How to Listen to YouTube Music with Screen off on Android/iOS

Written By Robert Fabry Last updated: September 5, 2025

YouTube Music is Google's primary brand for music streaming, with a vast library of over 100 million tracks. Besides official songs and albums, you’ll find covers, mash-ups, live performances, music videos and remixes. So, many users like to listen to YouTube Music while they commute, work out, or simply carry on with their daily routine. But it can be very annoying if YouTube Music stops playing when the screen turns off.

How to listen to YouTube Music with screen off? If this has happened to you, there’s no need to fret. We’ve put together a quick guide to help you get YouTube Music working in the background again even without Premium. Let’s begin.

Contents Guide Part 1. Play YouTube Music with Screen Off Using Premium AccountPart 2. Play YouTube Music with Screen Off Using Web BrowserPart 3. Play YouTube Music with Screen Off Using Third-Party AppsPart 4. Listen to YouTube Music with Screen Off (Free & Premium Users)Part 5. Wrap up

Part 1. Play YouTube Music with Screen Off Using Premium Account

Can I play YouTube Music in the background? Of course, with a YouTube Music Premium membership, you can play music and podcasts uninterrupted while using other apps or when your screen is off. So the first method to keep music playing when the screen is off is upgrading to YouTube Music Premium. Here's what you can experience with YouTube Music Premium subscription:

  • Access to all music-related content
  • Ad-free and uninterrupted playback
  • Unlimited skips
  • Background play
  • Download songs and music videos
  • Audio-only mode
  • High-quality streaming (256kbps max)

YouTube Music offers users four flexible plans designed to accommodate all types of budgets and lifestyles, including Individual plan ($10.99 per month), Family ($16.99 per month), and Student ($5.99 per month). YouTube Music also offers a 1-month free trial to new users to try its premium functions. How to listen to YouTube Music with screen off if you have already upgraded to YouTube Music Premium? Follow the steps below:

Step 1. Open the YouTube Music app on your iPhone and Android. Sign in to your YouTube Music Premium account.

Step 2. Search for your preferred music, artist, or playlist within the YouTube Music app. Alternatively, go to "Library" and navigate to the song, playlist, or album. Once you've found your music, tap the play button to start playback.

Step 3. You can now turn off your device's screen, and the music will continue playing in the background without interruption. To pause, skip tracks, or adjust the volume, you can use the lock screen controls or the notification panel on your phone.

Above is how to listen to YouTube Music with screen off in an official way. By paying the monthly fee, you will play YouTube Music in the background and maximize YouTube Music. A Premium subscription might not be a bad deal, depending on how you use YouTube Music. On the other hand, YouTube Music lags behind other streaming services in audio quality, so it may be not worth the price.

Part 2. Play YouTube Music with Screen Off Using Web Browser

Can I play YouTube Music in the background without Premium? When you have no idea about listening to YouTube Music with screen off for free, the web browser is your rescue for the day. You can overcome the official YouTube Music app's prohibition on unpaid background playback by playing music in your browser like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. How to listen to YouTube Music with screen off without Premium? Here are quick steps you could follow:

Step 1. Open your browser like Chrome or Firefox on your Android or iOS. Then go to music.youtube.com.

Step 2. Tap the three-dot icon in the upper-right corner, and select Desktop site to open the website in the desktop view. The desktop version of the app will open.

Desktop Site Play YouTube Music

Step 3. While the music is playing, lock the phone or return to your homescreen.

  • On Android, swipe down from the top of the screen to open the Quick Settings menu. You'll see a widget with playback controls for your browser. Push the play button to continue listening to your audio.
  • On iOS, the Control Center has a playback widget. These widgets are also available from the lock screen.

Although this seems like a very good way to get YouTube Music to play when the screen is turned off, it’s important to note that it won’t work all the time. You need to constantly test which browser can perform these steps on your phone. What's more, Firefox doesn’t allow you deeper controls such as pause or play, but Chrome lets you do all this. If playing YouTube Music in the background of a browser doesn't appeal to you, there are a few more methods to go about it.

Part 3. Play YouTube Music with Screen Off Using Third-Party Apps

Another way in which you can listen to YouTube Music with your screen off is to install third-party apps to play songs in the background. For instance, NewPipe is an open-source app, that has been created to get the original YouTube experience on your smartphone without annoying ads and questionable permissions.

However, this app is not available in the Google Play Store or App Store. You need to go to the download page of NewPipe to download the APK file on your device. Then, you can use the APK to install NewPipe on your phone. Do note that your browser might block you from installing Newpipe since it wasn't downloaded via the Play Store and most probably, you will get a message that reads: "For your security, your phone is not allowed to install unknown apps from this source." If you see this message, go to the "Settings" option just beneath this message toggle the "Allow from this source" option to on, and continue with the installation.

How to listen to YouTube Music with screen off with NewPipe? After installing NewPipe, you can open it and then search for the song you want to listen to. Then, play the song you want to listen to. Next, you can tap the Background button under the player. Then, you can listen to YouTube with the screen off. Besides, you can control playback with the screen locked.

Part 4. Listen to YouTube Music with Screen Off (Free & Premium Users)

The above solutions are convenient, but you'll need to connect to a stable internet while listening. For free users seeking an effective workaround to enable background playback of YouTube Music without interruptions, we introduce a powerful tool known as AMusicSoft YouTube Music Converter, With AMusicSoft, you can enable the background play feature without relying on an active internet connection or a paid subscription.

AMusicSoft YouTube Music Converter for Windows and Mac is designed to aid its users in converting YouTube Music tracks to MP3, FLAC, AAC, M4A, M4B, WAV, and other common audio formats. It does so without affecting the file quality. It is the ultimate solution to listening to YouTube Music tracks offline on any device you like without any disruption, or YouTube Music stopping to play altogether.

Typically, it is only possible to download YouTube Music playlists and songs to play offline for Premium users. AMusicSoft YouTube Music Downloader addresses this problem by making it super easy to download music offline. In this case, you won't meet the issue that YouTube Music can't play in the background anymore. Also, you don't need to worry about the music data, as AMusicSoft will preserve original sound quality and ID3 tags for your converted titles.

How to listen to YouTube Music with screen off via AMusicSoft YouTube Music Converter? In this part, we will show you the steps to download YouTube Music tracks offline for playing in the background.

Step 1. Go immediately to any browser available and launch it to search for the website of AMusicSoft. From here, click the Download button next to the YouTube Music Converter and then proceed with installation right after the download is finished.

Free Download Free Download

Step 2. When you open AMusicSoft YouTube Music Converter, you'll find that it's built with the YouTube Music web player. Just log into your YouTube Music account. Search for and choose your preferred songs or podcasts.

Convert YouTube Music To MP3

Step 3. You can find the AMusicSoft setting window, where you're able to choose the output format, bit rate, sample rate, output path, etc. Customize the ones you like and close the window to apply changes.

Convert YouTube Music

Step 4. When you click the "Convert" button, the download process starts. AMusicSoft YouTube Music Converter lets you convert tracks at 5 times faster speed on your Windows or Mac computer.

Download YouTube Music To MP3

Most smartphones come with a built-in music app that allows you to store downloaded music. Link your Android or iOS device to your computer using a USB cable. Move all the converted YouTube Music tracks from your computer to your phone. Now, you can enjoy an efficient listening experience through your phone's music app, including background playback without interruptions.

Part 5. Wrap up

Now, you should know how to listen to YouTube Music with screen off on your Android phone or iPhone. You can just select a suitable method to use according to your requirements. If these methods can't keep music playing well when the screen is off, you can also give AMusicSoft YouTube Music Converter a try. It gets you covered by letting you download YouTube Music tracks offline and converting them to MP3 and other audio formats. Now, you can enjoy the music trip with YouTube Music without any hassle.

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