How to Stop iPhone Autoplay When Connected to Bluetooth in the Car

Every time the iPhone is connected to a Bluetooth device, such as a car Bluetooth system or wireless earbuds, the iPhone automatically starts playing music or podcasts.

This is an annoying issue with no direct solution. There’s no setting to turn off to stop your iPhone from automatically playing music or podcasts. In this guide, I will share a temporary workaround that will help you address this issue.

Stop the Music or Podcast app from autoplaying when connected to Bluetooth.

If you do not use the Apple Music or Apple Podcasts apps, the easiest way to address this issue is to delete the apps. To do this, long press on the app icon, tap Delete App, and choose the action Delete App.

For this guide, I assume you want to use the built-in Apple Music and Podcasts apps. There are two methods you can use to address this issue in this situation.

Disable AirPlay and Handoff

You can stop music from autoplaying on your car speakers or other Bluetooth devices by disabling AirPlay and Handoff.

1. Open the Settings app and select General settings.
2. Tap to open AirPlay & Handoff settings.
3. Tap the Automatic AirPlay option and set it to Never.
4. If that doesn’t work, go back to the previous page and turn off the Handoff setting.

I do not recommend turning off Handoff as it will disrupt the continuity features on your Apple devices that I enjoy.

Use automation to stop autoplaying music and podcasts

The solution I like is setting up automation that automatically stops any media playback when your phone is connected to Bluetooth.

1. Open the Shortcuts app and tap to open the Automation tab.
2. Tap the New Automation button or the plus (+) button in the top right corner.
3. Search for Bluetooth and tap to add it to the automation.
4. Tap the Choose button and select the device name. For example, if you are experiencing this issue while connected to your car Bluetooth, select its name here. / Select Any Device option if you are unsure about the device used. Tap the Done button to save your preferences.
5. Tap on Run Immediately and then tap the Next button in the top right corner to continue.
6. Tap on New Empty Automation and use the Actions Search column to find the Wait action. Tap to add it to the automation.
7. Tap on 1 Second and change it to 3 seconds. I added a wait timer so that the automation does not run before the song starts playing.
8. Tap the Actions Search column again and add the play/pause action.
9. Tap on Play/Pause and set it to pause.
10. Tap on iPhone and change it to your car's speakers if it appears as an option. If not, leave it on iPhone.
11. Tap the Done button to save your changes.

That’s it. Now, you have created an automation that will pause any media playback every time your iPhone is connected to a Bluetooth source. If the automation still runs before the music starts playing, adjust the wait time as needed.

Even if your Apple Music or Apple Podcasts apps automatically start playing content when connected to a Bluetooth device, this automation will pause it immediately.