YouTube Music is probably one of the best music streaming services out there. However, several users are experiencing a weird glitch that is reportedly causing an annoying playback issue.
CarPlay now feels like an old tech
If you have used YouTube Music even once, you know how it functions. You play a particular song, and when it ends, the next song in the playlist is automatically played, ensuring that the playback doesn't stop.
However, this isn't how things have been functioning recently, as many iPhone users have complained on Reddit and the Google community forum that the platform doesn't switch to the next song automatically when used with Apple CarPlay. When the current song ends, playback stops entirely instead of advancing to the next track.
Users must then manually press the Next button to start the following song in the queue. This basically feels like using a retro player where you had to press Next after every track.
You might argue that all this must be happening because the autoplay toggle is disabled, but that isn't the case, as users report experiencing this problem even when it is enabled. What's even more frustrating is that some users mention that hitting the next button does not do anything at all. That basically means you are stuck with the same song.
It might not be limited to iOS
While most online reports suggest that the problem may be exclusive to iOS, I was able to spot a complaint on the Google community forum indicating that it is happening on Android as well.
Recommended For You
The affected users mention that all this is happening even though they have a YouTube Premium subscription. They have to pull out their phones and manually change the track, as the music service doesn't switch to the next song automatically.
At the time of writing, neither YouTube Music nor Google has acknowledged this issue. However, the reported behavior change might be stemming from a recent YouTube app update, as mentioned by a user on the Google community forum.
Which music app do you think currently has the best CarPlay experience?
YouTube Music.
34.38%
Apple Music.
53.13%
Spotify.
9.38%
Tidal.
3.13%
32 Votes
Reinstall the app
As aforementioned, the problem has not been acknowledged yet, meaning there is no official solution for it. However, there are definitely a few workarounds that have worked for some users.
A user who experienced this issue on their iPhone 16 Pro Max reported that things started working normally after they reinstalled the YouTube Music app. However, they also said the fix was short-lived because the problem returned after a short time. You can try this solution and see whether it permanently fixes the problem for you.
It's reportedly a server-side issue
Stream via Wi-Fi only toggle in YouTube Music. | Image by PhoneArena
If the situation persists, you can try a different fix, which has apparently worked for many other affected users as well. According to Redditor iDrinkSaline, all of this is happening because of how queued music is handled.
As it turns out, YouTube Music always has a list of recommended songs ready to play next, based on the song you're currently listening to. For instance, if you play a song directly from the home screen, the music service creates a queue of similar songs. And when you manually switch to a different song or an artist page, it creates its own list of similarly sounding songs.
The Redditor believes that these two separate queues get tangled up, causing the autoplay function of YouTube Music to fail. All this is reportedly happening on YouTube's servers in the cloud, and that is the reason why the problem is not resolved even after clearing the app cache data.
There's a temporary fix that has apparently resolved the problem for many. Here's what you need to do:
Go to the Settings menu of the YouTube Music app, and choose Playback and Restrictions
Enable the Stream via Wi-Fi only toggle, and close the app completely
Disable the Wi-Fi on your phone for a few seconds and then enable it again
Launch the YouTube Music app, and switch between different tracks to check if the problem is gone
Many users mentioned in the comments that this trick worked for them. What this essentially does is stop the music service from trying to load the queue using mobile data. Turning Wi-Fi off and back on forces the app to start fresh, which ultimately clears the queue stuck in the background.
Really looking forward to a permanent solution
It is quite clear from all the reports that I have found online that everything is related to YouTube Music. This becomes even more certain after reading some complaints where users mentioned that the problem does not occur with other apps like SoundCloud.
While the above-mentioned trick apparently works, it is still a workaround and not a permanent fix. Google really needs to come up with something permanent, and the possibility of this happening seems high, especially considering that the problem appears to be affecting a good number of users.
Six-month unlimited plan is now 57% off
$90
$210
$120 off (57%)
Mint Mobile is now allowing you to get whichever plan you like for either three, six, or 12 months for just $15/mo. If you go for the six-month unlimited service, for instance, you'll now have to pay just $90 upfront instead of $210.
Aman Kumar is a news writer at PhoneArena covering Google Pixel phones, Android features, AI-powered smartphone tools, and mobile tech news. Before joining PhoneArena, he spent over five years writing about consumer technology for publications like MakeUseOf, How-To Geek, and Guiding Tech. His current daily drivers are the Pixel 10 and Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus, while his red iPhone SE (2nd gen) remains a personal favorite. Aman also appreciates bold smartphone experiments and still considers the Nokia N-Gage one of the industry’s most iconic designs.
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts:
New accounts created within the last 24 hours may experience restrictions on how frequently they can
post or comment.
These limits are in place as a precaution and will automatically lift.
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
Things that are NOT allowed:
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts: