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Level 1

1 points

Iphone music player starts playing, stops, skips, fast forwards by itself..

My iphone seems to now have its own identity. The ipod starts and stops by itself, it skips the songs at will, it also goes fast forward without me touching it.

Could anyone please assist me with a solution to this problem. I have now had to switch it off. Why is it doing all this.

Thank you

iPhone 3G, iPhone OS 3.1.2

Posted on Feb 16, 2010 5:58 AM

Best reply

vampirerunner

Level 1

0 points

Posted on Feb 16, 2010 4:06 PM

Same thing started happening to me. No solution yet. I'm going to an Apple store tomorrow to see what's up.

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34 replies

The Elz

Level 1

10 points

Apr 9, 2010 1:18 AM in response to The Elz

right, i went & bought some apple official earphones with remote & mic - mb770g/a
now on the box it says remote & mic only supported by iphone 3gs (when it comes to the iphone)
I have a iphone 3g, so was aprehensive, but the remote works , even with a iphone 3g (well the stop/start button works & the fast forward works - the volume controls dont) but get this, the start/stop/fast forward work in EXACTLY the same way as the problem.
this to me means compatability for this was included in a firmware upgrade for iphone 3G (as well as 3GS) but 3rd party support for headphones has not been considered - so most iphone compatible headsets are no longer compatible.

no wonder apple do not want to discuss this.

im presuming either you buy some apple headphones, rish 2 party ones (make sure you can return them) or roll back the firmware to one where the compatibility for these headphones was not included (im not sure if you can do this or what version it was)

May 12, 2010 6:59 AM in response to McSpitfire

I've had this problem with all four iPhones I've had. Always when using headphones and always when I'm at the gym. Apple's said something about getting sweat into the headphone remote mechanism, which I thought was BS. Since I don't use the headphones to talk on the phone, I recently switched to 3rd party phones (sony) and have NOT had this annoying problem since. I've also seen similar posts to this in other websites, some with hundreds of posts and thousands of views, so this is apparently a somewhat common problem.

In fact, I've recently heard Apple is replacing headphones for people with this problem (or so I have read online). For me this did not fix my problem. Only the 3rd party phones. Guess the problem is the remote control Apple phones. Try non-Apple headphones.

Aug 9, 2010 2:11 PM in response to lawalbert

OK, this is too much of a coincidence. I just came back from the gym which is where my issue started. I was on the treadmill when the music started to skip, stop and start. It's not playing the music in alphabetical order. It's completely random. I came home and docked the phone and it is still behaving in this way. Let me also add that I also own a 6th Gen iPod and it did the same thing when I took it to the gym. Therefore, I can also rule out wifi/3G being the problem since my phone with in "airplane" mode and I iPod has no other type of connectivity other than via the cable. I think it's interference between these Apple products and the treadmill (Life Fitness).

Aug 9, 2010 5:53 PM in response to princeayo

I to have this problem. So far all I can figure is the headphones I am using. I have the i-timber brand and beats by dre. It definitly happens when the timbers are in. I am currently running the beats with no problem.

zenrick

Level 2

250 points

Aug 11, 2010 7:59 PM in response to briankirchoff

Okay, this is very freaky. This just started happening to me today on my iPhone 4. It was so bad I was already seeing myself returning it before the 30 days are up. The iPod module kept starting and stopping and fast forwarding and then skipping to the next song and then voice control kept popping up even when I would cancel it. I did notice that it did NOT happen if I took the headphones out of the jack (Apple in-ear buds which I've had for about 2 years and have always worked perfectly). Whenever I put the headphones back in, it would happen again.

But briankirchoff just said something very important: the thing about getting sweat in the remote mechanism. When this happened to me, I was walking from store to store in Chicago and it was sweltering (upper 90's) and I was sweating like crazy. Right now, I'm sitting in my air-conditioned apartment listening to the same playlist I was listening to earlier using a cheap pair of Sony headphones and the phone is working perfectly, no skipping, and no dreaded voice control. I'm convinced it's the sweat.

I'm going to keep monitoring this. Thanks for everybody chiming in and giving their opinions. This has helped me a lot!

trux1

Level 1

17 points

Aug 12, 2010 9:39 AM in response to zenrick

Just started happening to me yesterday and then again today once after I did the 4.0.2 update. Also, there is a new icon next to my bluetooth icon that I think used to be on only when you had it on GPS mode

psyjoniz

Level 1

0 points

Aug 25, 2010 4:36 AM in response to princeayo

well this is fun. my phone just started playing all my music on repeat / random. yay! no skipping or fast forwarding yet. maybe i need to upgrade for that?

Nov 7, 2010 9:33 AM in response to princeayo

I have had the same problem with Iphone 1, my wife's Iphone 3g and now my iphone 4. It seems to be resolved with a new set of Apples ear buds, but nobody seems to have a real anwser. going to try the genius (well not so genius) bar again.

krectus

Level 1

0 points

Jan 13, 2011 1:49 PM in response to princeayo

Yep same problem here on my iphone 4. I had it happen to my old iphone 3G. I too think it might have to do with working out but maybe not with sweating, just constant banging around of the headphone jack. I'm pretty sure it's a hardware problem. I hope Apple is well aware of this and if there is some sort of fix they will let us know. But getting them to admit there is a problem is gonna be very tough. Hopefully enough of us can keep the complaints coming until they finally admit to it.

I haven't tried going back to my iphone headset, hope I don't have to I love my Shure headset, 100x better.

crinc

Level 1

0 points

Jan 31, 2011 8:04 AM in response to hottentot

I had the same problem ... every time I went to exercise! I figured that I was playing music in the shuffle mode (by mistake ...) and every time I moved it changed the music or did something crazy! Try seeing if the little icon of the shuffle is blue, if yes, touch it and it will turn gray and stop changing the songs. I worked for me!

crinc

Level 1

0 points

Jan 31, 2011 8:16 AM in response to crinc

It's the shaking thing. If you put on shuffle and shake your phone, you'll see the music will change!!! You kind of have to create your playlist and listen to it without using the shuffle mode.

After reading all these posts I understood that the problem of the music start playing by itself is the ear phone's fault. I bought a generic one (that works with iphone) and ever since I've been having this problem. Now I noticed, every time I touch the button (that answers calls) the music starts playing! So that explains those times that the phone was locked and I didn't even touch it and the music started playing, I probably touched that button by mistake! I guess I should have gone to the apple store (further away) and bought the original ear phones!

banjo306

Level 1

0 points

Aug 29, 2011 5:58 PM in response to princeayo

This also happens to me, but only when I am working out. Could it be the increased moisture (sweat)? I know that Apple/Bell/AT&T has a way of measuring whether your phone has received water damage. When they measure this and it shows positive, you are accused of submerging your phone in water, but often, even extreme humidity can set this sensor off.

When my iPhone is plugged into the car or iPod stereo player, there is no problem. The only thing that seems to be consistent with the jumping and speeding music is the "sweat".

I'm going to get a waterproof case for when I work out and see if this changes things.

RFACS

Level 1

0 points

Nov 24, 2011 9:36 AM in response to psyjoniz

I have the same problem and it still persists. I am going to give my iPhone 4 (32GB) back to its makers and get a 16GB one, since if I cannot listen to music, I do not need the extra 16GB!
Seriously, how did they manage to come up with so many bugs in iPhone and iTunes?! 😠

Nov 30, 2011 10:28 AM in response to princeayo

My 4S is doing exactly this, but I do not even have to touch my phone and the ipod function comes on by itself, or the voice control activates without being touched. I do not work out with my iphone as I either Spin of Swim and so not necessary but I never had this problem once on my 3GS, and this only started happening after the ios 5.0.1 was installed on it.

Saw the comment about apple feedback, so will contact them and perhaps pop along to apple.

jade1977

Level 1

0 points

Dec 27, 2011 6:07 AM in response to banjo306

I'm having similar, if not the exact same, issue. I do not use the iPhone when working out however, and never have dropped it in water, nor use it in humid places. I have a damage impact case on it and have not truly dropped it. I'm thinking this is an issue with the software or hardware and not with the user. I'm contacting support myself and hope they fix it soon. If not, I'm going to droid. Only reason to have an iPhone is the ability to combine smart phone with music. I'm not trading for a lesser version. I paid too much to accept less.

Iphone music player starts playing, stops, skips, fast forwards by itself..