Audible stop playing when iPhone sleeps.

I contacted Audible about this problem and was told to remove the audiobook from my phone and then re-download it again. This solved my problem. (They said if it happed with multiple books, the problem was probably with not having the current updates of the system software.)

I just called Audible and they agree and are aware it is an issue and are working with Apple to fix, with no time specified for resolution of same. Then I saw the post on another board re the solution to re-install the app and check for updates. Sounded like a plan, but I first went into the app settings and found a switch to "Disable auto lock" with the attendant note that Auto Lock will only be disabled while Audible is running but that nonetheless, battery life will be affected. Of course it will, but that seems to me to for sure be at least the short term answer. Only problem there is that if you turn that switch on and are not happy leaving it on, then you either have to remember to turn it off when you've finished with Audible - or check back with the app every 2-3 months or so, and test again with that switch turned off.

This worked.

Let me say that Audible wouldn't stop playing with headphones but you can't always use headphones, especially in car. iPhone was completely updated and rebooted. It started only recently and was driving me crazy. I contacted Audible and all they said was to have the background refresh checked in settings. But that alone didn't work. The instructions from paulab2 100% worked! Thank you sooooo much!

From paulab2:

"iOS settings -> Audible ->turned off Background app refresh

Close audible (if open)

Open audible

Close audible

iOS settings -> Audible ->turned on Background app refresh

Open audible, and it now plays even after iphone goes to sleep"

I agree this wasn't an issue previous to the last iOS update.

Workaround: Go into Audible app. On the top right click on the 3 dots > Player Settings

Enable "Disabled auto locK"

To summarize the problem (is I've experienced it):

• The Audible app stops playing when the iPhone goes to sleep. If you wake the phone up, it starts right back up.
• Doesn't happen with any other audio apps (like Spotify, Apple Music, etc)
• Started sometime around iOS 14 (but I'm sure the Audible app also released an update, shortly thereafter, to be compatible with iOS 14)
• I have not figured out anything that triggers it. I have, quite literally, had it working fine, then I've woken my phone to rewind 45s or check remaining time in the audiobook, and then the audio would stop when the phone went back to sleep.
• Just quitting the app and restarting it doesn't resolve the problem.

Solutions:

• Rebooting the phone seems to fix it (no need to delete/re-install the app)
• As mentioned in these forums, you can also go to Settings->Audible and turn off Audible's access to "Media & Apple Music", and then quit/restart the Audible app. No restart needed. I have not had the issue recur, since then, so this may be a permanent fix, but it's only been 2 days since I tried this fix, and, in the past, I could sometimes go a week or so before the problem happened. Fingers crossed.

A few weeks ago, I was able to remedy the problem (without rebooting the phone, reinstalling the app, or re-downloading and books) by just going to Settings, then to the Audible settings, and turning off “Media and Apple Music”.

Yesterday, for the first time since, the problem recurred. Fortunately, I was able to fix it by just going back to Settings and turning “Media and Apple Music” back _on_, then _off_ again.

Switching the utilities>Audible>Background App Refresh button continues to fix the sleep problem. It is clearly an update problem. It doesn’t matter if the switch is on or off it just has to be changed then Audible closed and reopened and it works. However every time you unplug phone from car it has to be reset. Very annoying! Please fix this!!!!!!

“Disable auto-lock” within audible fixed the issue.

In settings for Audible try "DISABLE AUDTO LOCK" when playing Audible..........

That is something that the developer of the Audible app would need to change. When an iPhone is locked, apps do not continue to run unless that capability has been designed into the app.

See if the app has settings to prevent auto lock or to keep playing while the device is locked. If they are not present or you cannot find them, contact the app developer.

Thank you! Reboot fixed this!

Delete the app then reinstall it.

This happens to me regularly so my fix is to delete the Audible app then restart my phone then re-install the app. All is well until the next time…

Delete the app, reinstall then restart. That should do it for a few months at a time until Audible/Apple get it together and get things handled.

The audible has “sleep timer” at the bottom of its page. You can set it up as when you want it to sleep or turn it off altogether. That gets messed up sometimes and one need to reprogram it again. This way your audible won’t go to sleep on Apple iPhone.