YouTube Premium Background Play Not Working When Phone Is Locked? Try 8 Quick Fixes

YouTube background play doesn’t seem to be working for users with an active Premium subscription. Recent reports and search trends suggest that user have been complaining of videos stopping a few seconds after the screen is locked, while others say the audio quits as soon as they leave the YouTube app. In most cases, restarting the phone, force-stopping YouTube, or clearing its cache brought the feature back.

Here’s how to fix YouTube background play not working with Premium when your phone is locked

The first thing to check is whether the problem is actually tied to your Premium account. YouTube says background play requires Premium in the mobile app, and some videos may not support background playback at all.

If you have an active YouTube Premium subscription but YouTube stops playing as soon as you lock your phone, don’t worry. There are a few simple workarounds that can bring background playback back. Here’s what you should be doing first.

1. Turn on Background Play

YouTube has a dedicated setting for background playback, and it may sometimes be changed without you noticing.

1. Open the YouTube app on your phone.
2. Tap your profile picture in the bottom-right corner.
3. Tap the Settings icon.
4. Select Background & downloads.
5. Tap Background play.
6. Select Always on.
7. Start playing a video and lock your phone to check whether the audio continues.

If it was set to Off or Headphones or external speakers, changing it to Always on should allow YouTube to continue playing after you leave the app.

2. Check Your YouTube Premium Subscription

Background play is a YouTube Premium feature on mobile, so make sure your subscription is active and that you’re using the correct Google account.

1. Open YouTube.
2. Tap your profile picture.
3. Tap Paid memberships.
4. Check whether YouTube Premium is listed as active.
5. If you have multiple Google accounts, check that you’re signed into the account with the Premium subscription.
6. Close YouTube and open it again after switching accounts if needed.

3. Restart YouTube and Your Phone

A temporary YouTube glitch can stop background playback even when everything is set up correctly.

1. Close YouTube completely from your recent apps screen.
2. Open YouTube again.
3. Play any video.
4. Lock your phone and check if playback continues.
5. If it still stops, restart your phone.
6. Open YouTube after the restart and test background play again.

4. Clear the YouTube Cache on Android

A corrupted temporary file can sometimes cause YouTube features to behave strangely.

1. Open Settings on your Android phone.
2. Go to Apps or Apps & notifications.
3. Find and select YouTube.
4. Tap Storage or Storage & cache.
5. Tap Clear cache.
6. Open YouTube again and test background playback.

Don’t tap Clear storage unless you’re prepared to sign into YouTube again and reset the app’s local data.

5. Update the YouTube App

An outdated version of YouTube may also be responsible, particularly if background playback stopped after a recent phone or app update.

1. Open the Google Play Store on Android or the App Store on iPhone.
2. Search for YouTube.
3. If you see an Update button, tap it.
4. Wait for the update to finish.
5. Open YouTube and test background playback again.

6. Stop Your Phone From Restricting YouTube

Battery-saving features can sometimes prevent YouTube from continuing to work in the background.

1. Open your phone’s Settings.
2. Go to Apps and select YouTube.
3. Look for Battery, Battery usage, or a similar option.
4. Make sure YouTube isn’t set to a restricted background mode.
5. If your phone has an aggressive battery-saving mode enabled, temporarily turn it off.
6. Open YouTube again and check whether playback continues after locking the screen.

The exact menu names can vary depending on your Android phone.

7. Check Other Apps Playing Audio

Another app may be taking control of your phone’s audio, which can interrupt YouTube playback.

1. Close music, podcast, video, and other media apps.
2. Disconnect Bluetooth headphones or speakers temporarily.
3. Open YouTube and play a video.
4. Lock your phone.
5. If playback works normally, reconnect your Bluetooth device and test again.
6. If another app starts playing audio and YouTube stops, close that app before using YouTube in the background.

8. Sign Out and Sign Back Into YouTube

If your Premium subscription is active but background play still doesn’t work, refreshing your account session may help.

1. Open YouTube.
2. Tap your profile picture.
3. Switch to another Google account if one is available.
4. Switch back to the account with YouTube Premium.
5. Close YouTube completely.
6. Open it again and test background playback.

If that doesn’t work, reinstalling YouTube can be worth trying. On Android, you can also clear the app’s storage from Settings > Apps > YouTube > Storage, but this will reset the app and may require you to sign in again.

This isn’t the only YouTube issue we’ve covered. If you’re still having trouble with playback, check our guides on how to fix the An error occurred playback ID message, the if playback doesn’t begin shortly error, and cases where YouTube pauses randomly or by itself.

Why YouTube background play might be broken

The problem isn’t always your phone. YouTube itself acknowledges that background play can fail because of app issues, account or Premium problems, outdated software, background-data restrictions, or individual videos that don’t support the feature.

That being said, the recent reports are interesting because some users have experienced the same problem across multiple devices at once. That makes a temporary YouTube app bug a real possibility, especially when the feature worked normally before an update.

If background play suddenly stopped working despite an active Premium membership, don’t immediately assume your phone is the problem. Try another video first, then test YouTube after a restart. If it still fails, YouTube recommends sending feedback from Profile > Feedback, including system logs where possible.

That’s all we have for you in this quick guide to fix YouTube background play not working. If any of the fixes worked for you, please let us know thanks.