How do I get my playlist to stop shuffling?

What is shuffle play?

Shuffle play, or shuffle mode, is a feature on media players and music apps that randomly selects and plays songs from a playlist or album. According to Collins Dictionary, shuffle play is defined as “a facility on a compact disc player that randomly selects a track from one of a number of compact discs.”

When shuffle mode is enabled, the player will play songs from the playlist or library in random order, rather than sequentially. This adds variety and unpredictability when listening to music. Shuffle mode randomly skips around your playlist instead of playing songs in the default consecutive order.

Essentially, shuffle play prevents the songs from being played in the same order every time. It mixes up the order to provide a dynamic listening experience.

Why your playlist keeps shuffling

There are a couple common reasons why your playlists may keep shuffling when you don’t want them to:

Shuffle is the default setting on many apps and devices – Many popular music apps like Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music have shuffle turned on by default for playlists. So even if you didn’t intentionally turn it on, your playlists may shuffle simply because that’s the default behavior.

You may have accidentally turned shuffle on – It’s easy to accidentally toggle shuffle mode on when you’re not paying close attention. For example, you may have hit the shuffle button on your device or in an app unintentionally. Or someone else who used your phone or account may have turned it on without you realizing.

So those are two of the most common reasons why your music keeps shuffling unexpectedly – the default settings and accidental activation. But the good news is shuffling playlists can always be disabled if you prefer to play your songs in order.

Check your music app settings

The first thing to check is your music app’s settings menu. Most apps that play music have a setting to turn shuffling on or off. Here’s how to find it in some popular music apps:

Open your music app’s settings menu. Look for a gear icon ☰ or “Settings” option. The settings are typically accessible from the app’s menu or sidebar.

Look for the shuffle option. It may be a simple toggle to turn shuffling “On” or “Off”. There may also be more advanced shuffle settings to customize how shuffling works in that app.

For example, in Spotify’s settings you can find the toggle “Shuffle Play” to turn on/off shuffling.

In Apple Music’s settings, look under “Playback” for options like “Shuffle” and “Shuffle by Album”. Turn these off to disable shuffling.

YouTube Music has a “Shuffle” toggle under Settings > General to control shuffle behavior.

Finding and adjusting the shuffle setting directly in your music app is the easiest way to get your playlists to stop shuffling.

Turn off shuffle in Spotify

To turn off shuffle play in the Spotify app, simply tap the shuffle icon when a playlist is playing. The shuffle icon is two crossing arrows and can be found near the bottom of the screen when playing a playlist. Tapping it once will disable shuffle mode.

You can also disable shuffling playlists by default via Spotify’s settings. Open the Spotify app and tap the gear icon in the top right corner to access Settings. Under Playback, toggle off “Shuffle” to disable shuffle mode for all playlists by default. This means playlists will play in order unless you manually enable shuffling for a specific playlist.¹

With shuffle turned off, your Spotify playlists will resume playing in normal sequential order. Simply tap the shuffle icon again or re-enable it in Settings to turn shuffling back on if desired.

Turn off shuffle in Apple Music

If you want to turn off shuffle mode in Apple Music on your iPhone or iPod touch, there are a couple ways to do it:

Tap the shuffle icon when playing a song or playlist. The shuffle icon looks like two crossing arrows in a circle. Tapping it will toggle shuffle mode on or off.

You can also turn off shuffle mode in the Apple Music settings menu. Open the Settings app, tap Music, then toggle off “Shuffle.” This will disable shuffle mode for your entire Apple Music library.

To summarize, tap the shuffle button on the player screen or disable shuffle in the Music settings to stop your playlists from automatically shuffling in Apple Music on iPhone and iPod.

Sources:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/109342

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250110390

Turn off shuffle in YouTube Music

YouTube Music has a shuffle feature that will randomly play the songs in a playlist or album. If you want to turn off shuffling and play the songs in order, there are a couple ways to do it:

During playback, simply tap the shuffle icon at the bottom of the screen. This will toggle shuffling on and off. The icon will be solid white when shuffling is enabled.

You can also disable shuffling in the YouTube Music settings:

Open the YouTube Music app
Tap your profile picture in the top right
Go to Settings

Toggle off “Shuffle by default”

Now your playlists and albums will play sequentially by default. You can still temporarily enable shuffling by tapping the shuffle icon during playback if desired.

Turn off shuffle on iPhone/iPod

To turn off shuffle on your iPhone or iPod Touch running iOS:

Swipe up from the bottom of your screen to access the media playback controls. This will bring up the Now Playing screen. Tap the shuffle icon in the upper left corner of the Now Playing screen to toggle shuffle on or off. The icon will be dimmed with a line through it when shuffle is disabled.

You can also access the shuffle control by swiping left on the Now Playing screen to expand the playback controls. The shuffle icon will be next to the repeat icon.

If shuffle is enabled, simply tap the icon to disable it and listen to songs in their original order. The shuffle icon will return to its normal unfaded appearance when disabled. This method allows you to quickly turn shuffle playback on or off as needed.

To prevent your music from shuffling automatically in the future, make sure shuffle mode is disabled before you start listening. The Now Playing screen provides the fastest way to toggle shuffle on or off.

Source: How to Turn Off Shuffle on an iPhone’s Music App

Turn off shuffle on Android

On Android devices, there are a couple ways to turn off shuffle playback in Spotify or other music apps:^[1]

First, you can use the playback controls in your phone’s notification tray. When a song is playing, open the notification tray and you should see playback controls for the music app. Tap the shuffle icon until it is grayed out to disable shuffle mode.

Alternatively, open the Spotify or music app and go to the playback settings or options. Look for the shuffle toggle switch and turn it off. This will disable shuffle mode within the app itself.

If shuffle mode keeps turning back on, double check your settings to make sure you have the latest app updates installed. Some older versions of Spotify and music apps have had shuffle bugs that were fixed in newer updates.

Shuffle on other devices

Shuffling can also be turned off on various other platforms and devices besides mobile phones. Here are some tips for disabling shuffle mode on other platforms:

On the Spotify desktop app for Windows or Mac, click the “Shuffle” icon at the bottom left of the player to toggle shuffle mode on or off. The icon will be green when shuffle is enabled.

On smart speakers like Amazon Echo or Google Home, you can say voice commands like “Alexa, turn off shuffle” or “Hey Google, stop shuffling this playlist” to disable shuffling.

For streaming devices like Roku or Apple TV, look for a “Shuffle” option in the playback controls and toggle it off. This is usually found in an audio or playback settings menu.

In gaming platforms like Xbox or PlayStation, go to audio or music settings to find a toggle for turning shuffle mode off.

On Spotify’s web player, click the green “Shuffle” text below the playlist name to disable shuffling.

If using a third-party Spotify app, check the settings or playback screen for a shuffle option to turn off.

For podcast and audiobook apps, look in settings for an option like “Play episodes in order” to prevent shuffling.

Prevent shuffling playlists in the future

Once you’ve turned shuffling off for a particular playlist, you’ll want to make sure it stays that way every time you listen. Here are a couple tips to prevent your playlists from shuffling again in the future:

Save playlists with shuffling turned off

When you create a playlist, make sure to turn shuffling off before you save it. That way, whenever you open that saved playlist again, it will open with shuffling disabled by default. You won’t have to go turn it off each time.

On Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music and other apps, look for the shuffle icon and make sure it’s not highlighted before you finish creating the playlist. This will save your playlist perpetually with shuffle mode off.

Change default shuffle settings in apps

You can also change the default shuffle setting within your music apps themselves. That way, any new playlist you create will automatically have shuffling disabled.

In Spotify, go to Settings > Playback and toggle off “Shuffle”. In Apple Music, go to Settings > Music and choose “Off” under “Shuffle Songs”. Adjust this default setting in your preferred music apps.

With these preventative measures, your playlists should stay shuffle-free every time you play them! You’ll never have to waste time turning it off again.