listening when you open the app on iPhone or iPad, swipe up to My Music from the main Shazam screen, tap the Settings button Find out what song is playing with Shazam on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch (3), then turn on “Shazam on app start.”

You can find songs identified with Auto Shazam in My Music,grouped together by date.

Find previous Shazams

  • On iPhone or iPad,swipe up on the main Shazam screen to access My Music. To delete a Shazam, tap the More buttonnext to that Shazam,then tap “Remove from My Music.”
  • On Mac, recent Shazams appear below the Shazam button.
  • On Apple Watch, recent Shazams appear below the Shazam button and are also saved to My Music on the paired iPhone.

Back up your Shazams in iCloud on iPhone or iPad

Your Shazams are automatically backed up to iCloud as long as you’re signed in with your Apple IDand you've turned on iCloud for Shazamon your device. When you back up your Shazams, you won't lose them if something happens to your device.You can also access your Shazams on your other devices when you sign in with the same Apple ID.

If you choose not to back up your Shazams in iCloud, they’re still saved on your device. You can back up your Shazams to iCloud at any time unlessyou restored your device back to its factory settingsor you get a new device.

Identify songs in Control Center on iPhone or iPad

WithMusic Recognition on iPhone or iPad, you can identify songs right from Control Center.

  1. To addMusic Recognition to Control Center,go to Settings > Control Center, then tap the Add button Find out what song is playing with Shazam on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch (4)next toMusic Recognition.
  2. To identify songs, open Control Center, thentap the Shazam button. Shazam can identify songs playing on your device even when you're using headphones.
  3. To find songs you've identified, touch and hold the Shazam button in Control Center to open your History View.Tap a song to open it in Shazam.

If you also have the Shazam app on your iPhone or iPad, songs you’ve identified inwithMusic Recognition and with Siri also appear in My Music in the Shazam app. They're also backed up in iCloud.

Sync Music Recognition in Control Center with the Shazam App

If the songs you’ve identified using Music Recognition don’t appear in My Music in the Shazam app:

  1. Make sure you'veupdated Shazam to the latest version.
  2. Make sure you havetwo-factor authentication set up for your Apple ID.
  3. Go to Settings > your name.
  4. Tap iCloud.
  5. Turn on Music Recognition.
  6. Turn on Shazam.

When you sync Shazam in Control Center with iCloud, your Shazams will no longer be available in your account at shazam.com. And because Shazam will no longer be storing your data, you won’t be able to get copy of your Shazam data from Shazam.com.

More ways to identify music

  • On iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, HomePod, or Mac, say “Hey Siri,” then ask what the song is. Songs identified with Siri appear in My Music in the Shazam app and are backed up in iCloud.
  • On iPhone or iPad, add the Shazam widget to identify music in the Today View.
  • Use Shazam on your Apple Watch.
  • To identify music from the menu bar of your Mac, get Shazam for Mac from the Mac App Store.
  • Use the Shazam It action to add music recognition to your Shortcuts.

Buy songs you've Shazamed

You can buy songs you've Shazamed from the iTunes store.

  1. In Shazam, tap the More buttonFind out what song is playing with Shazam on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch (5)next to the song you Shazamed, then tap Buy on iTunes.
  2. In the iTunes Store, tap the price next to the song to buy it.
  3. Sign in with your Apple ID and password to complete the purchase.Need help?
  4. To find the music that you purchased, open the Apple Music app and tap the Library tab.
  5. To downloadmusic to listen to offline, tap the Download buttonFind out what song is playing with Shazam on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch (6).

If you don't see the Buy on iTunes button, you still might be able to purchase the song. Visit the iTunes Store to check.

Change microphone settings for Shazam on iPhone or iPad

Shazam needs access to the microphone on your device to hear what you're listening to. On iPhone or iPad, open Settings, scroll down to the installed apps, tap Shazam, then turn on Microphone. If you don’t see an option for Microphone, you might haverestrictions turned on for Privacy settings.

Get help

Still need help?Contact Apple Support

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Published Date:

Find out what song is playing with Shazam on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch (2024)

FAQs

Find out what song is playing with Shazam on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch? ›

On iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, HomePod, Mac, or Apple Vision Pro, say “Hey Siri,” then ask what the song is. Songs identified with Siri appear in My Music in the Shazam app and are backed up in iCloud. On iPhone or iPad, add the Shazam widget to identify music in the Today View. Use Shazam on your Apple Watch.

How do I check Shazam history on Apple Watch? ›

Find previous Shazams

On Mac, recent Shazams will appear below the Shazam button. On Apple Watch, recent Shazams will appear below the Shazam button and will also be saved to My Music on the paired iPhone.

How do I identify music playing on my iPhone? ›

Identify songs playing around you

On iPhone, iPad, or Android, do one of the following: Open the Shazam app , then tap the Shazam button . Touch and hold the Shazam app icon on your Home Screen, then tap Shazam Now.

What's this song on iPad? ›

For the best experience, make sure you've set up Siri and turned on iCloud Sync and Music Recognition. With music playing around you, say something like “Hey Siri, Shazam this song” or “Hey Siri, what's the name of this song?” The identified song appears in a notification and is saved to the Shazam app.

How do I identify a song on my Apple Watch? ›

Identify a song on Apple Watch

Open the Shazam app on Apple Watch. Tap the Shazam button . The song is identified and is saved.

How do I find out what song is playing on my phone? ›

You can also open Shazam from the notification screen on Android. Swipe down from the top of the screen to see your notifications. Tap the one for Shazam and tap the Shazam icon to identify any song that is currently playing.

How do you identify a song playing? ›

On your Android device, tap and hold the Home button or say "Hey Google." Ask "What's this song?" Play a song or hum, whistle, or sing the melody of a song. Play a song: With Google Assistant, you can name the song.

How do I identify music playing in my browser? ›

Download and install the Shazam browser extension to identify music with the click of a button. Discover artists, lyrics and videos for free! Shazam matches 1 BILLION songs every month.

How do I find what is playing on my iPad? ›

The Shazam app on iPhone or iPad can identify songs playing on your device even when you're using headphones. Once Shazam has identified a song on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, tap the play button to preview.

Can I play music on my Apple Watch without my phone? ›

When you add music to your Apple Watch, you can listen to it wherever you go, even when you don't have your iPhone with you. You can add specific playlists and albums to your Apple Watch using the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.

Can you search Apple Music on Apple Watch? ›

Request music from Apple Music (Apple Music subscription required): Raise your wrist, then request an artist, album, song, genre, or portion of a song lyric. Search the Apple Music library: Tap Search, enter an album, artist, or song, then tap Search.

Does Apple Watch have a speaker? ›

You need Bluetooth headphones or speakers to listen to most audio on your Apple Watch (Siri, phone calls, voicemail, and voice memos play through the speaker on Apple Watch).

How can I see my activity history from Apple Watch? ›

Open the Activity app on your Apple Watch. in the top left to see your weekly summary, or you can swipe up to see details for each ring. Swipe up again to see more, like your total steps, your distance and workouts.

How do I check my Apple Watch activity history? ›

Check your Activity history
  1. Open the Fitness app on your iPhone.
  2. Tap Activity in the Summary tab to see details about your all day activity.
  3. Tap the calendar to see your progress for the month. ...
  4. To see more detail, tap a day.
Feb 26, 2024

How do I see notification history on Apple Watch? ›

Instead, press the Digital Crown to go to the watch face or open an app, then open Notification Center. Swipe up or down or turn the Digital Crown to scroll the notifications list.

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