Music keeps pausing randomly on Carplay.

Hi,

I”ve been suffering from this specific problem for quite a few months now and can not seem to recall exactly when it started.

I’m on a iPhone 13 Pro currently running on iOS 15.4 and have had it when I was still on version 15.3/.1 etc. and it seems to happen to all media with no relation whatsoever to the specific app being used i.e. Apple Music/Spotify/YouTube Music/Vox etc.

I will add that ai realized that by me at least it specifically and only happened whilst the phone was plugged in with a cable to the car and when disconnected it would immediately resolve which of course made me go out and try different cables but seemingly it still occurs when using an original Apple lightning cable so I’m kind of out of options, any help regarding a fix for this problem would be greatly appreciated.

Since I posted my original response, I have found that my phone is actually doing something with voice recognition while this is happening. I only figured this out because I went to change the volume on my CarPlay-enabled stereo right as this happened, and instead of changing the music volume, the display stated that I was changing voice volume. The next time this happened, I confirmed that it was voice doing it, because pressing the voice button on my steering wheel and then hitting the end call button (which cancels voice) restored my music as if nothing happened. As in your case, if I just press pause and play again, sometimes music will start playing again, although in a more muted tone, and sometimes it doesn’t, but pressing voice and then end call always fixes it entirely. This new finding is somewhat more concerning, as it looks like it may be possible that there are devices setup somewhere to trigger phones to activate voice recognition via Bluetooth, possibly in an attempt to listen in on people. Wish someone with Apple would comment on some of this.

Having the same issue, which only started about a month ago. The issue for me happens with at least two different stereos, one with CarPlay, and one without. The issue always happens in exactly the same spot while driving, which is within about a 1/4 mile radius about 1/4 mile from my home, and I’ve never had the issue anywhere else. I should also note that I do not use Bluetooth with either stereo directly, but with the CarPlay stereo, I use Bluetooth to connect to a wireless CarPlay device (which also uses a WiFi connection), though it happens when I directly connect to the stereo via cable as well. Although I don’t use Bluetooth with the stereos directly, I do believe this is may be a Bluetooth interference issue, because many times, when this happens, my CarPlay stereo will pause music, then automatically switch to my center car speaker and resume playing only through that speaker, which is the only speaker the car uses when using hands free calling. A short moment after it does this in either vehicle, the music will usually pick back up and resume playing normally. Occasionally, it never starts playing again, and I have to press play to start playing again. I believe that something is causing interference with the Bluetooth module, causing the phone to briefly switch audio output through a channel that is used for voice communication. When I first started having the issue, I thought it was my wireless CarPlay module, so I bypassed that with a cable; same issue. Then I thought it was my stereo itself, so I turned off WiFi in my stereo; same issue. Then, while using the other car, with no CarPlay and only connected via cable, I had the same issue. I even thought it might be my phone connecting to the public Comcast WiFi signal near my home, so I had my phone forget that connection, and the issue is still there. Even though I don’t connect via Bluetooth, I did have Bluetooth turned on on my phone, so I tried turning off Bluetooth on my phone the next time, and the issue didn’t show up. No idea what’s causing this issue, as I’ve looked around for radio towers, wireless radios, etc., but haven’t seen any in the direct area. Interested in figuring this out, because it’s very annoying.

Maybe the “play” button is sending double “play/pause” signals when you’re plugged into the car. One over Bluetooth and one over the usb cable. So imagine you press play, but it happens twice, so first it plays and then quickly pauses after.

Hey there, Deeceekayzed!

From your post, it sounds like you are experiencing an issue with Apple CarPlay within various apps. We’re glad that you reached out to the Apple Support Communities. We want to try and help you find the answers you need. First, we'd like to ask a few questions that may help others in the Apple Support Communities to join in our conversation with other resources and help:

• What type of iPhone do you use? What version of the iOS software do you currently have installed on your device? You can find this in Settings > General > About.
• Do you use the built-in Apple Music app to play music? If so, does the same issue happen within the built-in Music app?
• Do you have music downloaded and stored directly on the iPhone? If so, does this happen with music saved to the iPhone directly or with music that you stream as well?

Additionally, check out this guide and follow these steps to help out with CarPlay: If you need help with CarPlay. We hope this information helps you out.

Take care!

Deeceekayzed,

Thank you for returning to the Apple Support Communities with this information. We appreciate these extra details. First, your iPhone does look like it's eligible for an update. Here are some guides with information on how to create a backup of your iPhone, then update the software:

• Back up iPhone
• Update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

Once the iPhone software has been updated, check the App Store for any available app updates. If you see updates, complete them, as this can help correct the issue. If the problem persists and is only with one or two apps, you may want to reach out to the app(s) developer. Here's how: How to contact an app developer.

You mentioned that the problem seems to happen only with music that is streaming. Does this vary by location? If so, this may be an indication of problems with the cellular/data service in your area. You would need to reach out to your wireless provider for more support with their service.

Cheers!

Same here on a 12 pro max on iOS 15.5. Spotify randomly started stop playing audio through CarPlay but track would continue playing (time of track kept counting down). I found pressing pause and then play that the track would start playing again. However a 30 seconds later it would happen again.

Turning Bluetooth on my phone off fixed the problem but this means I disconnect my heating aids & Apple Watch.

I've been having the same problem but can't remember when it started. After resetting and restoring from backup, resetting and not restoring from backup, I gave up and thought it was just my device. But a couple of days ago I had an idea. Maybe my phone is trying to connect to some network since it happens at approximately the same place, close to my house, every time. I'm still not sure which of these changes fixed the issue but wanted to get it out there for others just in case this solves your problem.

• I disabled "Ask to Join Networks". I've had this enable for years so I'm not so sure this is the fix.
• I uninstalled the Alexa app. My thought is that it's trying to connect to amazon sidewalk or something.

I've been on a few errands today and so far I have not experienced music pausing. I'll respond back to this if I experience pausing again.

As background I have had this issue in at least three different vehicles. One has carplay and the other two were not. All had problems both using bluetooth and connected using a cable. In the vehicle that has carplay, just as one of the others responded, when it would start playing again it would do so through the hands free speaker. I would have to change inputs and then go back to music from the iphone. On vehicles without carplay, music would resume but it definitely would be the same quality. This issue also happens regardless of the music streaming service (apple music, spotify, and pandora ).

[Edited by Moderator] 

I am having the same issue and turning of bluetooth fixed it as somebody suggested in the thread. But this only makes my airpods pro and airpods pro max obsolete.

5 months after the first complaint and nothing was done to fix it. Im having the same issue which is annoying as music is the only reason I have a phone.

I am/was having a similar issue with my CarPlay. Fresh install (less than a week) and changed out the lightning cable as well but was still having the issue. Running iOS 15.6 on a 12 Pro Max.

After reading the comments here, I figured that maybe the car bluetooth is trying to compete with CarPlay when connected, so the car gets confused between trying to activate the CarPlay audio and bluetooth at the same time. I deleted my car from my phone’s bluetooth profiles (as it all comes through CarPlay anyway) yesterday and had zero issues with connectivity over a 3 hour period of driving throughout the day, getting in and out of my car. Fingers crossed this continues to work.

I literally just started having this issue but I noticed in control center, the volume kept changing and the icon would change as well as if it was connecting to a Bluetooth device. I’m not sure whether it was my AirPods or my car itself connecting and disconnecting but turning Bluetooth off on my phone seemed to fix the issue as I’m connected to CarPlay through USB anyway. Hopefully this helps.

Ive had this issue too on carplay- I have an old iphone 8 and ios 14 and normally when you hit play on spotify it would pause right away. Unplug, replug and itd be good to go. Over the past 4 days it hasnt worked at all. Spotify has loaded - hit play and it wont work at all. Ive unplugged and replugged in multiple times. Worked on Friday- today is tuesday and it hasnt worked since

This just started happening to me yesterday.

Tried restarting, different cord, different podcast apps, connecting via bluetooth, etc. The suggestion of turning off bluetooth and only connecting via USB worked for me as well.

Although turning off bluetooth is a good workaround, clearly it's not a permanent solution. I'm assuming that whatever update caused the issue, Apple will be working on a fix? Sooner is better.

Airplay wireless is buggy for music. Even if you connect your phone with an USB cable it still uses wireless (whic is a crap as all of you here experienced).

I’ve disabled wireless mode and it has resolved my issue, no problems for a week now.

Settings > Bluetooth > Tap on the (i) in the list next to your car BT entry > disable Carplay.

Now it will use USB, but you’ll need to unlock your phone everytime you connect it to your car.