iOS 11 podcast autoplay

On the Station Screen click edit in the upper right corner. You’ll then see the Sort Order and Settings buttons for the Station (left image below). Choose ‘oldest to newest’ or the reverse. That will also set the play order in the Stations Settings Screen. Then click the play button for the top episode and the entire station list will play before stopping.

If you play an episode from the Listen Niw Page it does not automatically move to the next ep. it seems auto play only works among the episodes within a Station.

<<tried the solution Offered by several others and they didn’t work. Infact, I lost all episodes of one podcast that I was trying from one suggestion>>

Liketoread, please provide more detail so we can get to the bottom of what didn’t work.

1. Were you able to create a Station?
2. How many Shows did you add to the Station?
3. In the Podcasts settings below (left pic in image), what were your settings for Download Episodes & Delete Played Episodes?
4. In your Station settings where any of your 5 settings different than the ones in Station settings below (middle pic in image)

In learning and testing the new Podcasts methods, you might want to simply create a test Station and put a couple Shows in it, then let the play Episodes play automatically in sequence by clicking the top ep.

iOS 11 Podcasts App – Simpler, but a Major Departure from iOS 10

The iOS 11 Podcasts App took a major step toward simplicity over previous versions, however, after first introducing Stations as a replacement for iTunes Playlists with iOS 10, it now forces a manual transition to Stations since iTunes Playlists no longer appear in the app. It also only permits Autoplay within Stations, introduces the term Shows and eliminates the Mark As Played feature for an individual podcast Episode or a selected group of Episodes.

To move around the app, one needs to understand three terms:

• Episode – a single event of a Show such as a single evening’s recording of the PBS NewsHour.
• Show – a podcast subscription, such as the daily PBS NewsHour.
• Station – a collection of Shows in whatever grouping you choose such as News

PODCASTS APP SETTINGS

It is wise to choose your preferences in iPhone>Settings>Podcasts before you subscribe to several Shows as those preferences will be the defaults for each Show. You can also change preferences for a particular Show, such as the PBS NewsHour by going to Library>Shows>PBS NewsHour, clicking the blue three-dot icon to the right of the Show’s name, then choosing Settings.

Note you can choose to download Only New Episodes as they become available, All Unplayed Episodes or none, should you choose to review an Episode’s title in Available Episodes on its Show’s screen before downloading it. You can also choose to keep played Episodes, should you wish to listen to them repeatedly, or delete them automatically once heard. Played Episodes remain on your device for 24 hours after being played, though the titles remain in Available Episodes on the Shows screen. A previous Episode, if still available, can be downloaded again by clicking the plus sign to the right of its title.

Below are my settings preferences for the Podcasts App (left), Stations (center) and Shows (right), which might be a handy starting point, if you have questions or problems.

SUBSCRIBING TO A SHOW

You can subscribe to a Show using the search icon at the bottom of the app or through iTunes. You can also choose to download a single Episode rather than to subscribe to all future Episodes of a Show.

CREATING A STATION

Stations can be created, named and edited in the app at Library>Edit (upper right)>New Station or in iTunes. Shows can be added to a Station or removed by opening the Station in the Library screen and choosing Edit (upper right)>Settings>Choose Podcasts, then placing (or removing). a check mark to the right of the Show. A Station’s Shows can also be added or removed in iTunes.

You can group Episodes in a Station by Show. You can also manually order those Shows within the Station. In the Station settings (middle pic in the Tutorial below) turn on Group by Podcast. In the Sort By or Play option in Station settings chose Manual Show Order and adjust the order as you wish.

AUTOPLAY

Episodes can only be Autoplayed within a Station; but not in Listen Now, the Library Episodes list or in a Shows screen. Simply open a Station in the Library and click the top Episode. The remaining Episodes will play in sequence. In each Station’s settings you can designate whether the Episodes are sorted and played from oldest to newest, the reverse or manually. Episodes not fully downloaded can be streamed when on Wifi, however, Autoplay will stop at the Episode, if only on mobile data, regardless of the Podcasts App settings for mobile data.

SLEEP TIMER

While playing an episode tap the Play Bar at the bottom of the screen. You will see the horizontal Play progress bar and the Sleep Timer right under it.

PLAY TIME PROGRESS INDICATOR

The play time remaining shows up in the Episode screen being played. The time progress for the Episode being played can be seen by opening the Play Bar along the bottom of the screen, on the Lock Screen and, for the iPhone 6S and later, in the Control Center using 3D Touch. Just press-and-hold the Play icon.

SIRI

Siri enhances convenience and SAFETY, particularly when driving or walking quickly. For example just say “Play xxx Station in Podcasts” to have Siri open the app and Autoplay available Episodes in a Station.

REMOVING AN EPISODE

To remove an Episode from a Station, Episodes or Listen Now simply swish it to the left. It will no longer be in the list, however, it can be retrieved in Available Episodes on its Show page.

SYNC WITH ITUNES

As you transition to the iOS 11 Podcasts app, there may be some glitches when you first sync with iTunes. The best solution is to clean up iTunes after syncing by correcting mismatches. From then on syncing should be more accurate. Be sure to turn on Sync in the Podcasts app settings and check both Sync blocks in:

• Mac – iTunes>Preferences>Store
• Windows: - iTunes>Edit>Preferences>Store

FEEDBACK TO APPLE

The link to provide feedback on the Podcasts App to Apple is https://www.apple.com/feedback/podcasts_ios.html

HELP REFERENCES

• Apple Guidance: Subscribe and Listen to Podcasts, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201859
• The handiest guide and tips webpage to the new iOS Podcasts App, https://www.howtoisolve.com/podcasts-not-working-on-iphone-ipad-ios/
• “iPhone User Guide for iOS 11”, iBooks version, pages 917-928.
• A smaller PDF version is the "iPhone 7 User Guide for iOS 11," pages 315-318.http://file.iphone7manuals.com/iPhone-7-User-Guide-for-iOS-11.pdf
• Apple’s Sync guidelines, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207946

So they can silence text messages so you don't have to fiddle with your phone while driving but they make you fiddle with your phone to play your next podcast. Makes NO sense to me. I'm looking for a different podcast app. Thanks Apple!

Bentleymom, when you create stations and assign subscriptions to them, it becomes very easy to listen to all the episodes in a station while driving without hunting and pecking. Just ask Siri.

I have four stations, as indicated in the image below. The last episode that was playing was in the Think Tanks Station. However, if I click Siri and say

“Play Weeklies Station in Podcasts app”, the app opens and the first podcast in the Weeklies Station will immediately begin playing, followed the rest of the episodes in the station, based on the station sort and play order designated.

When significant changes occur, there is often a tendency to resist the new methods before we even give them a serious try. Once we get used to it I think many will become happy with the new Podcasts format. Those things that were overlooked will likely be fixed.

I completely agree with everyones comments about how this update has completely ruined podcasts.

I never usually comment on things like this but this ios11 update for podcasts is ridiculous.

Very simple before, play oldest to newest. Why change that??? I now have to look at my phone while driving to select a new episode? Super safe apple!!!! I get there's Suri, play next and making stations or whatever but WHY????? Why would we have to do that when it was so simple before. Inconvenient and ridiculous "update".

Apple tries so hard to be different and on the forfront of the technological wave that they often overcomplicate for no reason other then to be new.

Will be finding a new podcast player. See ya later apple podcast player! Good Riddance!

I was thinking the exact same thing. I listen to podcasts on my commute everyday and when one episode ends it's helpful for the next one to play automatically so that I'm not distracted while driving. The silent commute I experienced the other day when the next episode didn't play and I wasn't in position to make it play... I was so upset! I know tons of other people also listen while driving. How dumb to add a feature that encourages safe driving, and take away another. And autoplay is just really convenient even if you're not driving. I am going to look for another platform to listen to podcasts on and I hope that all my favorite podcasts are available there. Also, there are too many screens and menus to navigate just to play a darn podcast! Fix it Apple!!

Hi, thank you for your help. I subscribe to 51 podcasts. My complaint is with Apple in that i shouldn't have to create stations to get my podcasts to play the way i want. Plus this creates another layer of menus.

Thank you for your help. I will try this.

Since this has been selected as the answer and is initially displayed in isolation, can you edit to point out that the "Station Screen" is something that has to first be created by the user with the "New Station" button?

I wasted a lot of time trying to figure out why none of my many podcasts had such a screen and finally figured it out what stations are when I read your followup.

I agree with the rest that it is insane that I must create a separate Station for each podcast I subscribe to with just that one podcast in it and custom edited to play from old to new to get back the simple "play all the unplayed episodes from this podcast from oldest to newest".

I’ve noticed autoplay within a Station will stop if the next episode is not downloaded too, if you are on mobile data. It won’t just stream Be sure to state that glitch in www.apple.com/feedback

I put Refresh Every to Manually in iPhone>Settings>Podcasts, then Refresh & Download before leaving a WiFi or strong mobile data area to avoid a halting problem.

Apple has made their Podcast app way more complicated than it needs to be. So after hours of trial and error and reading this site this is how I was able to get this app to auto play episodes again. You need to go to your LIBRARY and click EDIT at the top of the screen. You want to add a NEW STATION. Now if you are happy with a mixture of podcasts playing one after another you can make one station and add all your various podcasts to that station. Select OLDEST to NEWEST, All Episodes and in choose podcasts select ALL PODCASTS. Do not select GROUP BY PODCAST because then episodes won’t auto play. This format allows episodes to air from oldest to newest but the episodes from all your various podcasts will be mixed together.

If you would rather have episodes for each different podcast in you library auto-play then you need to make a different station for each one. Yes a pain in the *** and seemingly unnecessary I know, but it is the only solution I have found.

Then just click on the station/Podcast you are interested in you library and they will auto play in order. No more unsafe, distracted driving. This new upgrade is frustrating, not user friendly and more unsightly than the previous version. Hopefully Apple will provide some fixes in the next upgrade.

This flummoxed me, too. When you're looking at the episode that is currently playing--the Now Playing screen, though it's not labeled as such--keep swiping up to beneath the Episode Notes and you'll see (editable) Up Next.

While that helps, it's not a complete solution. There is a problem if you don't allow the app to use mobile data* or have a poor connection. As it reaches a podcast episode that has been released but not downloaded, it just displays a 'Mobile Data is Turned Off' message and stops playing. You then need to hit OK, go back to the station, find the next downloaded episode and play it. Possibly while driving.

There is currently no option to limit the station to downloaded episodes.

(*because in some countries, there are no providers that offer unlimited data plans at a reasonable price.)

Thanks for your comment. I was helpful in explaining stations, but I don't think this is one of those resistant to change moments fro everyone. While this works for you, there are many people who listen to podcasts differently. I have lots of podcasts I listen to. I don't listen to each one on a weekly basis. I usually listen to multiple episodes of one podcast then the next week I may move on to another podcast and listen to several episodes from that one, and so on. Some days I don't decide what I'm in the mood for until I get in my car. It is very inconvenient to make stations for every podcast I listen to just so I can get them to play automatically. What is the purpose of having all of my podcasts listed in the Shows menu, if I still have to create a station for each one separately. Imagine having 10+ stations! That's too much work and way too many menus just to have autoplay. It should be an option as before to choose a podcast from the shows menu and start playing an episode and having it autoplay the rest of the episode from that podcast in the order that you have set. Apple making changes isn't a problem for me, expect when those changes completely ruin the functionality and my overall experience.

I set up stations and selected settings to play newest to oldest. Once one episode is done, it does NOT play next episode without me having to push play. This is within the same podcast. If this is supposed to autoplay, it is not working.

Also “Add to Up Next“ is now “Play Later” – for no apparent reason other than to confuse people. “Play Later“ sounds like you’re saving it for another day, not something you want to listen to in the near future. Give me a break.