Method 1: Using the Files App

The native Files app on your iPhone offers an easy way to play local MP3 files. However, you can only play one song at a time.

Step 1: Open the Files app, select Browse from the bottom right, and tap ‘On My iPhone‘.

Step 2: Select your desired local MP3 file and tap the Play button to listen to it.

Step 3: If you wish to play another song without going back, tap the List icon at the top left, and select the next song to play from the current file path.

Method 2: Import MP3 Files to Your Apple Music Library

Besides the Files app, you can use the Apple Music app to listen to local MP3 files. If you’re an Apple Music subscriber, you can import up to 100,000 downloaded songs (non-purchased) and listen to them anywhere on all your devices signed in with the same Apple ID.

To get started, you need a Mac to import your MP3 files to the Apple Music Library. Transfer your downloaded songs from your iPhone to the Mac and follow these easy steps:

On Mac

Step 1: Launch Finder from the dock and navigate to the folder containing your downloaded/transferred music.

Step 2: Open the Apple Music app. You can use Spotlight Search if you don’t have Apple Music on your Mac’s dock.

Step 3: Drag and drop the downloaded music to the Apple Music Library section. Ensure each song must not exceed 200 MB in file size.

On iPhone

Open the Apple Music app and tap the Recently Added album to locate all imported local MP3 songs. Tap a song title to play it.

Note: It takes a few minutes to sync the Apple Music Library across all connected devices. Once the sync completes, Apple Music provides continuous playback on all your imported songs.

Method 3: Add Local Files to Your Spotify Library

If you don’t wish to deal with the hassle of importing local MP3 songs to your Apple Music Library, Spotify is your one-stop solution. It lets you import and play all MP3 files continuously from the Files app.

Step 1: Open Spotify, select the You tab from the bottom right, and tap Settings and privacy.

Step 2: Select Local Files and enable the ‘Show audio files from this device‘ toggle. Tap Allow when prompted to grant access.

Step 3: Next, head to the Files app, select Browse from the bottom right, and tap ‘On My iPhone‘.

Step 4: Long-tap your local MP3 file and select Move.

Step 5: Select ‘On My iPhone‘ under Locations and tap Move to move it to the Spotify folder.

Step 6: Finally, open Your Library in the Spotify app, select the Local Files playlist, and tap your local MP3 song title to play it. Repeat this process for any additional MP3s you want to add and listen to on Spotify.

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