Siri does not play music when using a shortcut

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Level 1

11 points

Siri does not play music when using a shortcut

I like using shortcuts to play music playlist from my library and the shortcuts work just fine. If I press on the shortcut on my homescreen it directly starts playing. But then if I use ‘Hey Siri’ in combination with the shortcut the playlist does load in my music app but it remains paused. To make matters worse sometimes it does play automatically and sometimes it doesn’t. I suspect that it’s not working as expected but I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts about this.

iPhone 11 Pro Max

Posted on Dec 5, 2021 12:14 PM

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Answer 1

Dec 6, 2021 11:29 AM in response to ebarthelemy

Hello ebarthelemy,

We understand that you're experiencing an issue playing music using Siri Shortcuts, and we'd like to help.

Just to confirm, did you use the steps outlined on the following page to create that shortcut? Run shortcuts with Siri, the Shortcuts app, or Siri Suggestions
Since it seems like the issue happens when using "Hey Siri" to run the shortcut, can you let us know if "Hey Siri" works as expected at other times? If not, the information here may help: If "Hey Siri" isn't working on your iPhone or iPad
Which iOS version is your device running at this time? Find the software version on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod

Thanks!

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Answer 2

Dec 9, 2021 6:56 AM in response to ebarthelemy

ebarthelemy,

Thanks so much for answering those questions for us.

You mentioned that the music does play automatically intermittently; when it doesn't play automatically, do any errors ever appear? If so, what does the error say?

If you restart your device using the steps outlined on the following page, does that correct the issue temporarily, or is there no change? Restart your iPhone

Thank you!

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Answer 3

Dec 9, 2021 3:15 PM in response to ebarthelemy

ebarthelemy,

We appreciate that information.

From here, we'd like to get you in touch with Apple Support for further assistance. You may be able to reach Apple Support here: Get Support

Take care!

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Answer 4

ebarthelemy Author

Level 1

11 points

Dec 7, 2021 7:09 AM in response to Brittany1416

Hello Brittany,

Thank you for your response. To answer your questions:

I've indeed used 'shortcuts' to create the shortcuts. I've also used the app to place an icon on my home screen. And when pressing the app on the homescreen there is no issue.
'Hey Siri' is working as expected with all other functions. No issue when using 'Hey siri' to make a call or operate my home app. And 'Hey Siri' also responds when I ask to play the playlist. I have the music widget on my homescreen and I see it loading the requested playlist. But the playlist remains paused and doesn't start playing until I press play in the app or make a second request to Siri to play music.
iOS 15.1 the highest that is available for my iPhone 11 Pro Max

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Answer 5

ebarthelemy Author

Level 1

11 points

Dec 9, 2021 11:56 AM in response to Brittany1416

Hello,

No error appears when the problem occurs. The only visible difference is that sometimes my music player remains paused and sometimes it plays.

So I did another test to see if anything is shown to determine wether there is any connection between playing and not playing.

I asked siri to play "shortcut 1'. Siri plays shortcut 1. Directly after (while shortcut 1 is playing) I ask siri to play 'shortcut 2' then the image of the first song is shown but the music remains paused. So there is a clear reaction to my command but it ends without any music playing. Then I asked siri to play 'shortcut 1' again and now the image changes again but the music remains paused.

I reset the device and did the same thing all over again. Exact same result. First attempt plays, second and third don't.

And I decided to do a final test with 3 different shortcuts. This time all 3 shortcuts change the image and all of them remain paused. So there doesn't seem to be any logical reason for them not to play music.

I did all test in a row without using any other apps or change any options.

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Siri does not play music when using a shortcut

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