Turning off the new Streaming Quality setting in 2026.07

[Zephyr]

With the new 2026.07 update there’s the addition—in Apple Music—of a “Streaming Quality” setting. This is now turned on by default. It’s there to ...."reduce buffering by automatically adjusting audio quality depending on connectivity speeds.” On a 4 hr. road trip yesterday I definitely noticed it choking the audio quality at times. When I arrived back home and could actually open settings and play around to discover how to turn this new setting off, I couldn’t believe how much fuller and richer the sound was. This new setting may have it’s place at times, perhaps when traveling in very remote areas, but I was amazed at how much audio quality it robbed from my music. In fact, I swear Apple Music sounds even better than pre-2026.07 update, though that also could have to do with the quality of the recordings i was listening to.

Here’s how to turn this “streaming quality setting” off:

1. Open Apple Music full sized on the display screen
2. Click on the your account icon in the upper right corner (what looks like a little head on top of shoulders) to go to your settings.
3. Scroll down to “Audio” then go to Streaming Quality and toggle it off.
4. Enjoy your music at full audio quality!

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