How do I exclude files from Samsung Music?

What is Samsung Music?

Samsung Music is the default music player app that comes pre-installed on most Samsung Galaxy devices. It provides a full-featured music playback experience optimized for Samsung android devices.

Key features of the Samsung Music app include:

• Playing locally stored music files
• Streaming music from online services
• Creating and managing playlists
• Downloading music for offline listening
• Audio effects and equalizer customization
• Lyrics display
• Folder management
• Sleep timer and private mode

The app aims to provide Galaxy device owners with a seamless music playback experience without needing to download a third-party music player. It is designed specifically for Samsung devices and optimized to take advantage of their hardware and software capabilities.

Overall, Samsung Music provides a full set of features to play, organize and enhance locally stored and streamed music collections right out of the box on Galaxy phones and tablets.

Why exclude files from Samsung Music?

There are a few key reasons you may want to exclude files from Samsung Music:

• Save storage space by not indexing unwanted files – Indexing many unwanted audio files can take up storage space on your device. Excluding files you don’t want in your music library can help save space.

• Avoid clutter from non-music files showing up – Sometimes audio files like ringtones, alarm tones, or sound clips can clutter your music library. Excluding them helps keep your music collection focused.

• Prevent autoplay of audio files you don’t want – Files like ringtones and alerts may autoplay unexpectedly if scanned by Samsung Music. Excluding them prevents this annoyance.

Overall, excluding unwanted files helps keep your music collection clean, focused, and optimized for your needs.

Locating Samsung Music Settings

To access the settings in the Samsung Music app, first open the app on your device. The app icon looks like a pair of headphones inside a musical note.

Once the app is open, tap on the three dot menu icon in the top right corner. This will open the menu options.

Select “Settings” from the menu. This will open the settings screen for the Samsung Music app.

The settings menu contains various options to customize your music experience. Some key settings include:

• SoundAlive – Adjust audio effects and equalizer.
• Play speed – Change playback speed of songs.
• Lyrics – Enable lyrics display.
• Download via Wi-Fi only – Manage download settings.
• Hide files – Exclude folders or files.
• About Samsung Music – View version and app details.

The “Hide files” setting allows you to exclude files and folders from showing in your Samsung Music library. This is useful for removing music you don’t want the app to index.

Excluding a folder from Samsung Music

Here is a step-by-step guide to exclude a folder in the Samsung Music app:

1. Open the Samsung Music app on your device.
2. Tap on the “Folders” tab at the bottom.
3. Tap on the three dot menu icon in the top right corner.
4. Select “Hide Folders” from the menu.
5. This will open the folder exclusion settings.

You can now browse all folders on your device and toggle the switch next to any folder you want to exclude from Samsung Music. Turning off the switch will hide that folder.

Some examples of folders you may want to exclude are:

• Downloads folder that contains non-music files
• Audiobooks folder if you only want to see music files
• Ringtones folder since it contains short clips

Once you have selected which folders to exclude, hit “Done” to apply the changes. The selected folders will no longer show up in your Samsung Music library.

Excluding individual files

In addition to excluding entire folders, you can also choose to exclude specific individual files from showing up in your Samsung Music library. This allows you to hide just those songs or audio files you don’t want to see in your playlists and albums, without excluding the parent folder they are contained in.

To exclude a specific file:

1. Open the Samsung Music app and tap on the “Settings” icon in the top right corner.
2. Select “Scan and exclude files.”
3. Tap on “Select individual files.”
4. Browse your music folders and tap on the file(s) you want to exclude. A checkmark will appear next to the selected files.
5. Tap “Exclude” to confirm. The selected files will now be hidden from your Samsung Music library.

Excluding individual files can be useful if you only want to hide one or two tracks instead of a whole folder. For example, you may want to exclude live album versions but still see the studio versions of the same songs. You could also use this to remove duplicates or unwanted edited versions while keeping the original files visible.

The excluded files will not show up in playlists, albums or anywhere else in Samsung Music. However, they will still remain in your music folders and you can undo the exclusion at any time to restore them by following the same steps but tapping “Restore” instead of “Exclude.”

Importance of media rescan

When new music is added or old music is removed from your device’s storage, Samsung Music needs to rescan your media files to update its index. This media rescan refreshes the app’s library so it accurately shows all music files available.

Rescanning becomes especially important after you exclude folders or individual files from Samsung Music. The app won’t actually omit those exclusions until after a rescan. So it’s essential to manually trigger a rescan if exclusions aren’t taking effect.

You can initiate a media rescan within Samsung Music in just a few taps. Open the app and select the Library tab, then tap the three dot menu in the upper right corner. Choose “Settings” then select “Scan Device” to start rescanning all media.

The rescan may take a few minutes depending on how many songs you have stored. Once it finishes, launch the app again and any folder or file exclusions should now be applied. Your Samsung Music library will accurately reflect only the music files you wish to include.

Alternative music players

While Samsung Music comes pre-installed on many Samsung devices, there are various other music player apps available on Android that you may want to try out as an alternative. Some popular options include PowerAmp, Musicolet, Spotify, and YouTube Music.

Third-party apps like PowerAmp and Musicolet offer robust music management and playback features, letting you customize things like equalizers and playlists. They may provide a better overall music experience compared to the stock Samsung Music player. Streaming services like Spotify and YouTube Music give you access to a vast catalog of songs for a monthly subscription fee.

The downside is you need to download and separately manage another music app. Also, streaming services require an internet connection and paid subscriptions. With Samsung Music, you already have an app ready to play local audio files.

If you want to make a different player your default, go to Settings > Apps > Default apps > Music player and select your preferred app. Just note that if you uninstall Samsung Music, you may not be able to easily revert back if you ever want the stock music player again.

Managing music on SD card

One option for increasing storage space for music files on your Samsung device is to store music on an external SD card. By default, Samsung Music will scan both internal storage and external SD cards for audio files to include in your library.

To move your music files to the SD card, open the My Files app and navigate to the Music folder on your device’s internal storage. Long press on song files and select Move. Then choose your SD card as the destination. Your files will be copied over. You can then delete the original files on internal storage to free up room.

Keep in mind that whenever you add or remove files on your SD card, you’ll need to initiate a media rescan in the Samsung Music app. Go to Settings > Scan audio files. This will refresh the app and index any new music content on the external storage.

For more tips, see this guide on playing music from an SD card: Playing music from sd card

Troubleshooting Tips

If you are still having issues with excluding files from Samsung Music after trying the steps above, here are some troubleshooting tips:

If files are still showing up in Samsung Music even after being excluded, try resetting the app’s data. Go to Settings > Apps > Samsung Music > Storage > Clear Data. This will reset Samsung Music and require you to reopen and re-exclude those files (Source).

Check that you have scanned your media files after making changes to exclusions. Open Samsung Music, go to Settings > Scan audio files. This will rescan all media on your device and apply any new exclusions (Source).

Try force stopping the Samsung Music app if it is not applying exclusions properly. Go to Settings > Apps > Samsung Music > Force Stop. Then reopen the app and check if files are now excluded.

As a last resort, you can contact Samsung Music support through the Galaxy Store app or Samsung Members app for troubleshooting help. You can also search for solutions on Samsung’s community forums.

Summary

Excluding files from Samsung Music helps you take control over what appears in your library. By excluding folders or individual files, you can remove songs and audio you don’t want showing up in Samsung Music.

The key benefits of excluding files are:

• Reduces clutter by hiding unwanted songs and audio files
• Makes your library more manageable by only showing relevant content
• Saves you time from scrolling past tracks you don’t want to see

If you need more help with excluding files from Samsung Music, check the app’s settings menu for guidance. You can also find tutorials for your specific Samsung device model online or contact Samsung customer support.

With a few simple steps, you can take control of your Samsung Music library and hide any files you don’t want showing up. Excluding folders or individual tracks is an easy way to curate your music collection.