Podcasts App suddenly stops playing

I've found different apps handle sound differently.

Like text messages, or games they handle the sound output and for some reason Apple doesn't understand we want to listen to podcasts. We mute games and other apps cause we don't want those sounds. But the way it's programmed they take priority and mute the podcast.

If anyone knows a fix or setting I would be ecstatic . There is one game I play often and sometimes it kills the audio and sometimes it doesn't. So **** frustrating

@mgollmick, I don't have any solutions to your questions but wanted to add onto your frustration regarding the Podcasts app. I began regularly using the Podcast app 6 months ago, and it has always been glitchy in a multitude of ways:

1. When I select a podcast, it often won't start playing immediately, regardless of whether I'm trying to listen to an already-downloaded podcast or via wifi. Sometimes, it will take 30 seconds to 1 minute before the podcast begins playing. At other times, it won't play at all, and I have to close the app and manually re-open it (sometimes several times) before I can play a podcast. I have noticed that I don't experience the same problem when accessing downloaded podcasts offline (e.g., during a hike). This seems to suggest that it's a wifi problem, but I never experience lag issues when accessing a Youtube video or iCloud music on my iPhone.

2. When viewing the "Unplayed Episodes" list, I am often unable to delete (or there is a significant lag time in deleting) podcast episodes in which I'm not interested. I will swipe an individual podcast episode or click the "Edit" button to delete podcast episodes, but more often than not, I am unable to do so. Again, I have to close the app and manually re-open it a couple of times before I can delete episodes.

3. The Podcast app often will suddenly crash within 30 seconds of playing an episode. Sometimes it will crash after playing for an hour even though I haven't set the sleep timer. I have to open the app manually and hit the "Play" button.

4. There is often a long lag when manually attempting to update the "Unplayed Episodes" list. Why is it that I can immediately see new videos for subscribed Youtube channels when I manually update within the Youtube app, but it takes a minute or longer to see an updated list of new podcast episodes via Apple's app?

5. The iOS app also does not sync well with iTunes on my Macbook or iMac:

a) iTunes doesn't reflect my the order of podcasts appearing in "My Podcasts" on iOS. I manually re-ordered the podcasts on iOS so that I can quickly access my favorite podcasts, but that re-ordering is not reflected in iTunes even after I sync my phone to my iMac. Moreover, the left column of iTunes (with fingernail pics of each subscribed podcast) does not list the podcast subscriptions in alphabetical order or any other rational means of organization. It takes a while to find a particular podcast under "My Podcasts) to access episodes. Why no iCloud sync?

b) iTunes' version of "Unplayed episodes" doesn't reflect the most recent episodes that appear on the Podcast app on my phone. iTunes is about 24 hours behind in updates, and when I try to update iTunes manually, it doesn't work. Also, I will get a message that iTunes stopped updating a particular podcast because I haven't listened to any episodes recently. Why doesn't iTunes recognize that I regularly listen to that particular podcast via the iOS app? Why doesn't this information automatically sync to iTunes via iCloud?

I have always been a fan of Apple products, and I understand when there are software glitches from time to time, but to have so many significant issues that impact use of an app is beyond frustrating. I now better understand Walt Mossberg's recent Re/Code article criticizing Apple for not fixing significant issues with its own apps. Although his article didn't mention issues with the Podcasts app, his point is just as applicable.

From a very frustrated iPhone user.

iPhone 6, iOS 9.2.1

As a Mac user from September 1984 I have become very disappointed in Apple’s changing from “The Computer for the Rest of Us” to the computer of “Guess how it really works”.

The latest is trying to sync podcasts or even to keep them downloaded.

I have listened to a podcast, but I can’t delete it. It is marked as on the cloud and there is not delete option, only download. I try downloading it, but as soon as it is downloaded it is marked as still on the cloud.

For awhile, I have downloaded podcasts directly to my iPhone at coffee shops. Sometimes the podcasts stay on my iPhone and I can listen to them anywhere. Sometimes they go to the cloud and I can’t listen if I get away from a wi-fi signal.

I’m trying to go back to syncing them from my MacBook Air, but what iTunes says is available and what my iPhone says is available are two different things.

Considering what is happening all across the Apple line, I think that each new batch of designers and programmers have to do it their way without any consideration to what worked well in the past. Why does the Spotlight window have to be smack in the middle of the screen? Why does Photo have to have a completely different look and way of working?

The wonders of modern computers are astounding. The data from how many original Macs can now fit in our shirt pockets? But what has happened to the idea the Mac users didn’t read manuals? I’m getting to feel like the old mainframe days where getting through a day without a crash was a major achievement.

So, here I sit in a coffee shop, trying to download a two-hour podcast for the third time. It is going rather slowly for a wi-fi that is working at 44Mbps!

Drat! It still is marked as on the cloud!

Ditto!

I have similar issues.

1. The podcast app will just stop playing, without any visible reason. I suppose it's crashing, but it's hard to tell due to the way iOS handles multitasking. Is it another app/service that is "ducking" the podcast app, but then doesn't return it to playing? We'll probably never know because over the last year or so I've searched for info about this bug 3 or 4 times, but have never found any answers or fixes, just a lot of users with unanswered questions.

2. I'll take the time to download podcasts that I want to listen to with the knowledge that my route (driving) will take me out of service range. Today, I was listening to a previously downloaded (by previously I mean about 20 minutes prior) podcast in an out-of-service area without issue. I stopped the podcast, went for my jog, and returned to my car and the podcast. The podcast, although completely downloaded AND previously playing without cell service, will not play because the phone doesn't have signal. This completely defeats the purpose of downloading a podcast at all, because the app arbitrarily "decides" it can't play anything, even content already on the phone, without data signal. Moral of the story: never, ever, ever, hit "stop" if you're listening to a previously downloaded podcast in an out-of-service area because the app will not resume play. Why? Why knows. It's either a glaring design flaw or an underhanded attempt to help your wireless carrier make money off of your data use. Apple's not saying or attempting to fix it, so we're left to our own devices...

Which, incidentally, cost more than any other phone on the market.

And, of course, this post is just whining into the void because Apple couldn't care less as long as I keep shelling out almost hundreds of dollars for their flagship, top of the line phones.

Well, well. I found one activity that stops a podcast.

I had started a podcast when I left our cabin. Within a couple of miles I thought I had a chipped windshield and stopped to check it. It was only a dead bug glued to the windshield.

While I was stopped my wife sent me a text message. The podcast stopped without my even touching the phone. Lucky me that I was already pulled over. If that text message had come while I was driving on a two-lane county road, how soon would I have been able to pull over and restart the podcast?

As it was, the restarted podcast completed about 45 minutes later and the up-next podcast started automagically.

Now to figure out how to know what is up-next and easily reorder them.

I have this same problem with 9.3.5. It happens in my vehicle when listening over Bluetooth, but now happens when using headphones. After reading a few other posts on this, I've tried closing all of the other apps that output audio (Slacker, YouTube, etc.). We shall see.

Well, well. I finessed the problem, sort of. I leased a 2016 RAV4 with all kinds of bells and whistles. No more FM transmitter. I've used the USB port with and without Bluetooth. Much better sound too.

I did have a problem today with an old podcast starting again. I think I'm going have to do something to be sure that all Play Next's are off before I start off and then select the podcasts that I want for the hour-long drive.

One other minor problem. As soon as I plug everything in and select my iPhone from the console, I get Pete Seeger from my song list, not a podcast. I have to stop Music and select Podcast.

I started seeing this problem on my iPhone 6 plugged into my Golf, sporadically the podcast will fade and stop, I have to manually restart the episode. I hoped that this would be fixed in iOS 10, and have now switched to the iPhone 7, but have just had the same thing happen on my drive to work (3 times in 25 minute)...

Yep! Same here. Incredibly frustrating, especially as it's getting colder and my hands don't want to leave my pockets to fiddle with queuing it up again. Also, "Hey Siri" barely ever works and clicking the inline remote is a crap shoot.

Always assumed it was a messed up inline remote on my iPhone 6 that was triggering the issue. But it's happening with my iPhone 7 Plus with the lightning remote too.