Apple Music Suddenly Starts Playing? 8 Reasons (Explained)

Have you ever experienced Apple Music suddenly start playing without you doing a single thing? You aren’t the only one who has encountered this strange phenomenon.

In this article, we will uncover 8 reasons why your phone starts playing music without a prompt. We will also look at what can be done to fix this.

1. Apple Music can Start Playing if Headphones are Connected

A lot of people use headphones so they can continue to listen to music without disrupting the people around them.

There are instances when your cellular device will automatically play music after connecting your headphones to your device.

Headphones and earphones have experienced astronomical leaps in technological advancement, so movements and buttons can give instructions to your device. This is particularly true of Apple Airpods and other wireless in-ear headsets. 

Make sure that you are familiar with how your headphones work so that you don’t accidentally prompt the device to start playing tracks.

Be careful that you aren’t accidentally hitting on your headphones, as this can signal your phone to begin playing songs.

In the case of iPhones, if you have a weak headset connection, loose or tattered cables, or moisture present on the connector or remote, Siri or Classic Voice Control could be triggered.

If the issue continues, consider getting a different headset.

Finally, make sure the headphones aren’t damaged in any other way. These defects might trigger Apple Music to start playing without warning.

2. Apple Music Automatically Plays in the Car

Most modern cars automatically sync with your phone via Bluetooth so that you can answer calls hands-free, listen to music, etc.

If you find that your iPhone begins playing random tracks when it connects to the Bluetooth in the car, Apple Music might be running in the background.

Closing that app should fix the issue.

Here’s how to close apps that might be running in the background:

1. Double-click the ‘Home’ icon or swipe up on iPhone X and later models.
2. Swipe up on all the apps that are open on your screen.

This will ensure that all apps are switched off.

3. The Apple Music Library has a Bug

Your Apple Music library might have some defects that need to be addressed. These bugs could be causing your application to work in an unpredictable way.

This could be due to a variety of reasons, such as system errors or a fault when you downloaded the app. You might need to reset the Apple Music Library in this case – but this will remove all your downloaded songs. 

Here’s how to reset the Apple Music Library:

1. Open Apple Music.
2. Go to the Apple Music Library and click ‘edit’ at the top right.
3. Untick all boxes on the list.

 If all else fails, you might need to delete and reinstall the app. Keep in mind that you will need to download your songs again, and this will use more data.

Doing this might get rid of any unwanted and troublesome bugs in the library that could be causing glitches.

4. Shake to Shuffle is Enabled on older devices

Note – Apple Music disabled this feature with iOS 8.4.

This feature on your iPhone rearranges your songs after shaking your phone. This helps with making sure that your listening experience is varied each time.

This feature is useful when you’re on the go and you want to listen to a new song. But this function can be triggered simply by walking from one place to another or looking for your device in your bag.

You can disable this feature by:

1. Click ‘Settings’ then ‘General’, followed by ‘Accessibility’
2. Next, Swipe down and hit ‘Shake’ to Undo.
3. Disable the ‘shake to shuffle’ function.

The above will prevent Apple Music from playing music when you move in a way that causes your phone to shake.

5. Apple Music needs an Update

Let’s face it updates can feel like a nuisance and wasteful use of your data but some of these updates iron out any defects that the app might be experiencing.

It is important that you are running the most up-to-date version of the app.

To update Apple Music:

1.  Go to the App Store.
2. Click on ‘Updates’ which should be at the bottom.
3. Find the Apple Music Icon and tap ‘Update’

If you see that there is no update available it means that you are currently running the latest version.

This will update the app so you can enjoy any added features along with getting rid of any glitches.

6. Your App Suggestion Settings Open Apple Music

App Settings help you customize your app the way you like it. Not fixing these settings correctly could have the opposite effect.

Your suggestions settings could be signaling Apple Music to open and play by itself.

The point of the App Suggestion feature is to enhance the user experience by predicting, or suggesting, the next thing you want to do on your phone.

Here’s how to turn off this setting on Android:

• Press and hold the empty spot on the home screen’
• Then, tap ‘Home Settings’ > ‘Suggestions’

Here’s how to turn off this setting on iPhone:

Firstly, be aware that app suggestions is a feature linked to Siri and Search.

• Go to the Settings app > Siri and Search > toggle ‘Show Suggestions’ OFF
• Alternatively, you can go to General > App Store > Siri and Search > toggle ‘Suggestion Settings’ OFF

If you know your way around your phone, there is no need for the app suggestion feature to be on.

7. Voice Command is Alerting Apple Music

In December 2021, Apple put the Apple Music Voice Plan on the market.

This allows subscribers to access content by Siri command (voice command) alone on certain supported devices such as HomePod, iPad, iPhone, and Mac.

Sometimes Siri can pick up words that might sound as though you are instructing the device to play music when you aren’t.

Switching off voice commands can help in with this; here are the steps that you can follow:

On an iPhone X or subsequent versions, you can stop Classic Voice Control or Siri from being alerted when you tap and hold the side button on your phone.

• Launch ‘Settings’, hit ‘Accessibility’, then press ‘Side Button’ to adjust the voice control settings.
• Under Press and Hold to Speak, you can choose one of the following:
  • Siri: Siri will respond if you tap and hold ‘Home’.
  • Classic Voice Control: Classic Voice Control will respond if you tap and hold ‘Home’. This, additionally, switches Siri off.
  • Off: There will be no response if you tap and hold ‘Home’.

You can choose the ‘Off’ option if you don’t want Siri or Classic Voice Control to accidentally pick up on what you’re saying.

This could be useful to avoid disturbances when you are attending a meeting or event.

8. Your Device needs to be Restarted

It might seem like this is the go-to solution for seemingly everything, and, oftentimes, it is.

Restarting your phone can refresh the device and sometimes help problematic apps to start working as they should.

This is a step that can be taken as a last resort if nothing else seems to be working.

Final Thoughts

While apps and their settings are designed to almost predict what users want, they don’t always get it right.

Going through the above checklist can help you make sure that Apple Music doesn’t start playing suddenly.

Sources

Apple Music: Our Complete Guide
Turn off Classic Voice Control on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch