Why does my Music start playing automatically when I plug in headphones?

Apple has known about this issue for at least 6years. Which means they are purposefully writing this into their software and keeping it in every update for some reason. It is the most irritating part of owning an iPhone. I kept iPhone for years due to iTunes, but now that music services tailor to my listening I no longer need it. I believe this will be my last iPhone. It’s a ridiculous amount of money for no benefit.

Apple and iPhone have some redeeming qualities. Autoplay music is not one of them.

That they can't remove it after six years exposes them as a bureaucracy that cannot innovate and go out on a limb to fix such a small inconvenience.

its not entirely a deal breaker, there are a few ways to negotiate around the problem (use a 3rd party music app, stream something else from another app, etc.) .... not ideal, but annoying when you invest years to build a music library that lives entirely on apple software and hardware, then have to deal with offloading the app because we’re given no options/choices.

they basically WANT you to listen to your music library when getting in the car ... ha ha.

just combining this issue onto other ones with apple hardware and software makes me wonder if ‘redeeming qualities’ are actually good enough to overlook the cost of being part of this eco system .....

This issue is infuriating!!! For the money these machines cost, this is unacceptable. Has anyone discovered a fix or work around yet? iTunes turns on (And off) randomly when headphones are plugged in. If I was previously listening to a podcast, then the podcast turns on. When I jog I use my headphones for calls and/or music. My calls are getting dropped because the music turns on. When I try to listen to iTunes the music Turns on and off randomly. Plus, I also have issues speaking with other IPhone callers who have me on speaker (this is not a headphone issue, but an entirely different problem). Sound constantly cuts in and out. In my experience Apple products from a software engineering standpoint are going downhill.

This has been an issue for so long that I'm sure Apple doesn't care, as per their dropping stock. However, I personally called into Tech support and while she was very nice, there is no plan to pay attention to these forums or their customers.

So, here's my best work around after multiple attempts to get this issue under control on my work provided iPhone 8 the one that finally stopped the madness is to go into Settings-->General-->AirPlay & Handoff-->and toggle everything off (Transfer to HomePod=off, Handoff=off, Automatically AirPlay to TVs=Never). Then (because this phone is specifically for work and I don't listen to music on it) I also went into Settings-->Music--> and turned off everything. Then I deleted the iTunes app. It's a shame that it has to be this way but I can't have music (U2 - Apple's default band) taking over during or at the end of every conference call.

Good luck. Looking for my next phone company.

within a few years, i think many of ppls concerns and issues related to Apple products won't matter much.

I would not take seriously a mobile processor in machines that are called computers, knowing how the markup on them will as always be stratospheric. I REALLY DON'T want to look at a macbook pro that resembles an ipad and omits doing things that a computer should be able to do (maybe they might say, 'why do you need to partition your storage for ... ?' when you try to partition your storage and find the OS no longer does it.

And with the wall getting taller and taller, why would one want to buy an apple product when this thread serves as a great example of everything they have done to the entertainment industry and also never bothered to address a music app issue for it's customers ? wasn't music the tool they leveraged to hook people to their products in the first place ?

Overnight, the unwanted music seriously drains your battery, ultimately reducing battery life and the time until your next purchase. No wonder Apple is uninterested in fixing or addressing this problem.

I’ve experienced the same thing but it happens when I plug my phone into my car. I wouldn’t mind it if the was a way to change what plays. Instead it plays alphabetically. Just so happens my first song on that list is super load and obnoxious. Apple has effectively ruined that song for me. Maybe fix it??

These Apple derelict clowns totally astound me. We have every product they produce in spades in this house including two iMACs, etc., etc. You would think those pinheads would care enough and have the talent to fix this seemingly simple, but very bothersome problem, but apparently they have neither.

Yep this happened a bunch end of 2019, then stopped and now it’s happening again. It only happens when I use my wired headphones with a mic. My old ones, with no mic, are fine but obv not useful for calls. It starts music most of the time - even when Music app isn’t open and doesn’t even appear to open when music is playing! I have to actually open the app just to quit it. And sometimes it starts voice control or Siri even though I have both completely turned off. So super annoying but glad it’s not just my phone that’s haunted.

What I and several other people have found to be effective is the following:

Uninstall music app.

Some people get mad about the solution. I understand that. I did not want to uninstall the music app but it came down to a safety issue. It was a safety issue to have music begin playing automatically when I’m doing something that requires focus for my safety. So I was required to uninstall the music app to prevent that from happening.

Unfortunately, that’s the best solution.

I’m still looking for music application that I can play my own music files on and connect to my car and other devices as well.

Thanks for that link to Apple feedback. My husband and I are both battling the same problem, but with different brands of wireless headphones and different spontaneously-playing apps. I disabled Hand-off, but that didn't help. I've written to Apple on the feedback link and hope many (thousands??) of others will do the same.

Apple doesn't give a crap - it's a long standing problem and you would think those pinheads in the People's Republic of California could do something about it - they just want you to purchase their products and from there, you are on your own. Pretty grim to say the least. I have been able to solve my individual problem which occurs in the morning when I walk the dog. As soon as I start the walk on the apple watch with my wireless Jabra earbuds in my ears, music starts playing from the watch rather than what I want to listen to on my iPhone. The way I solved that problem is to start what I want to listen to first and then start the activity mode on the watch, and at at least what I want to listen to is played.

I thought I had eliminated this issue on my employer provided iPhone 8 by removing the Music app and turning off the options for “handoff” and “Transfer to Homepod” under General settings. However, Apple being the Big Brother they have become - reinstalled the Music app with the last update and since I don’t have it turned on, this morning I was on a conference call and when I hung up music started playing in my headset from the Pandora app!!!

OMG - stop this crap already. I don’t need or want this on my employee phone. AARRRGGGHH 🤬

Why doesn’t Bono make them kill this problem. It’s been years of them totally ruining his music. his music is associated w loss of control and rage for millions of people. His press release apology does not fix that