How do I play music while using other apps?

Playing music in the background while using other apps is a common practice for many smartphone users. With the rise of music streaming services and the powerful multitasking capabilities of modern devices, it’s easier than ever to listen to music while browsing the web, using social media, playing games, and more. However, the ability to play background audio varies across devices, OS versions, and apps. This article provides an overview of the main ways to play music while using other apps on your Android or iOS device. We’ll cover enabling background audio, using music streaming apps, the default music player, YouTube Music, picture-in-picture mode, downloading music for offline playback, split screen, and troubleshooting tips. By the end, you’ll have the knowledge to seamlessly listen to music no matter what else you’re doing on your phone.

Enabling Background Audio

By default, music and audio will stop playing when you switch to another app on your Android device. To allow audio to continue playing in the background:

1. Go to Settings > Apps & notifications > Advanced > Special app access.

2. Tap Picture-in-picture. This will open a list of apps.

3. Find the music or audio app you want to allow background audio for and tap it.

4. Toggle on “Allow picture-in-picture” for that app.

This will allow the selected app to continue playing audio even when you switch to another app or lock your phone. The audio will not pause or stop as long as the app remains open in the background.

Some music streaming apps like JW Player have built-in options to enable background audio as well. Check the settings of your preferred music app for a similar setting.

Using a Music Streaming App

Popular music streaming apps like Spotify, Pandora, and Apple Music allow you to listen to music in the background while using other apps on your phone. This is an easy way to play your personalized playlists and stations while browsing the web, gaming, messaging friends, and more.

To play music in the background:

Open your preferred music streaming app and start playing a song, playlist, or station.
Open the app you want to use while listening to music (like Chrome, Instagram, etc.). The music streaming app will move to the background.

Swipe down from the top of your Android screen and look for the music player notification. Tap it to open playback controls like pause, skip track, volume, etc.
Use the app as normal while your music plays in the background.

Most music services like Spotify, Pandora, and Apple Music have background audio support built-in for Android. For consistent playback, make sure you have a stable internet connection for streaming.

This feature makes it easy to multitask while listening to your favorite playlists and stations!

Using the Default Music Player

The default Music app on both iPhone and iPad allows you to keep listening to music stored locally on your device while using other apps. When you start playing a song or playlist, it will continue playing in the background when you switch to another app.

To enable this, open Control Center by swiping down from the top right of the screen and make sure the music player module is enabled. Now whenever music is playing, you will see playback controls in Control Center that you can use to pause, skip tracks, adjust volume, etc.

You can quickly return to the Music app by tapping on the album artwork in Control Center. The music will seamlessly continue playing in the background of whichever app you’re using.

This makes it easy to listen to your local music library while browsing the web, using social media, playing games, and more. The music playback is smooth and uninterrupted.

Listening to YouTube Music

YouTube Music is a popular streaming service for enjoying music, but it requires a paid YouTube Premium subscription to keep music playing when you switch to another app. However, there are a couple ways to play YouTube Music in the background without Premium:

Use a third party app like NewPipe or YouTube Vanced (for Android only). These modified YouTube apps allow background play and ad-free listening without a subscription.

Open YouTube Music in a mobile browser instead of the app. You can play audio in the background as long as the browser remains open. To avoid annoying pop-up ads, consider using a browser with built-in ad blocking like Firefox.

The workaround is enabling “Picture-in-picture” mode, which minimizes the YouTube Music video when you switch apps. On Android, tap the PIP icon to enable it. On iOS, start playing a video and then go to your Home screen – the video will shrink down.

While not ideal, these methods allow you to enjoy YouTube Music without paying for Premium. Just be aware of potential downsides like ads or finicky operation.

Using Picture-in-Picture

One way to play music videos in the background while using other apps is to use the picture-in-picture (PiP) feature. This allows you to “pin” a music video in a small window that stays on top of other app windows on your device.

To use PiP with YouTube Music videos on an Android device:1:

Start playing the music video in the YouTube Music app.
Tap the Home button to minimize the YouTube Music app.
The video will automatically go into a small PiP window.

You can now use other apps while the YouTube Music video plays in the pinned window.

For iOS devices, PiP is only available for YouTube Premium subscribers.2 Non-Premium users cannot pin YouTube Music videos. However, there are some workarounds like using split screen mode.

Downloading Music for Offline Playback

To listen to music offline without using mobile data or WiFi, you’ll need to download songs, albums, or playlists to your device storage ahead of time. Many popular music apps offer the ability to save songs for offline listening. Here are some of the top options:

Musify is a free app for both iOS and Android that makes downloading music simple. You can save individual songs, albums, or curated playlists for offline playback later. Musify claims over 20 million songs available to save for offline use (Source).

Audiomack is another free streaming app that lets you download any song, mixtape or playlist with the tap of a button. There are no limits on how many songs you can save for offline listening. Audiomack has a catalog of over 2 million tracks (Source).

For Android users, Poweramp is a popular option for downloading and listening to music offline. You can even customize audio with its built-in equalizer and effects. Poweramp lets you download unlimited songs using playlists (Source).

Using Split Screen

One way to play music while using other apps is by enabling split screen mode on your Android device. This allows you to run two apps side-by-side on the screen simultaneously. To use split screen:

1. Open the app you want to listen to music or audio in (e.g. a game, navigation app, etc.).

2. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen and hold to enter split screen mode. Select your music streaming app or audio player from the list of recent apps.

3. Drag the divider line in the center to adjust how much space each app gets on the screen.

Now you can play music or audio as usual while interacting with the other app on the split screen. This is useful for playing background music in games, listening to podcasts while using maps for navigation, and more. Just note that split screen may not work well on smaller screened devices.

Troubleshooting Issues

Playing audio in the background while using other apps doesn’t always go smoothly. Here are some fixes for the most common background audio problems:

Music Stops When Opening Another App

This is a common issue that happens when the music app you’re using isn’t properly optimized for background audio. Try using a different music app like Spotify that is designed to keep playing audio in the background.

Can’t Hear Audio From Other Apps

If you can’t hear audio from a secondary app while music is playing, check that app’s audio settings. Make sure the audio isn’t muted and volume levels are turned up.

Audio Quality Degrades

Background audio can sometimes lead to lower quality streaming. Try downloading the music for offline playback instead of streaming to maintain audio quality.

Apps Randomly Pause

App glitches can cause background audio to randomly stop. Close and restart both apps. If the issue persists, check for any software updates that could resolve bugs.

Split Screen Issues

Using split screen to play background audio doesn’t always work seamlessly. Try adjusting the volume in each app. Check that split screen is enabled in your device settings.

Conclusion

There are a few main methods for being able to play music in the background while using other apps on your phone.

Streaming apps like Spotify and Pandora allow you to enable background audio in the settings which will continue playing when you switch to another app. The default music player app on your phone also has an option to keep playing audio in the background.

YouTube Music has background play as part of their paid subscription, or you can use picture-in-picture mode to continue watching YouTube videos while using other apps. Downloading music for offline playback avoids any issues with streaming and buffering as well.

Using split screen view is another option that lets you actively use two apps at the same time. With some minor troubleshooting like force closing and restarting apps, you can resolve problems with background audio as well.

With all these options, you can easily listen to music or other audio while simultaneously using other apps on your smartphone.