music prevents me from hearing map directions

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music prevents me from hearing map directions

When I turn on Maps on my iPhone 8 with iOS version 14.6 and plug it in to my car charger, my phone automatically starts the Music app without my permission. As a result, I can't hear the directions that the Maps app is telling me. I hear Siri saying something about a turn up ahead, but I can't make out what she's saying because the music is drowning out her voice. I can't figure out how to turn off the music. Swiping up, swiping left or right or down, or looking for an X icon to press don't work. I've tried going to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Allowed Apps and turning off Car Play, but that had no effect. Is there any way to prevent the app that I didn't turn on (Music) from interfering with the app that I did turn on (Maps)?

iPhone 8, iOS 14

Posted on Jul 21, 2021 3:38 PM

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Answer 1

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ChrisJ4203

Level 10

230,660 points

Jul 23, 2021 8:35 AM in response to swoxo

You're welcome. The fact that your Music opened has to have something to do with the connection in your vehicle. Since it seems that you plug the iPhone into the vehicle to charge makes me wonder if the USB port that you are plugging into is where you would connect a media player. My vehicle is like that. Connecting the iPhone to Bluetooth does not involve plugging it into the vehicle. I just wonder what would happen if you did not plug the iPhone in to charge and just let the iPhone connect to Bluetooth when you got into the car. If you try that, do it automatically start Music? Again, many vehicle manufacturers configure their vehicles to deal with media players more than phones, so connections can get complicated when you plug into USB ports that are designed for music players. That was why I suggested you contact the vehicle manufacturer dealer to find out more information about the USB port you were using. Good luck.

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Answer 2

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

230,660 points

Jul 22, 2021 10:36 AM in response to swoxo

Some cars work differently than others, but check this. Create a destination on the iPhone, the destination doesn't matter, this is just a test. Then hit Go, then swipe up the bottom to show the different settings icons, tap on Audio. Check to see what Volume is checked. Set it to either Normal or Loud, and turn on the switch for Pause Spoken Audio. Test to see what happens to your music at that time. If you just want to turn off the music, you should be able to do that directly from the iPhone. It seems the Bluetooth in your car automatically turns on Audio, which some cars do. You may also wish to check your vehicle's audio system to see if plugging in the iPhone triggers the media settings in the car. If you can't tell, contact the vehicle manufacturer's dealer and ask them.

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Answer 3

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

230,660 points

Jul 21, 2021 3:50 PM in response to swoxo

Is this playing through your vehicle? Are you using CarPlay or are you connected via Bluetooth? The answer helps determine the solution. Is it your car that is making music turn on or what? We will see.

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Answer 4

swoxo Author

Level 1

10 points

Jul 22, 2021 5:00 AM in response to ChrisJ4203

Yes, when I plug my phone into my car charger, it connects via Bluetooth, and the sound comes through my vehicle's sound system, which is how I'm hearing the faint voice of the map instructions, nearly drowned out by the sound of the music. Is there a way for me to maintain control over my phone and prevent my car from seizing control? Or is my iPhone always going to surrender control to my car? As I mentioned in my original question, turning off Car Play didn't work.

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Answer 5

swoxo Author

Level 1

10 points

Jul 22, 2021 4:22 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

Thank you for your explicit instructions. I've marked your response as Helpful.

I made some changes to the steps that you described, and arrived at a fix that works, although I'm unhappy with the way that Apple has engineered this.

Your suggestion to turn on the switch for Pause Spoken Audio didn't affect the music, but it did turn off the Maps narration, which wasn't what I wanted, so I un-paused spoken audio to resume the spoken map directions. But when I took your suggestion to swipe up from the bottom, that revealed a slender bar at the bottom of the iPhone screen (only about 1cm tall) showing the Music app, and there was a || icon there, allowing me to pause the music. When I pressed it, the music stopped playing, and I could then hear the map instructions.

I don't like this iOS design. I would expect to have the option of closing the Music app on my phone, in addition to pausing it. And I don't like the fact that my iPhone allowed my car to open the Music app when I connected by Bluetooth, even though I didn't tap any icon to play music. Also, the fact that the iPhone behavior may vary according to the car manufacturer is another bad design decision, because Apple software engineers, not automobile engineers, should be the ones determining how my phone behaves.

But at least I now have a reasonable work-around, thanks to you, ChrisJ4203. I appreciate it!

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music prevents me from hearing map directions

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