iTunes movies are the new norm for digital media. They have the latest technology for digital rental and purchase. Apple has mastered this craft thoughtfully and it should be handed down to them. While it feels cozy and comfortable using their software for playing your rented movies, there will be times were iTunes movies won’t play.

If you’ve already exhausted all your efforts in finding solutions, don’t worry because we’ll guide you in this article. We know how frustrating it is so we’ve laid out some guidelines. Included are concrete troubleshooting steps including finding the sources for why your iTunes movies won’t play. In no time you’ll be able to play your iTunes movie again with your family or friends.

Article Content Part 1. Why iTunes Movie Won’t Play?Part 2. How to Fix iTunes Movie Won’t Play? Part 3. The Best Way to Fix iTunes Movie Won’t Play Part 4. Summary

Part 1. Why iTunes Movie Won’t Play?

There are a number of reasons why iTunes movies won’t play. It can be that your internet connection is not stable or not set up properly. It could also be you’re having issues on Apple side. They include subscription or account problems. It could also be related to Apple software such that it’s not updated to the latest version. Regardless of the case, we’ve listed them down for you.

  • Internet connection issues
  • Apple software problems (needs updating)
  • Subscription account problems.
  • Movie file issues or expiry
  • Purchase issues.
  • DRM-related issues.

iTunes Movie Won’t Play

Once you verified your issue the next step is to do some simple troubleshooting. We’ll guide you in the next section.

Part 2. How to Fix iTunes Movie Won’t Play?

1. Check the internet connection – The internet is the source of many problems, especially with regard to data, more so to streaming data. If your iTunes movies won’t play this is probably the first thing to check. Is your internet service provider reliable? Are you that far from your Wi-Fi base? Check these things as they are major causes. There are also self troubleshooting solutions offered by Windows and Mac for this.

2. Your software is not up=to-date – Apple software is known to update regularly. They do many bug fixes and this includes run-time and playback issues. To be sure that you have the latest software for iTunes check it out with the following process:

  • In iTunes Go to Help - > Check for Updates.
  • In Apple TV go to System->Software Updates then select Update Software
  • If you have the latest version then the software will relay this message.
  • If not then a download of the latest software will begin. It will begin installation next. Be sure to allow the queries with the process.

Fix iTunes Movie Won’t Pla

3. Fixing your Apple account and subscription issues – Did you forget to pay your Apple monthly subscription? Be sure you have paid this for Apple can refuse to play your movies. You can also try to re-login to your account. You can do this by:

  • In iTunes or Apple TV go to Account->Sign Out.
  • After signing out go back to Account-> Sign In.
  • Sign in with your Apple ID.

Fixing Apple Account

4. Maybe your iTunes movie has expired already? – iTunes rented movies have a turn-around time of 30 days. Meaning that you can play or keep them useful within 30 days only. Additionally, there is a 48-hour deadline after you have played your content. This means, that once you start playing your rented movie, then you’ve only got 48-hours left to play them indefinitely. Once these deadlines have expired then your iTunes movies won’t play anymore.

5. Did you check if your purchase came through? – Purchasing errors can come about with any service and do not exclude Apple. There could be unforeseen restrictions in your country. There could also be copyright issues involved. Regardless of the reason, the best way to double-check this is through Apple customer support.

  • Go to the Apple support site.
  • Go to Apple ID, then iTunes Store & App Store.
  • Next, choose to purchase or download content.
  • Choose your preferred method to contact customer support.

6. It might be DRM-related issues – If it’s DRM-related issues, it might be that you still wanted to play them even after the movie expired. You can’t go around this issue using Apple software anymore. You will need a reliable third-party tool for this. If you also want to play your Apple movie on another hardware that is non-Apple certified then this tool will help you a lot. Another advantage of this is that you can have unlimited access to your Apple movies. This will break through the 30-day/48-hour limit of rented movies.

Part 3. The Best Way to Fix iTunes Movie Won’t Play

To fix iTunes movies won’t play issues then we strongly recommend the third party tool, TunesFun Apple Music Converter. TunesFun is a versatile all-in-one iTunes movie converter and DRM removal tool. It can remove DRM in your iTunes movie with lossless compression, meaning no sacrifice to video quality.

It is very easy to use and requires no special skills. Just choose the iTunes movie you want in your iTunes library, optionally choose audio track/subtitle settings, and you are ready to go. You can download a free trial software here:

To remove the 3-minute restriction on movie conversion, you can purchase a time-limited or perpetual license key based on your budget. You’ll now be able to convert full-length movies.

What‘s good about this iTunes movie DRM removal tool is that it’s ad-ware, spy-ware, and mal-ware free. It also has timely software updates unlike those open source free tools on the net (like Requiem). It is continually updated to keep up with Apple standards. It also has a complete 24-hour reply customer support that’s very valuable.

This is a sample of the movie conversion process:

  1. Open the TunesFun Apple Music Converter and add movie files by clicking Add files through the button on the upper left.

Add iTunes Movies Files

  1. Now you can see the library from your iTunes movies. Pick the movies you want converted.
  1. You can choose Options to change output directories.

Choose iTunes Movies Output Format

  1. The gear icon on the right side will let you choose audio tracks and subtitle options.
  1. Click Convert and it will start converting. The 3-minute limit can be circumvented by purchasing license keys. This will unlock full-movie-length DRM removal.

Convert iTunes Movies

Once your conversion is finished then you can play your iTunes movies on any device you want. You can also play them anytime you want. No more restrictions that will hold back your movie playing experience.

Part 4. Summary

In summary, we presented the reasons why your iTunes movies won’t play. We also presented the ways to solve these issues in a step-by-step manner. Once you determine the issues please follow our guide. We also presented a powerful third-party tool to fix your iTunes movies won’t play permanently. This is through the TunesFun Apple Movie Converter.

Try It Free Try It Free

With TunesFun you’ll be able to play your iTunes movie, DRM free without any loss of quality. You can now play them anytime and anywhere you want. We presented the process of using this tool. It’s very easy and it integrates well with your iTunes movie library.