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Apple makes ANOTHER U-turn: Firm reveals it is working to restore Home Sharing on iOS 9 after feature vanished after recent update

Reports about the demise of Home Sharing appeared on Twitter last week
Although Apple didn't confirm the change at the time, it was thought to have been removed because it rivalled Apple's Family plan on Apple Music
Apple's Eddy Cue tweeted: 'We're working to have Home Sharing on iOS 9'
Next-generation software is expected to be released in the Autumn

Published: 06:44 EST, 7 July 2015 | Updated: 07:53 EST, 7 July 2015

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Apple is making a bit of a habit of reversing decisions recently.

Earlier this month it announced it would pay artists during the three-month trial of Apple Music - after initially saying it wouldn't - and now it has seemingly made an about-turn on Home Sharing.

Home Sharing lets people share their iTunes music over a Wi-Fi network, but it vanished during a recent iOS update leading to angry tweets and forum posts.

And in response to one of these disgruntled tweets, Apple's Eddy Cue has now said the firm is working on solving the problem.

@inklake We are working to have Home Sharing in iOS 9.
— Eddy Cue (@cue) July 6, 2015

Home Sharing lets people share their iTunes music over a Wi-Fi network, but it vanished during a recent iOS update leading to angry tweets and forum posts. In response to one of these tweets, Apple's Eddy Cue has now said the firm is working on solving the problem

It is not clear why the feature was removed and the wording of Mr Cue's response doesn't guarantee it will be returned, however, just that Apple is 'working on it.'

The original tweet was posted by Brooklyn-based Peter Kaufmann on Twitter as @inklake.

He wrote: 'Hey @cue, I hope I don't have to be @taylorswift13 to get you to restore Home Sharing for music! #ios84'

This made reference to the open letter that singer Taylor Swift wrote to Apple bemoaning its decision to not pay artists during the Apple Music trial.

Mr Cue, Apple's senior vice president of internet software and services, responded to Mr Kaufmann: '@inklake We are working to have Home Sharing in iOS 9.'

The iOS 8.4 update was released to add the Apple Music app to phones and tablets. It also redesigned the music player and tweaked the iTunes Store.

Elsewhere, the update fixed the recent text messaging bug that caused phones to crash, and made improvements to iBooks.

But following its release, reports about the demise of Home Sharing began appearing on Twitter.

Before iOS 8.4 was released, Home Sharing (pictured) let people share iTunes music with other iOS devices on the same Wi-Fi network. But since Apple rolled out the software update, the feature has vanished and there was no official explanation

Although Apple didn't confirm the change at the time, it was thought to have been removed because it rivalled Apple's Family plan on Apple Music.

For $14.99 (£14.99 in the UK) a month, a family of up to six people can share an Apple Music subscription, meaning they can stream music and listen to Beats 1.

This is similar to what Home Sharing offered for free.

Many disgruntled users also took to the Apple support forums to complain about the changes.

Hey @APPLEOFFIClAL I want my #ios home sharing back
— matt4c (@matt4c) July 2, 2015

iOS 8.4: only $15/month to restore Home Sharing. http://t.co/s9SjvgwN8H Apple does it again.
— John Gordon (@jgordonshare) July 2, 2015

The iOS 8.4 update was built to add the Apple Music app to phones and tablets. It also redesigned the music player and tweaked the iTunes Store. Reports about the demise of Home Sharing began appearing on Twitter (example tweets pictured) and Apple support forums following the update

Although Apple didn't confirm the change at the time, it was thought to have been removed because it rivalled Apple's Family plan on Apple Music. For $14.99 (£14.99 in the UK) a month, a family of up to six people can share a subscription (setup screen pictured). Home Sharing offered some Apple Music features for free

One spotted that under the known issues section of the iOS 8.4 Beta 4 developer release notes it said says: 'Home Sharing and Genius Mixes are not currently available.'

This confirms that the feature is no longer applicable, but that it may return in a later software release, which appears to have now been confirmed by Mr Cue.

Apple Music launched earlier this week. It comes with a free three-month trial, after which it costs $9.99 (£9.99 in the UK).

This subscription includes music streaming, playlist and album recommendations from music experts, the Beats 1 radio station and Connect, which lets music fans follow their favourite artists.

WHAT'S NEW IN IOS 8.4?

Apple iPhone and iPad users can now install the iOS 8.4 software update from their Settings menu

Apple Music

Apple Music members can play millions of songs in the Apple Music catalogue, or keep them offline for playback later.

Members can see playlist and album recommendations, handpicked by music experts, find new music from editors and listen to Beats 1 radio.

The new Connect feature lets fans follow their favourite artists.

The update has also a completely redesigned music player that includes new features such as Recently Added, MiniPlayer, and Up Next.

iBooks improvements and fixes

The update means users can browse, listen and download audiobooks from inside iBooks.

It adds a Now Playing feature, designed specifically for audiobooks, and books that are Made for iBooks now work on iPhone in addition to iPad.

Users can also find and pre-order books in a series from their library.

Other improvements and bug fixes

The update fixes an issue where receiving a specific series of Unicode characters causes device to reboot as well as an issue where deleted Apple Watch apps could re-install.