10+ Ways to Stop Apple Music from Automatically Playing

Part 1: How to Stop Apple Music from Automatically Playing

1. Clear Apple Music's Recently Played List

Sometimes Apple Music just picks up right where you left off and starts playing whatever was last on. To stop that, clear your Recently Played list. Open the Music app, head to Listen Now or Library, then remove items from Recently Played. This gives Apple Music a clean slate and can help prevent surprise playback.

1. Open the Music app on your iPhone or Android device.
2. Go to the Now Playing screen, then tap the menu icon with three horizontal lines.
3. Scroll down to find the Recently Played list.
4. Tap Clear. This removes your playback history to prevent auto-playing recent songs.
5. Tap Clear again to confirm.

2. Turn Off Automatic Music Playback in Your Car

Some cars have a setting called "AutoPlay" (not to be confused with Apple Music's Autoplay), or options like "Media on Start" or "Start Music Automatically." These basically tell your car to start playing music the moment your phone connects over Bluetooth. You might find an option to turn this off in your car's media or Bluetooth settings. Hyundai and Ford users often mention these settings. If your car doesn't offer this, you could try turning off Bluetooth auto-connect or switching to a different USB connection mode.

1. Turn on your car's infotainment system.
2. Go to Settings or Bluetooth settings.
3. Look for options like AutoPlay, Media on Start, or Start Music Automatically.
4. If available, turn these off.
5. If no option exists, try disabling Bluetooth auto-connect on your phone or use a USB connection.

3. Turn Off Handoff

Do you use multiple Apple devices? Handoff can cause music to start playing automatically on one device when you didn't expect it. To fix this, go to Settings > General > AirPlay & Handoff and toggle Handoff off. If that doesn't work, try signing out of Apple Music on devices you aren't actively using. For some, especially those with several Apple gadgets or accessories, this stops the music from jumping around.

• For iPhone:

  

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap General.
  3. Tap AirPlay & Handoff.
  4. Toggle Handoff off.

• For Mac:

  1. Click the Apple logo in the top-left corner.
  2. Select System Preferences.
  3. Click General.
  4. Uncheck Allow Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud devices.

4. Enable Cellular Data for Apple Music

If your iPhone has trouble connecting over Wi-Fi, it might freak out and launch music as soon as it reconnects. To avoid this, go to Settings > Music > Cellular Data and turn it on. This way, Apple Music won't panic trying to reconnect and won't start playing music unexpectedly.

1. Open Settings on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down and tap Music.
3. Under Cellular Data, toggle Cellular Data on.

5. Disable Background App Refresh for Music

When Background App Refresh is on, Apple Music can run quietly in the background and that might trigger playback. To fix it, go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh, find Music, and toggle it off. Now, Apple Music stays off until you open it yourself.

• For iPhone:

  

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap General.
  3. Tap Background App Refresh.
  4. Turn off Background App Refresh entirely or just for the Music app.

• For Android:

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap Apps or Application Manager.
  3. Select Apple Music.
  4. Tap Battery.
  5. Turn off Allow Background Activity.

6. Disable Screen Time Restrictions

Sometimes Screen Time rules mess with how media apps behave. If music starts acting weird, check Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions and see what's on. Loosening up restrictions might be enough to stop autoplay.

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Screen Time.
3. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.
4. Tap Allowed Apps.
5. Turn off CarPlay if enabled.

7. Disable Automatic Ear Detection for AirPods

AirPods are smart, but sometimes a little too smart. If they start music as soon as they sense your ears, go to Settings > Bluetooth, tap the "i" next to your AirPods, and turn off Automatic Ear Detection. This puts playback fully under your control.

• For iPhone:

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap Bluetooth.
  3. Tap the i next to your AirPods.
  4. Toggle off Automatic Ear Detection.

• For Mac:

  1. Click the Apple logo.
  2. Select System Preferences.
  3. Click Bluetooth.
  4. Click Options next to your AirPods.
  5. Uncheck Automatic Ear Detection.

8. Reset Apple Music Settings to Default

Still stuck? Try resetting all settings. Head to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset All Settings. Don't worry, this won't delete your apps or data but will reset Wi-Fi passwords, wallpapers, and preferences. You'll have to set a few things up again, but this often fixes stubborn autoplay issues.

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap General.
3. Tap Transfer or Reset iPhone (or Reset).
4. Tap Reset All Settings.
5. Enter your passcode.
6. Tap Reset All Settings again to confirm.

9. Test Playback with Airplane Mode

Want to isolate what's triggering playback? Turn on Airplane Mode before connecting to your car or headphones. Lots of people say Apple Music won't stop playing even when they close the app. If music doesn't start when Bluetooth is off or Airplane Mode is on, then the problem probably comes from a connection like Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. This isn't a fix you'll keep but is great for figuring out what's causing it.

1. Open Control Center.
2. Tap the Airplane Mode icon to turn it on.
3. Connect to your car or headphones.
4. Check if music plays automatically.
5. Turn off Airplane Mode when done.

Part 2: Best Alternatives to Prevent Apple Music from Automatically Playing

1. Create a Shortcut Automation to Stop Playback

You can set up a Shortcut to pause music automatically when you connect to your car's Bluetooth. Open Shortcuts > Automation > Create Personal Automation, pick Bluetooth Connected, then add the Pause Apple Music action. Make sure to turn off "Ask Before Running" so it happens silently every time. It takes a minute to set up but works like a charm.

For iPhone:

1. Open the Shortcuts app from your home screen.
2. Tap Automation at the bottom.
3. Tap the Plus (+) icon at the top-right corner.
4. Select Create Personal Automation.
5. Choose Bluetooth as the trigger.
6. Tap Choose and select your Bluetooth device (e.g. your car's system).
7. Tap Done, then Next.
8. Tap Add Action, then search for Play/Pause.
9. Select Play/Pause and set it to Pause.
10. Tap Next, then disable Ask Before Running.
11. Tap Done to save.

2. Use a Silent Audio Track as a Buffer

If nothing else works, here's a neat trick lots of users swear by: add a silent audio file to your library and rename it so it appears first alphabetically (like "AAAA Silent Track"). When your car connects and autoplay kicks in, it plays silence instead of blasting music. It doesn't stop Apple Music from launching but saves you from the shock of loud audio. Plus, it gives you a moment to switch to whatever you want.

1. Download or create a silent MP3 audio file (a few seconds of silence).
2. Add the silent track to your Apple Music library.
3. Place this silent track as the first song in your playlist or queue.

3. Set a Sleep Timer to Stop Music Automatically

Want your music to stop after a while? Open the Clock app, tap Timer, and under "When Timer Ends," choose "Stop Playing." Perfect for late-night listening or making sure music doesn't run all day when you forget to pause.

For iPhone:

1. Open the Clock app.
2. Tap the Timer tab at the bottom.
3. Set the desired time duration for your timer.
4. Tap When Timer Ends.
5. Scroll down and select Stop Playing.
6. Tap Set, then start the timer.

4. Switch to a Different Media Player

If Apple Music keeps auto-playing no matter what you try, switching apps might be the way to go. You can move your playlists over to another player, but you'll likely need to convert your music first. Tools like ViWizard Apple Music Converter can save your songs as MP3s, letting you use them with almost any app—and without autoplay headaches.

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1. Download and install a trusted Apple Music converter on your computer.
2. Open the converter and log into your Apple Music account using the built-in player.
3. Select the playlists, albums, or songs you want to convert.
4. Choose MP3 as the output format and set your preferred audio quality.
5. Start the conversion process and wait for it to finish.
6. Find the converted MP3 files in the output folder on your computer.
7. Import these MP3 files into your preferred media player or music library.

Play your music from the new app, avoiding Apple Music's automatic playback issues entirely.

Conclusion

It's easy to stop Apple Music from automatically playing through the above solutions. You can try them one by one to fix the error. The best method to avoid this error is to use ViWizard Audio Converter to download Apple Music playlists for playing. When the conversion is over, you can transfer those converted Apple Music songs to any media player you like. Just click the download button to learn more about ViWizard at once and you won't be disappointed.