Apple Music queue restarts previously played songs after using HomePod

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Apple Music queue restarts previously played songs after using HomePod

Hello all, I recently purchased the HomePod mini. The sound is amazing but I started experiencing an issue almost immediately.

After I started using my HomePod with Apple Music, I noticed an issue with my music queue on my iPhone.

For example, I’ll play music from my iPhone and then transfer playback to my HomePod. Later, when I switch playback back to my iPhone, close Apple Music, and come back to it, the queue doesn’t simply resume from the last song I was listening to.

Instead, Apple Music seems to recreate or restart part of the previous queue. Songs that I already listened to appear in the queue again, sometimes causing the same group of songs to play over again.

Before I started using the HomePod, Apple Music would normally retain my playback position and continue from where I left off. This behavior only started after I began transferring playback between my iPhone and HomePod.

Both my iPhone and HomePod are updated to the latest software.

Has anyone else experienced Apple Music rebuilding/restarting the queue after transferring playback between an iPhone and HomePod? Is there a setting or fix that prevents this?

Posted on Aug 15, 2026 5:52 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

WheelieNick

Level 9

52,813 points

Aug 15, 2026 8:26 AM in response to Kwaku575

This is a known issue with AirPlay handoff and shared media state between iOS devices and HomePod. When you transfer playback, the HomePod takes over the active session, often desynchronizing the local iPhone queue cache. To fix this, disable "Use Listening History" sync issues or restart both devices, and avoid hard-closing the Apple Music app.

Try this

Stop Force-Closing: Leave the Apple Music app open in the background so it retains the local playback state instead of forcing a cloud reload.

Toggle Listening History: Go to Settings > Music on your iPhone and toggle off Use Listening Historytemporarily, then back on, to reset sync loops.

Restart Devices: Reboot both your iPhone and your HomePod mini to clear stuck AirPlay cache states.

AirPlay vs. Handoff: Instead of physically bringing your iPhone close to hand off, try AirPlaying directly to the HomePod via the AirPlay icon inside Apple Music without transferring the active session ownership.

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