YouTube Music, YouTube’s stand-alone music streaming app was launched in 2015. Since then, the app has supplanted Google’s “Play Music” as the sole music streaming app on Android phones. Like Spotify, the YouTube Music app is available in free and premium (paid) tiers. It’s available in many countries worldwide and is growing in popularity yearly.
In 2021, YouTube revealed that it had paid musicians & music companies over $4 billion in ad revenue. That’s just a billion short of what Spotify paid ($5 billion) in the same period. YouTube Music is slowly catching up with the music streaming king Spotify in terms of revenue. But is the app just as beloved as Spotify? No.
The YouTube Music app still has plenty of issues. “My YouTube Music keeps pausing for no reason” is a common complaint that several users have made on the Internet. So why does YouTube Music keep stopping & ruin the listening experience of music lovers? There are several theories made by customers of the app on this issue.
Some say it’s a bug, and others say the stand-alone music streaming app isn’t as mobile-friendly as its more popular counterparts. However, these are just theories. What are the logical reasons behind this seemingly common YouTube Music glitch? More importantly, how can users of this app avoid these glitches? Let’s address these questions & discuss the best ways to fix these glitches.
Do you have a particular question about reasons why YouTube music keeps pausing? Then use the table of contents below to jump to the most relevant section. And you can always go back by clicking on the black arrow in the right bottom corner of the page. Also, please note that some of the links in this article may be affiliate links. For more details, check the Disclosure section at the bottom of the page.
Here's what we'll cover:
Why Does YouTube Music Keep Pausing?
The YouTube Music app on your phone may be freezing or lagging due to compatibility issues. The app may be incompatible with your smartphone. To check whether that’s the reason your YouTube music app keeps stopping, double-check your device for problems.
Update Your Phone’s Software: Is your phone’s software up-to-date? If not, download & install the latest update.
Delete Potentially Malicious Apps: Do you have any malicious or virus-infected apps on your phone? If yes, run a security scan by downloading any half-decent security app from the app store. Scan your phone for viruses & delete all potentially harmful apps or files
Reboot Your Smartphone: Reboot your device the first time your YouTube Music randomly pauses. Sometimes smartphones get overheated & streaming apps bear the brunt of these issues. So, rebooting your phone may fix the problem.
Clear Your Smartphone’s Memory: Another temporary solution is to clear all apps running in the background to free up your phone’s memory. Also, clear the YouTube music app’s cache. You can do so via your phone’s settings section. Just search “YouTube Music” in the settings menu. Next, click on the app & you’ll see a “Memory” section. From here, clear the cache.
Delete all unwanted apps on your phone & give it a re-start. Once your phone’s memory is clear, the YouTube Music pausing or freezing issue will be automatically fixed.
Is YouTube to Blame for These Freezing Issues?
If your YouTube Music stops playing once in a while – maybe there’s something wrong with the YouTube platform itself. Malfunctions and glitches happen on all music & video streaming platforms. So, refreshing, reinstalling, or even updating the app may not fix the problem. If that’s the case, take the following steps:
- Go to the app’s help center & check whether developers from YouTube’s Help Facility are currently working on fixing any issue. YouTube’s servers may be down, so these issues can happen from time to time.
- Update the app. Or, even better, delete and reinstall the app.
- If none of these solutions work, report this issue to YouTube. You can do it via the app itself. Just go to the YouTube Music app page on the app store & register your complaint. Typically, YouTube’s support team quickly responds to such public complaints.
If none of these solutions work, consider taking your phone to repair technicians. They can check your phone to ensure there aren’t any software or technical issues contributing to the problem.
Other Reasons Why Your YouTube Music Keeps Pausing
If your YouTube Music stops playing when your phone locks, it’s probably because your subscription has expired. YouTube Music is a premium music streaming app. One of the many premium features you get when you pay a monthly subscription fee is that the app doesn’t stop playing music when you lock your phone.
For non-paying users of the app, the YouTube Music app will behave like the regular YouTube app. It will stop playback when you close the app or lock your phone. So, check whether your YouTube Music subscription is up to date. If it is, there may be some other factors at play, such as:
- Headphone Problem: You may be using faulty headphones, or the headphone jack on your phone may be damaged. Check their quality by testing them out with other apps. If the pausing/lagging issues persist, get new headphones.
- Deactivate the “Take a Break” Feature: Is your YouTube Music cutting out every few hours? Then, you might have accidentally activated a feature that forces your YouTube Music app to shut down. The “Remind Me to Take a Break” feature on the YouTube Music app allows users to set timers. The app will automatically stop running if your listening time exceeds the timer. To disable this feature, open the app on your device & tap on your Profile icon. From there, open “Settings” & go to the option “General.” Here you’ll find the “Remind Me to Take a Break” option either ticked yes or no. Disable this feature to see if the issue still exists.
- Fix Potential Wi-Fi Issues: Bad Internet can cause the YouTube Music app to malfunction. To ensure that’s not the case, connect your device to different Internet connections. Do the same problems still exist? If not, replace your old Wi-Fi router or get a better Internet plan.
How to Stop YouTube Music from Pausing?
All these solutions can help stop the YouTube Music app from pausing abruptly. Try out each one of them. Paying for YouTube Music Premium doesn’t make sense if you keep facing such issues with the app. So, try out all these solutions & if none of them work – contact YouTube’s support team & air your grievances with them.
Credits: Thanks for the photo to Canva.
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