iphone 16 updated to 18.3.1 now pausing music with every notification

When you silence the ringer switch on an iPhone, it mutes incoming call sounds, text tones, and other notification sounds — but visual notifications like banners, badges, and vibrations still happen unless you’ve changed your settings. You’ll still see notification pop-ups on your screen and badge counts on app icons.

If you’re listening to music on Spotify (or any other app) and want to avoid interruptions — like notifications that pause or lower your music volume — using a Focus mode like Do Not Disturb, Personal, or a custom Focus is the better way to go. Focus mode can fully silence all notifications (both sounds and visual alerts) and prevent calls from coming through, unless you’ve set exceptions.

When a notification comes in while music is playing on your iPhone, the music volume may temporarily lower (this is called "ducking") so you can hear the notification sound. But the music usually keeps playing and doesn’t pause. This happens with most audio apps like Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube when you're playing through the phone’s speakers, AirPods, or Bluetooth devices.

That said, some Bluetooth speakers or car audio systems might handle this differently — occasionally pausing the music instead of just lowering the volume. If that’s happening and it’s not what you want, it could be worth checking the speaker’s settings or seeing if Focus mode helps avoid those interruptions entirely.

Bleesmum wrote:

Recently my iphone 16 updated to 18.3.1 since then

It's not always the iOS update's fault!  Many things can cause phone problems.  If you tell people you think it's an iOS update, it might make it harder to fix or find a solution for the real issue.

Remember, the right question often leads to the solution!

Was/Is your device Jailbroken? If that's the situation, please be informed that attributing the issues to iOS updates may not be accurate.

iOS updates aim to enhance user experience, boost security, and fix bugs rather than disrupt core features. The majority of the issues after updates might stem from underlying, unmentioned factors. Updates won't typically alter personal data but may refine settings or features. Backup before major updates for safety. Review Apple's update details and backup advice for a smooth process.

Kindly consider checking your settings and addressing any device issues before attributing the issue to external factors. This could be a pure coincidence that the iOS update affected the iPhone functions.

Before initiating a standard iOS update, it's advisable to create a backup. Have you completed this step? If yes, proceed with the restoration from the backup.

See what each update does: About iOS 18 Updates, About iOS 17 Updates, About iOS 16 Updates, About iOS 15 Updates, About iOS 14 Updates, About iOS 13 Updates, About iOS 12 Updates, and so on...