Stop automatically playing spotify on newly connected headphones

Macbook Pro macos 15.6

iphone 15 Pro Max iOS 18.6


When I connect headphones to my iPhone the music playing on my laptop starts playing on my newly connected headphones. This happens with both spotify and apple music.


How do I turn off switching playing music to newly connected headphones?






Posted on Aug 14, 2025 07:19 AM

Reply
2 replies

Aug 15, 2025 12:53 AM in response to Noah Wallach

If music is playing in Spotify or Apple Music and is paused for any reason—whether by user action or due to another app taking audio focus—connecting to a Bluetooth device will often cause the music to resume automatically. This happens because the music app remains active in the background and interprets the Bluetooth connection as a “play” command.


To prevent this, you can force close the music app after pausing playback. Additionally, you may try disabling Live Activities by going to Settings > Face ID & Passcode > Live Activities.


Note: Live Activities are designed to keep certain app information updated in real time on the Lock Screen or Dynamic Island. In some cases, this constant background activity can send signals that inadvertently trigger audio playback when a new device connects. Disabling Live Activities for music apps can reduce the chances of playback starting on its own.



How to stop AirPods switching to Other Devices Automatically

  1. Make sure your AirPods or ‌AirPods Pro‌ are connected to your ‌iPhone‌.
  2. Launch the Settings app.
  3. Tap Bluetooth.
  4. Tap the encircled info (i) button next to your AirPods in the list.
  5. Tap Connect to This iPhone.
  6. Select When Last Connected to This iPhone.


See the Pic below.


Aug 15, 2025 01:12 AM in response to SravanKrA

This is not quite the answer I am looking for. And there is a lot of information that you posted that is irrelevant to the situation at hand and is confusing the answer and not helpful.


I have two devices: a macbook pro and an iphone


I am playing music on my macbook pro and then connect my bluetooth headphones to my iphone then music currently played on my macbook will then be heard on my newly connected bluetooth headphones to my iphone. My macbook stops playing the music. The suggestions above does not answer how to control the switching of the audio from my macbook pro to my iphone when connecting my bluetooth headphones to my iphone. I want to connect my headphones to my phone and have them automatically paired. I just dont want this behavior to affect apple music and spotify and have the music continue to play on my macbook pro uninterrupted. At this point from discussions with other folks the best solution is an Apple feature request.




Stop automatically playing spotify on newly connected headphones

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