Listen to music while playing games on iPhone

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Level 1

22 points

Listen to music while playing games on iPhone

Is it not possible to listen to music while playing purchased games on the iPhone? I purchased Super Monkey Ball and Bejeweled. When I start these apps up on the phone, my music stops playing. Am I missing something?

iPhone (1st Gen), Mac OS X (10.5.4), 2.0 firmware

Posted on Jul 14, 2008 2:19 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

lintmachine Author

Level 1

22 points

Jul 15, 2008 8:52 AM in response to hfchavarria

Don't be ridiculous. Of course the iPhone supports multitasking. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to receive email, text messages, or phone calls while surfing the web or using other applications. Now, I understand Apple has placed restrictions on 3rd party applications so that they are not allowed to run in the background, but multitasking support is not the issue here.

I'm specifically interested in listening to music on my iPhone while playing these games. Consider that I can listen to music while I:

1. Check my email
2. Surf the web
3. Use the maps application
4. Use just about any other first party application

Additionally, I can listen to music while using a number of other third party applications, including NetNewsWire, the Google app, and Twitterific (just to name a few).

Clearly, playing music while running applications IS supported by the iPhone. But, launching one of these games causes my music to stop playing with no way that I can find to start it again. I suspect that this was implemented by the game developer. If so, it's a terrible limitation. **** if I don't want to listen to my own music while playing bejeweled on the bus.

I asked here because I haven't read anything about this limitation in any of the reviews or press coverage for these games or he iPhone in general. Thought that maybe I was missing something.

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Answer 2

Jul 16, 2008 10:10 PM in response to lintmachine

Just press the home button twice quickly, press play, then turn down the games volume

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Answer 3

lintmachine Author

Level 1

22 points

Jul 17, 2008 10:21 AM in response to soxrock99

Good suggestion, but it doesn't work.

If I double tap the home button in other applications (Mail, Safari, etc.), I get the pop-up ipod controls like you would expect.

However, when I double tap in one of these games, it actually takes me to the full UI ipod app, exiting the game in the process. If I start the music and go back to the game, the music stops. Wash, rinse, repeat.

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Answer 4

Jul 17, 2008 12:57 PM in response to lintmachine

Of course you can!
Rather than double click the Home button, try pressing the wake/sleep button while you run your game, than start the music from the headset button (or double-click the Home button to access the mini-player).
Wake up your iPhone and you'll be back to your game while listening to your music!
Enjoy!

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Answer 5

Jul 16, 2008 9:31 PM in response to lintmachine

I am also wondering about the same thing. I got Hold'em Poker (created by Apple) and it always mutes my iPod music when the app starts. It's very annoying, especially when the poker app has no problem playing the crappy music that comes with the app.

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Answer 6

Jul 17, 2008 6:46 AM in response to lintmachine

Perhaps this could be a lesson to developers. The apps can detect status of iPhone, which I am sure would include whether or not the iPod app is running.

on start
if iPodRunning = true
then input;
1. close iPod app
2. play in game sound effects only (no music)
3. mute game

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Answer 7

lintmachine Author

Level 1

22 points

Jul 17, 2008 10:30 AM in response to Hickeroar

Well, clearly these apps are altering the current ipod session, because they are stopping the music. Maybe this is a side effect of initializing the sound subsystem...just a speculation.

If so, it would be better if, as suggested, the game could detect if ipod music was playing and not initialize the game music, or perhaps the initialization should fail if ipod music is playing.

As it stands currently, I have still not found a way to listen to my music while playing these games, which is really annoying.

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Answer 8

lintmachine Author

Level 1

22 points

Jul 17, 2008 11:01 AM in response to Hickeroar

Maybe, but I'm skeptical of that because each of the games has its own in-game music. It should be possible to play ipod music and the game at the same time if there were at least an option to turn off the in-game music.

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Answer 9

lintmachine Author

Level 1

22 points

Jul 17, 2008 4:44 PM in response to SteveDelMar

I appreciate that you're trying to help, but are you even trying your own suggestions?

I tried your first suggestion and it did not work. The mini player comes up, but pressing play does not actually start the music (it looks like the ipod app is playing music, but no sound is actually coming through the headphones).

After pressing play on the mini player, waking the iphone takes me back to the game as expected, but at this point NO sound is working. Not only do i not here ipod music, but sound effects and in-game music are not playing either. If I quit the game, I still get no ipod music. I have to go and pause and restart the ipod music to get it to play.

I'll admit that I don't have my original ipod headphone to test the button method you suggested, but based on the results so far, I am skeptical that it would work at all.

Still no solution.

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Answer 10

Jul 17, 2008 5:16 PM in response to lintmachine

What I have found to work is choosing the song/playlist/etc. you want and play it in iPod. Start running the app and go past and video intros like in Crash Bandicoot for example. Then make sure all the settings are on muted volume. I noticed certain apps needed to have the volume all the way turned off to work (like Crash). Now, hit the sleep/wake button. Then hit the home key twice (make sure it is set for iPod in settings). Then you click play and slide to unlock. There you go, music + apps = dead battery but worth it.

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Answer 11

Jul 19, 2008 1:25 PM in response to lintmachine

Hey man, I've actually been using this trick for a couple of weeks in different games.
You know , this topic is about using the iPhone in a way it's not meant to be used.
Sometimes my applications cash a lot when I use this trick, sometimes the game's music stops, sometimes everything is just perfect!
I'm glad it does not work for you, I don't like the way you take part to the forum
I still hope it's working for everyone else: it's pretty fun to play games while listening to your favorite music!

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Answer 12

sdfasdf

Level 1

0 points

Jul 27, 2008 5:34 PM in response to lintmachine

IT CAN BE DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Make sure you have double tap setting set to ipod, now go into ipod play any song, start game, AS SOON AS THE GAME OPENS BUT BEFORE IT LOADS DOUBLE TAP, it will bring up ipod screen and the music will stop then play game song then simply press play and it will start, and yes you can skip songs.

Have Fun

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Answer 13

Jul 14, 2008 2:27 PM in response to lintmachine

The iPhone cannot multi-task so when you exit an app to enter another it will close the prior one.

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Answer 14

Jul 17, 2008 10:16 AM in response to ElvishSlade

Even if they can detect its status, developers are prohibited from CHANGING anything that's happening outside the scope of their app. They couldn't alter the current iPod session.

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Answer 15

Jul 17, 2008 10:48 AM in response to lintmachine

It's probably the iphone's OS saying "there's not enough memory to be playing music and running this app" and killing off the music.

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