In this post, we’ll share a few options to fix a stuck music player widget on your iPhone or iPad so you can regain control of your Lock Screen. We’ll go from the easiest possible fix to the most inconvenient ones.
When you start playing music on your iPhone or iPad, iOS automatically displays a widget on the Lock Screen to give you basic music controls. Typically, this widget disappears on its own a few minutes after you stop playing music, but there are instances where it gets stuck and won’t go away.
The first thing to note is that you have no control over this widget. Like it or not, once you start playing music—whether on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Prime Music, or another service—you’ll see a music widget on your Lock Screen. There’s nothing you can do to stop that. However, if the widget gets stuck, there are a few things you can try, which we’ll cover below.
Note: If a small third-party music app widget appears under the clock on your Lock Screen, follow these steps to remove it from your iPhone or iPad.
Make sure you have stopped the playback
I know, I know — but we sometimes overlook the most obvious solutions. If your music controls won’t go away from the Lock Screen, double-check that you’ve actually stopped the music. In most cases, the widget disappears a few minutes after playback ends.
Force-quit the music app you’re using
One of the likely culprits in such a situation is the music application you recently used. Whatever it might be (Pandora, Spotify, Apple Music, etc.), force-quit that app.
After force-quitting the app you believe is the culprit, check your Lock Screen. If the music widget is gone—great. If not, keep reading for more possible solutions.
Reboot your device
When in doubt, just restart. While it may sound like the default answer to most problems, the truth is that it often does fix many issues or temporary hiccups you might encounter on a computer.
Shut down your iPhone or iPad, then turn it back on. Hopefully, the music widget is unstuck. If not, let’s troubleshoot further.
Turn off Siri suggestions
I’ve noticed that the Music widget often appears on my Lock Screen when I connect AirPods or other headphones to my iPhone or iPad.
Turning off “Show Listening Suggestions” in iPhone Apple Intelligence & Siri Settings can stop this. From the same screen, tap Apps > Music, then turn off the toggles there.
Update or delete the app you think is the culprit
The next step is to update the third-party app in question. If the issue involves Apple Music, try updating your iPhone or iPad instead.
If updating doesn’t help, simply delete the app that you believe is causing the music controls widget to stay stuck on your Lock Screen. Don’t worry about deleting the app—even if it’s Apple’s own Music app—since you can always download it again for free from the App Store.
After deleting the app, reboot your device for good measure. Once your iPhone restarts, the music widget will hopefully be gone.
It could be a Bluetooth issue
When I recently encountered the mysterious case of the stuck music widget, it turned out my car’s Bluetooth stereo was to blame. For some reason, every time I got out of the car, the music widget would remain stuck on the Lock Screen.
What I did was completely unpair both devices and remove them from each other’s settings.
On your iPhone, go to Settings > Bluetooth, and tap the info icon ⓘ next to your car stereo. Then select Forget This Device. On your car stereo, go into the settings and find the option to delete or unpair your iPhone. Then, reboot the device.
As a precaution, I’d almost recommend doing this for all Bluetooth accessories paired to your iPhone. However, try it first with your car stereo and see if that fixes the issue. If not, move on to unpairing other Bluetooth devices.
Reboot your device, then pair your accessories again one by one.
If everything else fails…
If you’ve tried all the potential solutions on this list and still see the music widget on your Lock Screen, first make sure your iPhone or iPad is updated to the latest version of iOS. If that doesn’t fix the problem, you may have to erase and restore your iPhone or iPad. Alternatively, you can wait for a future iOS update to address the problem.
I’m confident that at least one of the solutions here will resolve the problem. If you’ve found other fixes not mentioned in this article, feel free to share them with others in the comments section below.
Also, check out: 10 useful tips and tricks for all Apple Music users