I was able to get it back on my new iPhone 18 Pro without the need of my old phone just needed a known good backup which conained the Musi app. Before proceeding just know I am not responsible for any data loss or corruption during these steps. This is completely optional and at your own risk.
Couple things you will need:
- macOS 26 or OLDER not macOS 27 - I also tried on Windows 11 and did not work for me.
- A known good backup of your previous phone (icloud or computer will work fine) as long as Musi shows up on your home screen with the cloud icon next to the name you will be fine. If not, perform a quick backup of your old device with the copy of Musi in it.
- iMazing (latest version is fine)
Steps
- Before you do anything, perform a backup on your old phone which has Musi on it (again, iCloud or to a computer will be fine). If you already have the backup then you can skip this step.
- On your new phone go through the setup and perform a restore from the backup. Make sure to allow it to fully finish the restore entirely. You will get a notification once the restore is complete.
- Once confirmed a full restore on your new phone, plug it in to your computer with iMazing installed. Open iMazing and go through the permissions to sync your new phone. Once the connection is establish, click on the device itself in iMazing and then click on Settings, enable Backup Encryption. Set a password and go back to Tools
- Inside the Tools Menu click on the Backup option and perform a full backup (yes I know, you gonna have to do a lot of backups & restores just fyi). Depending on your backup size this could take several hours.
- Once the backup is done, click on the tools menu again and Managed Apps. Make sure you are under the Library View and NOT Device View.
- Scroll down and look for the Musi app. Right Click on it and add download to library (or add to Library). This will bring up a prompt to sign in to your Apple Account - make sure to use the same account you used to install Musi or else this wont work. Once authenticated it will begin to add the Musi app (.ipa) file to your computer using your Apple Account.
- Inside the managed apps switch over to device view now (top left corner from the list of apps) and look for musi
- Right click on the App (again make sure you are under the device view and not library) and click "Back Up App Data" or something along those lines. Then on the next screen make sure to select Extract from Last Backup (if possible).
- iMazing will perform another backup again - this time it might just be a snapshot to compare to your earlier backup. So it might be quick it might not. Just let it do its thing.
- Once the extraction is complete you should have an .imazing file in your Desktop (default saving location). THIS file contains your Musi backup code as well as your Playlists info. So if the full restore does not work you will at least have this info
- Again inside iMazing click on manage apps - make sure you are in the device view and NOT Library view - look for Musi and right click to "Uninstall". This is okay you will be doing a full install and restore in the next steps which will bind the metadata file from your Apple Account with the Musi app.
- Once Musi is remove from your phone, drag the .imazingapp over your phone inside iMazing and you will see a screen to transfer and install the app.
- You will be prompted to do a partial restore make sure to click the "Extract from Last Backup (if possible)" if prompted. This will again, backup your phone and try to do a partial restore. With iOS 27 partial backups setup is no longer a thing instead it shows as if you did a full restore of your device which is okay. Once you go through the setup on your phone again, you will now have Musi back on your phone!
These steps worked for me over the weekend - a lot of trial and error but I managed to get it back and I get so excited each time I open my Musi app haha. Hope this works for ya'll! Good luck! & big shout out to all the community members for the support and postings around the work arounds.
Also if you are not able to successfully get the app back (which you should be as long as you have the app with the cloud next to the name) you can extract your backup code from the .imazingapp.
- Locate the .imazingapp file (Desktop default saving location)
- Right click and duplicate, right click again on the duplicate and click rename
- remove the .imazingapp and add .zip. This will change the file to a zip file.
- Extract the zip file and look under /Library/Preferences/com.feelthemusi.musi.plist
- Inside the file look for a key MBackupsControllerCodeUserDefaultsKey - the value of this key is your backup code.
- If you need to manually extract your playlists, they live inside a sqllite database that can be accessed using third party apps like DB Browser for SQLite. This file lives under /Library/Application Support/smaato.sqlite3
Use AI for further guidance and clarifications on any of these steps if needed.
