Apple Music is really a great music streaming platform, but one annoying little thing is that it insists on playing other music automatically when your desired songs are ready. It seems to think it has to constantly serve music that you never asked for in the first place. If this bothers you, here’s how to prevent Apple Music from playing automatically.
Read more: Apple Music – is it worth it?
RAPID RESPONSE
To prevent Apple Music from playing automatically, start a song and go to the song’s main page. Tap the icon with the three horizontal lines and three dots. This opens the list of what’s playing next. Deselect the autoplay button and the list will delete itself.
SKIP TO IMPORTANT SECTIONS
How to stop Apple Music from playing automatically
Stopping Apple Music from playing automatically is very easy and only takes a few seconds.
iPhone and iPad
Start a song on Apple Music (otherwise it won’t work). Then tap the icon with three horizontal lines and three dots at the bottom of the song’s page. This is the entrance to the Play next list.
Look to the right of the Play next list. There are three icons. The one on the far right (the one that looks like two circles squished together) is the autoplay button. Just tap it to turn it off. Doing so removes the Play Next list, including the AutoPlay section.
macOS
The macOS desktop version of Apple Music is the same as the iOS mobile app. At the top right of the screen is the default logo of three horizontal lines and three dots. When you click on it, the Play next list. Tap the icon with two squeezed circles next to Clear to turn off autoplay.
Does Apple Music still play automatically? Then try these tips
Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a permanent solution to disable autoplay. Disabling only lasts as long as you have Apple Music open. If you close the Music app and then relaunch it, autoplay will reappear.
However, here are three other tips that will stop Apple Music from playing automatically, if the previous method is not enough.
Put the AirPods back in the case when you’re not using them
Sam Smart / Android Authority
Very often, if you take your AirPods out of the case and they are not in your ears, they can start playing music. Putting the AirPods back in their case and closing the lid prevents this from happening. This is also the same for standard wired headphones as many of these can control music playback on your devices.
Turn off Bluetooth on your Apple device and Apple CarPlay
If Apple Music starts playing automatically when you get in your car, it may be worth turning off Bluetooth on your iPhone or iPad to prevent it from connecting to the vehicle’s Apple CarPlay. You may also want to turn off your car’s Bluetooth.
Disable handoff on other devices
Handoff is a feature that continues media playback from one Apple device to another Apple device as soon as it is detected nearby. This can quickly become a major problem if you start playing music from other devices and speakers. You can fix this by disabling Handoff on your iOS device by going to Settings–>General–>Airplay & Handoff†
Read more: Apple Music Not Working? Here’s How To Fix It