iOS 11.3 update Podcasts App crashing ...

I'm having this issue as well on iPhone X, iOS 11.3 (15E216). Not only does the Podcasts app randomly freeze/crash, but the Podcasts settings tab won't open and ends up crashing the Settings app as well. This happens multiple times per day with no apparent trigger or warning. Forcing the Podcasts app to close doesn't fix the problem because when it reopens it's still frozen and won't play or respond to inputs from wireless headphones.

I’m running iOS 11.3 on an iPhone 6s. Podcast app crashes and stalls frequently. Killing and restarting Podcast doesn’t fix the stall issue. Stalls can last 5-10 minutes and during that time I can lose 25% of whatever battery life I had when it began. Crashes can take down the Podcast app or cause the iphone to reboot. This happened before the iOS 11.3 update. About ready to give up and install a third party podcast app.

Same issue with podcast app on iOS 11.3 and previous update/updates as well just more frequent now. “Force closes” while in middle of an episode. Also, downloading episodes continues to be an issue. I have to stop, start, stop, start over and over until it decides it wants to download. This is on WiFi and on cellular data (cellular data is on in settings). So I end up having to stream most. Also get a lot of “ episode temporarily unavailable” messages in which case I must stop the download and stream then it will play. Old podcast app WAY better. Wish I could go back in time and not update!

My iPhone7 works ok with one Bluetooth device, but not my main TV soundbar (Samsung K450). If I launch the app with one Bluetooth device, then switch to the TV Bluetooth it will work until I try to change the podcast. The soundbar has been working perfectly for almost a year, until the last iOS update. I reset the soundbar and powered off the iPhone. No luck :-(

I’m having a similar issue on my iPhone X. I still don’t see a response to this issue yet. My podcasts interestingly run fine on the phone, but crash when connected to any Bluetooth device. Just started when I tried a different podcast this morning.

Also same issue...crashes immediately after opening unless switching to airplane mode before opening...then turning on comms. All started IMMEDIATELY after latest update. Was working fine prior to. iPhone 7...switched to "podcast app" until these clowns at Apple get their poop in a group and fix this issue AGAIN. After Google searching symptoms...I see this problem also happened after the release of 11.0 and a few times prior to that. So one would think they might have the brain power to fix it relatively quick. ♂

Having experimented further, on iPhone 6+ it seems as though disconnecting from AirPlay, starting the podcast playing on the phone speakers then - instead of my usual approach of switching to AirPlay using the in-app play controls - swipe up from the bottom of the screen and switch using the 'audio playback' section of the Control Centre. After this, podcast playback continues until switching to a different audio source; opening the Podcasts app is successful and it is possible to browse the library and select a different item, but the app aborts as previously when I press 'play'

I have the exact same issue with my iPhone X.

Whenever I connected to a Bose sound link, the app crashes immediately and cannot start. Even if I force restart the podcast app, it crashes immediately.

I also notice that it will work with the AirPods, but the AirPods don’t send commands and work correctly.

Yes, major problems here. Under 11.3 (iPhone 6) podcast playback stutters and sometimes stops completely while the screen is locked. If the screen is unlocked, then the problem goes away.

Using iPhone 6s by the way. Not sure if those with newer phones facing same issue.

Thank you for that.

iPhone 6+ always connected to speakers through Airport Express... if I switch to “iPhone” before starting Podcast app, everything seems normal until I reconnect wifi.