Are you looking for ways on how to prevent apps from stopping music on iPhone? Read on to find out everything there is to know!
With the work-from-home culture becoming a staple to most, having your favorite tunes running in the background while you work helps most people find their groove as they go about their day of work.
I usually have my AirPods running my favorite podcasts and music while I get my work done and usually when switching between apps my music just stops and honestly breaks my flow of thought and work.
I needed a solution to this constant fallout because even if I drop down the control center and play the music again, it goes off when I switch apps. I’ve noticed this issue is not with all apps but specific apps.
I’ve done some research online and went through some troubleshooting steps to sort this issue of mine and hopefully it helps you solve your issue as well.
So, how to prevent apps from stopping music on iPhone?
You can prevent apps from stopping music on an iPhone by shutting down all your background apps or by turning off Auto Play on the other apps you use. Generally music stops playing on your iPhone when there’s something playing in the background. Preventing the apps from running in the background will stop this from happening on your iPhone. You can also check your network connectivity and see if there’s a drop in the signal. If all these checks fail then you can try restarting your device and see if this helps.
Recommended Read: How Long Can I Record Voice Memo on iPhone
Table of Contents
How to Prevent Apps from Stopping Music on iPhone?
Let’s start by understanding why the music stops playing in the first place.
Why Does your Music Stop?
There are two main reasons why your music might get paused if you open an app on an iPhone and I have a fix for both. Check them out.
- The App You’ve Opened has Audio Content – Apps like YouTube shorts, Instagram, and TikTok have their own audio program that starts playing because you are using the app at that given moment and your Spotify and iTunes become a secondary apps. The iPhone chooses to keep the top app as a priority and mutes the secondary app till the audio of the primary apps is done. It’s kind of like the person in front of the jukebox gets to play their song first. But we’ve found a solution to this problem which we’ll come back to in a bit, so you can scroll through your Twitter while having your favorite playlist running in the background. .
- Software Error – There is a very small chance that you might be facing this problem due to a software glitch in the iPhone or a corrupted update that didn’t install properly onto your iPhone. An easy fix to this is by updating your phone by manually going to settings> general> about iPhone> Software update. Follow these steps to manually update your iPhone to see if it solves the problem.
How to Play Music on iTunes Without it Pausing?
If you have your favorite playlist on iTunes, here is how you can run it in the background without stopping.
When using your iPhone there might be multiple apps open that can hinder while listening to your music on iTunes. Closing unwanted apps running in the background can easily solve this problem.
Quit all the Apps running in the Background
For example, if you’ve opened Instagram and done scrolling through reels and opened your iTunes after listening to your music. The app can interfere with iTunes, so it’s best to close the app once you’re done using it or whenever you decide to start playing music from iTunes close all background apps to have an uninterrupted listening experience.

Here’s how to close background running apps. on an iPhone
- Unlock your iPhone to the home screen, swipe up from the bottom of your iPhone and hold down on the screen.
- This will show you all the previously opened apps.
- Swipe up on all the unwanted apps to force close them and keep all the apps open that you want running, in this case, iTunes.
- Now there is no chance of any app interfering as they are closed.
Manually turn off Auto Play on Apps
If you’re the type who likes to listen to music as they scroll through their social media feed, here’s how you manually turn off auto-play on the apps so you can open the app while Spotify or iTunes runs in the background.

Turn off Video Auto Play on iPhone.
- Go to settings on the app like Instagram and Twitter.
- Go to the privacy settings, under settings.
- Under Accessibility, you will find the video auto play section.
- Choose the appropriate option to your liking, keeping it in never will avoid this problem from ever happening.
Do Not Open Apps that Interfere with your music
This is the most simple advice I have for you to enjoy your music without interruptions. Don’t open other apps while listening to your music of any App on your iPhone. The iPhone IOS works on a priority basis so the app most recently opened has the audio engine of the iPhone linked. Keeping the Music App on top will avoid any interruptions.
Check your Network Connection
This is a common problem if you’re traveling and your data is fluctuating, this can cause reconnecting issues with both social media apps as well as your music apps. There are times when the internet drops and fails to reconnect with the app. You will need to switch your phone to airplane mode for 10 seconds and turn it off, so the phone and all the apps can reconnect to the internet successfully, this is done to achieve two things.
- Connect to a better internet network to avoid disconnection again.
- Finding out if the internet connection is the issue.
If you’re in a Wi-Fi environment and face this issue, try the same method of switching to airplane mode. If that doesn’t work, forget the network and reconnect, this should solve the issue if the internet is the problem.
Update the Apps on your iPhone
When your IOS software updates on your phone, all the apps go through an update as well to work with the updated software. Manually going to the app in the app store and updating the apps will resolve the issue with the music playback.
Here’s how you update the apps manually.
- Go to the App Store.
- Check the installed apps on the iPhone.
- Once you have the list of Apps open, you will have a toggle button showing either open or update.
- Update all the apps showing the option to update.
- Restart the iPhone to calibrate all the apps with the new update.
Restart Your iPhone if Problem Persists
If there is a software issue, say your Instagram has not been updated or your iPhone has a new update but you haven’t updated yet but you’ve updated the Apps to the latest version. This can cause software glitches that can stop the playback from your music app.
Restarting your iPhone can help solve this problem as the phone can download and install the latest update when you restart it. When you restart your iPhone all the glitches and previous errors are all removed, so this will 100 percent fix any software issue if any.

Here is how you restart your iPhone
- Hold down on the power button.
- A Slide bar will appear asking you if you want to turn off your iPhone.
- On the iPhone above the iPhone X, you will need to hold down the power button while holding down on the volume dock down button.
- You will be given the option to slide right to turn off.
- Slide right and turn on your iPhone.
Force Restart the iPhone if Everything Else Fails
There are times where Apps will prevent your iPhone from restarting which can be a pain if you don’t know how to force restart your iPhone. This is again because of an internal software issue.

Here is how you force restart your iPhone, This procedure is for iPhone 8 and above
- Press Down on the Volume up on the Volume Dock for a sec and quickly release.
- Now quickly press down on the volume down button and quickly release it.
- Now Press down on the lock screen button until you see the Apple logo appear.
- Wait for the phone to restart and check if the problem still persists.
FAQ’s
Can I switch between Two Music Apps on an iPhone?
Yes, You have two or three music apps running and switching between them, but you will have to force quit the other app before opening the other app as the apple iOS plays the most recently opened app as the primary sound output.
Can I read the news on chrome while listening to iTunes?
Yes, usually most news websites on chrome have video playback off and require your permission to play them. You should be able to listen to your favorite playlist while catching up with everyday times.
Muting the app in the chrome setting can also help if the ads within the news website play and videos.
Takeaway
If you’ve tried all the above troubleshooting sets and still face the issue, it’s best to take the iPhone to the Apple Store to check for internal software issues. I hope following these above steps has helped you resolve your issue.
Also Read:
- Best Free Music Apps For iPhone Offline
- Best Music Recording App For iPhone
- How Long Can I Record Voice Memo on iPhone
Greetings! My name is Michael and this is my website.
I've been specializing in audio equipment and accessories for a while and have a little something in store for every kind of hi-fi enthusiast.
Based in California, I keep attending special launch events across the globe. This has helped me understand the products better, and with a unique hands-on experience I'm able to provide you with easy to understand reviews about the best in audio tech from around the world.