Apple Music randomly plays when I remove AirPods

Happens with my AirPods 3rd generation and iPhone X.

Also as @Spec13 mentioned, it happens with AirPods 3rd generation and a 2016 MacBook Pro with macOS 12.6.

My theory is a bug in Apple Music misinterprets some handling of the AirPods as a play-now gesture.

Also as @Spek1 said, this bug only plays Apple Music no matter what had been playing (Outcast, Evercast, Dropbox, etc.)

hmm... this is interesting. i just clicked that off - will see if that removes the issue.

i have regular air pods (not pro), but same symptoms as all posting here. it's seemingly random too. I have tried to repeat (air pods in, end call/music, pull out airpods, put in case, close case ... 2-5 secs later is when the music --random-- starts up).

i'll report back if this makes it go away!

I have this problem on my Mac. I remove the AirPods pro and randomly Music app will start and play music even if the application is not even started to begin with. I never use it. I am a Spotify fan...

Agreed on all counts.

It's especially egregious because it will eventually blare something obnoxious on my iPhone speaker when I'm trying to be quiet using AirPods.

[Edited by Moderator] <-- and this really fries my eggs. My removed comment here was honorable and constructive. But I do appreciate being notified of it.

Happening to me on my MacBook Pro with OSX v12.6.1. I've never used the Music app on it, so it doesn't actually play music, but every time I put away my AirPods after using them it opens the Music app. Seems like this just started in the past two weeks for me.

I do not subscribe to Apple Music, but it happens to me on the iPhone as well. Then it happened with Spotify on my laptop. There *seems* to be a correlation with either a. Holding the AirPod (or pods), which maybe makes the device think they are in my ears? Turning off autodetection might help, and b. Snapping the AirPod case shut. I'm being more attentive to soft close vs. hard close, but I notice that with a snap close, the music *always* starts. Siri overhearing something?

I recently upgraded to the 14 pro max from the 12 pro max and this didn’t use to happen. I had my air pod pros in for some work calls. Took them out and out then in the case and all of a sudden my iPhone just plays a random some from Apple Music. It’s annoying. I could have had a tenant in my office and that would be really unprofessional. This needs fixed apple especially since this is a brand new device and it’s completed updated to the most recent iOS version!

This has been a thorn in my side for a long time now. I’ve woken up my wife late at night a handful of times with this overly annoying bug, and that’s never a good thing. I usually remember to go off to the other end of the house to put my pods away now, like a Pavlovian dog, but I don’t always remember, and I’m super annoyed every time. Sometimes it plays whatever I listened to recently, but I’ve also had random songs that I would never listen to start blaring. Has apple really not addressed this even in the slightest? This is definitely a first world problem but an extremely annoying one, nonetheless. I’m considering giving up on AirPods, at least until they fix the problem.

Correct. To the best of my knowledge Apple has not addressed this problem "even in the slightest."

It is a mystery to me why not especially since there are a lot of people who have expressed similar frustration / exasperation as your entertaining description!

Hopefully someone from Apple will read this and let us know why they have not made any attempts to figure this out....at least that we know of.

I agree it's Gen3 only, never happened with Gen2. It does appear to be both iOS and OSX, b/c Music starts on my phone, and Spotify starts on my MBP, which would suggest that yes in fact it is an AirPods bug. The pattern that *seems* to be consistent, which leads to a possible hack:

When the AirPods have been in use -- phone call, podcast, whatever - and then I shut them in the case with an audible "click," the music always plays. It's interesting that I can't then repeat the effect by turning off the music and snapping them shut again - they have to be put to another use first. The sometimes-sucessful workaround is to close the case as gently as a feather in a light breeze. It doesn't *always* work ... maybe too heavy a feather? ... but if you're trying to put them away and close the case in the same room as your sleeping partner, whose patience with this irritation may just possibly be wearing a bit thin ... it's worth a try!

I also have to chime in because I hope we develop the largest thread ever for Apple to notice. In over 20 years of using apple products I’ve never seen them ignore a bug this annoying for that long.

my ossue is also that if you’renon a call and put one airpod pro in the case to charge, it will drop the call…anyone else? I find it absolutely frustrating that all these bugs hapen with a tool that is theoretically so amazong and easy to use (airpods pro). Hopefully it’s not something that’s now « fixed » with airpods pro gen 2.

FYI, I texted with Apple support about the issue and got nowhere. They asked for all the specifics about my phone and AirPod model, serial numbers, iOS version etc. They said to reset my AirPods and they would stand by to see if that helped. This was after I told them several times that I can’t replicate the issue on demand. They wanted me to escalate the issue and speak to someone, but honestly I have not taken that step because I am sure it would be another waste of my time. I verified with them that they do monitor these forums, so they definitely know about the issue but are choosing not to address it for whatever reason. I’m guessing they have no idea how to solve the issue and are too embarrassed to admit that, and they think it would affect their bottom line. A little communication would go a long way! Just say you’re aware of the flaw and are working toward a resolution!

I will say the guy I was texting with was extremely polite, but there’s no reason he needed serial numbers, etc. It was a massive waste of my time. Needless to say it happened again the other night, and thankfully it didn’t wake up my wife that time!

"...but there’s no reason he needed serial numbers, etc."

Not sure I agree with you on this. I do agree digging all that info up is annoying, but to escalate an issue to engineering one of the first things they will want to look at is for potential Apps/driver/equipment firmware version/etc compatibility issues. Its just how the troubleshooting process needs to run in order for them to eliminate possible points of failure.

BTW, I don't work for Apple...I just know how deep tech problems are solved.

I also have this problem on my MacBook Pro M1 Max/Ventura. Its really, really annoying and happens almost every time I take off my Airpod Max Headphones. Music launches and starts playing at full volume some random song in my library.

Cheers

Right on. Thanks for the insight. I suppose I should follow through and escalate the issue, but it seems someone has had to have done this already. I ask everyone I know these days that has AirPods if they have this issue, and the answer is a resounding yes. This is not an isolated issue.

This has been driving me insane- about every other time I put my Airpods away, Apple Music starts playing "Fireflies" by Owl City out loud on my phone. First of all, I don't even use Apple Music and secondly, I hate this song! I have an iPhone 14 Pro and the new AirPods 3. What the heck is going on?

Good thing I found a solution: I deleted Apple Music. I hope and pray that everyone who has this problem does the same.

Josh