Why does my music stop in the background on a Samsung Galaxy phone?

Short answer: on Samsung Galaxy phones, music usually stops when you open another app or the screen turns off because One UI limits apps in the background to save battery. Allow Audify in three places: its own Settings → Background Playback (if it's there), its battery setting in the phone's Settings (Unrestricted), and Background usage limits, where you take it off the sleeping lists and add it to Never auto sleeping apps. If it still stops with all of that set, the cause isn't your settings: send us a report from Audify's Send Feedback.

Why Galaxy phones stop music in the background

One UI puts apps to sleep to save battery. Under Background usage limits, Galaxy phones keep a list of sleeping apps, which Samsung's developer guide says are limited in what they can run in the background, and a list of deep sleeping apps, which Samsung says never run in the background and only work while you have them open. A music player on either list can stop when you leave it.

It can happen without you doing anything. Galaxy phones also put apps to sleep on their own. Samsung's developer guide says an app that hasn't been used for about 3 days and uses battery in the background goes to sleep, and one that hasn't been used for about 16 days goes into deep sleep (a number Samsung says may change). So an app you haven't opened for a while can end up on one of these lists, and you only notice the next time the music stops.

Each app also has its own battery setting. Android lets you set every app to Unrestricted, Optimized or Restricted. Restricted limits an app's battery use in the background, and Android warns that an app set to it may not work as expected. Steps 2 and 3 below take care of both the battery setting and the sleeping lists.

Step 1: Give Audify permission in its own settings

1. 1. Open More → Settings in Audify. If Android still limits Audify, a Background Playback section sits at the top of the screen, with the row Issue with background playback?. If it isn't there, Android already lets Audify run in the background, so go on to step 2.
2. 2. Tap Issue with background playback? Android's battery optimization list opens, and Audify shows a hint to search for Audify Music Player and turn it off. It means the optimization, not the app: find Audify Music Player in the list, switch its battery optimization off, then go back. If your phone opens its main Settings screen instead, go on to step 2.
3. 3. Or use the banner above your songs. If Audify shows Trouble playing songs in the background? above your songs, its Give Permission button opens the same list.

Step 2: Set Audify's battery to Unrestricted

1. 1. Open the phone's Settings → Apps and choose Audify Music Player. This is your phone's Settings app, not Audify's. Each app has its own battery setting here, separate from the sleeping lists in step 3.
2. 2. Tap Battery and choose Unrestricted. Android describes Unrestricted as allowing battery use in the background without restrictions. If it says Restricted, Android limits Audify in the background, and the music can stop when you leave it. On older Galaxy phones this screen looks different: choose the option that lets Audify use the battery in the background.

Step 3: Take Audify off the sleeping lists and add it to Never auto sleeping apps

1. 1. Open Settings → Battery → Background usage limits. On older Galaxy phones it's under Settings → Battery and device care → Battery → Background usage limits. If you can't find it, try typing sleeping into the search box in Settings.
2. 2. Check Sleeping apps and Deep sleeping apps. Open each list. If Audify Music Player is there, tap More options (the three dots), then Remove, select Audify Music Player and tap Remove. On some phones that option is called Edit apps or Remove apps.
3. 3. Add Audify to Never auto sleeping apps. Open Never auto sleeping apps (on older phones it's called Never sleeping apps), tap Add (the plus sign), select Audify Music Player and tap Add. Samsung says apps on this list never turn off or sleep in the background.

Step 4: Keep Audify open on the Recents screen

1. 1. Open Recents. It's the screen that shows the apps you've used lately, as cards.
2. 2. Tap the Audify icon at the top of its card and choose Keep open. Samsung says this keeps an app always running in the background. To undo it later, tap the icon again and choose Stop keeping open. If your phone doesn't show Keep open, skip this step.
3. 3. Test it. Play a song, open another app, lock the phone and wait a few minutes. If the music is still playing, you're done.

Power saving and other things to check

Power saving limits apps in the background. Samsung warns that while Power saving is on, apps running in the background may not receive updates or send you notifications. If the music stops only while Power saving is on, that's the mode doing its job; you can switch it off in Settings → Battery → Power saving.

You don't need to turn off Put unused apps to sleep. It puts apps you haven't used in a while to sleep, and Samsung says apps on Never auto sleeping apps never sleep in the background. Leaving it on keeps your other apps from draining the battery.

Limit usage puts an app back to sleep. On the battery usage screen, Samsung's Limit usage option puts an app to sleep or into deep sleep. If you ever choose it for Audify, check step 3 again.

Leaving Audify is fine once it's allowed. Audify keeps playing through a background service when you switch apps or lock the screen. If the music stops the moment you do, one of the phone's limits above is closing Audify.

If it pauses only when another app makes a sound, such as a video, a voice message or a game, that's Android's audio focus, not the battery. Turn on Play together with other apps in Audify's Settings; why music pauses when another app plays sound explains it.

If the music still stops, it isn't your settings

If Audify still stops when you switch apps or lock the screen with all of this set, your settings aren't the cause, and we want to hear about it. In Audify, open More → Settings → Send Feedback. It starts an email to feedback@audifyplayer.com with your phone model, Android version and Audify version already filled in, so keep those lines.

Add when the music stops (when you open another app, when the screen turns off, or after a few minutes), whether it began after an update, and which of the settings above you changed. We read every report. We can't promise a fix or a date, but a report with the phone model and versions is what lets the app team reproduce the stop on the same phone.

One case isn't the battery at all. If the music stops at the end of a song even with Audify open on screen, with the next song showing but not playing and the time standing still, the settings on this page won't change it. Send that through Send Feedback too, with a screen recording if you can.

Common questions

Sources

“Setting your apps to sleep will prevent them from running in the background so you can focus on the apps you use most often.”Samsung Support, Sleeping apps on your Galaxy device

• Sleeping apps on your Galaxy device — Samsung Support
• Get the most out of your Galaxy phone or tablet battery — Samsung Support
• Manage Recent apps on your Galaxy phone or tablet — Samsung Support
• Samsung Application Management — Samsung Developer
• Galaxy Battery - Optimization — Samsung

Read next

• Why does my music stop when the screen turns off?
• Why does my music pause when another app makes a sound?
• Audify’s device & system integration