How do I cancel an iTunes download?

iTunesStore_OZ
Is iTunes 11 downloading an HD copy of a movie you don’t need, or a season pass with episodes that’ll blow out your quota? Here’s how to get it to stop.
I have to admit that I had to look this up online myself; where previous iterations of iTunes had a very distinct and easy to see downloads section, iTunes 11 hides it in a slightly less subtle place.
All you can see by default is that your very large file (or files) are downloading, with no easy cancel option in sight. If you’re sitting on a limited download quota, or simply don’t want to choke your connection for other online activities this is annoying, until you figure out where the cancel button actually is. There is one — but it’s not the most obvious of creatures.
iTunesCancelDL
Specifically, it’s a small arrow at the top right of the iTunes interface, next to the Search Library function as pictured above. Click on that, and you should get a pop-up Window showing your current downloads, which you can then pause or cancel as you see fit.
How Do I? covers the basics, because we’ve all got to start somewhere.

7 thoughts on “How do I cancel an iTunes download?”

  1. Good to know… however, I’ve given up on iTunes 11 for Win7 64bit.. it’s simply not compatible enough on a regular and consistent basis.. so I’ve uninstalled and gone back to iTunes 10, which is A LOT more stable on Win7 64bit.

  2. To clarify; if you’ve purchased iTunes content, it’ll try to download it, because, well, you’ve purchased it. Makes a certain amount of sense. But if you’re on a limited quota connection (or have more pressing bandwidth needs at the time) this will cancel the download at that time. It’ll still presume that at some point you’ll want to download the content you’ve paid for (though once it’s done that initial download it shouldn’t, in my experience at least, try to download it on other devices automatically).

  3. I have this issue. for some reason, content I’ve already downloaded is trying to download again. I know I have already downloaded them coz I can watch them all… so how can I cancel the downloads permanently?

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