Apple Music stops playing at 15 seconds

Theres nothing more exciting than being able to pop your headphones and relax. Whether youre going for a drive or a cleaning session, having the right music to get you motivated is important. However, when youre experiencing issues with your music dropping in and out this can get annoying. Weve broken down some of the most frequently searched issues in order for you to get your Apple Music back up and running again.

Apple Music wont play past 15 seconds

Apple Music stops playing at 15 seconds
Apple Music stops playing at 15 seconds

Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

Users have reported a bug within Apple Music which means music wont play past 15 seconds. Although this doesnt appear to be consistent each time a song is listened to, it is frustrating for users to try to understand what is wrong. However, we have a troubleshooting guide to make your life easier when it comes to Apple music wont play past 15 seconds.

What does Error code 16833 mean?

If you are using Apple Music and are getting your music cut off after 15 seconds, you will probably see the 16833 error code. This error relates to the 15-second cut-off error code. If you find you are seeing this code on your device, keep reading to find out how to fix this bug.

Fixing error code 16833

Apple Music stops playing at 15 seconds
Apple Music stops playing at 15 seconds

Photo by Igor Miske on Unsplash

If youre unsure how to get your Apple Music to stop cutting out, we have the answers to get your Apple Music running as it should be.

Fix 1: Reboot iCloud

  • Sign out of iCloud on your device
  • Close down Apple Music
  • Restart your device
  • Open iCloud, then Apple Music
  • Then sign back in and test

Fix 2: Delete Apple Music Data

This is a fix that some Reddit users have found useful, however, does come with the pain of having to resync up your music. If youre unsure on how to delete your downloaded music on Apple Music, heres how:

  1. Head to Settings on your iPhone/iPad
  2. Find Music with the colored note then open it
  3. Once youre in, scroll down to Downloaded Music
  4. Tap this option where it will bring you to a list of your downloaded music
  5. Click edit in the upper right-hand corner
  6. Use the red minus next to the artist to remove them
  7. However, for this method, its recommended to remove all songs
  8. Choose the red minus to delete all songs

Feel free to attempt to listen to your music after completing the above steps. However, if you are still encountering errors, you will need to do the below steps regarding Dolby Atmos & Lossless Audio alongside this.

Fix 3: Dolby Atmos & Lossless Audio

Once you have deleted all of your music and if you find yourself unable to play music, here are the next stages to follow:

  1. Head back to the previous menu where you found downloaded music
  2. Next, scroll down to Sync and toggle off
  3. Turn off Dolby Atmos and Lossless Audio
  4. Make sure Download in Dolby Atmos is off
  5. Following on from this turn your Sync library back on and redownload your songs

Check if your device is running the latest iOS

As with any fix, its important to make sure your device is running the latest software, therefore to make sure your phone is up to date, and please check that you are running the latest iOS if youre using Apple Music on an Apple device.

If you are using it on another device, similarly make sure that the device software is up to date.

Is the app up to date?

Another thing to consider is the Apple Music app, if this is not up to date you may encounter some issues which have since been fixed in a newer version. When software has bugs it is usually fixed and rolled out in another update, therefore your app must be the latest one.

Are you getting the iTunes error 4000? Heres how to fix the updating problem!

Apple music stops playing when the phone locks

Apple Music stops playing at 15 seconds
Apple Music stops playing at 15 seconds

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

If youve noticed a recent change with your Apple Music, you may have noticed that the music you are playing goes off when your phone locks. For many of us, this is an inconvenience as we use our phone music for car journeys and traveling; Apple Music turning itself off during these times is not helpful.

First things first, if you notice your music stops regularly when your phone is locked, here are some troubleshooting techniques to try:

  • Users of Apple advise that turning off auto-lock does fix this issue. The users who are experiencing the issue are those with auto-lock on their phones.
  • Turn off your phone and then switch it back on
  • The issue has also been noted to start once a user updates to iOS 15, therefore if youve done this yet it may be worth holding off for a while.

According to users on the Apple Support thread, this issue is being looked into as a high priority.

Songs wont play offline Apple

If youre having issues with Apple not playing songs offline, here are some fixes to try to get your music playing offline

1: Lack of space to download your music

When trying to download your songs in the first place, you may notice you have run out of space for downloadable content. If this is the case you will be unable to download any new content until you delete some of the existing saved songs on your device.

2: Toggle the iCloud Music Library Option

Although this may not seem related to your issue, several iPhone Apple users have found this helpful. If youre unsure how to do this, heres how:

  1. Open your phone settings and tap music
  2. Followed by turning the toggle off for iCloud Music library (this will no longer be green)
  3. Next head on to the main screen of the settings app, then general followed by a reset
  4. Choose reset all settings, once this has been completed, head back to step one
  5. However, this time, toggle on the iCloud music library setting
  6. Once youve done this, open Apple Music and download the tracks you want to play offline again.

3: Make sure youre running the latest iOS

Your phone will prompt you to update your device to run the latest version of iOS, however, whichever Apple device you are using, head to your settings and make sure an update isnt required.

Conclusion

Although this error is frustrating, with some troubleshooting you can resolve this issue yourself. Whether youre looking for a fix forApple Music wont play past 15 seconds or your songs not playing offline, we have troubleshooting methods for you right here.

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