Why does music stop when my Android screen locks?

Android's built-in Doze mode and proprietary OEM battery savers (like Samsung One UI and Xiaomi HyperOS) freeze background network and CPU tasks to preserve battery life. Unless an app runs a proper foreground audio service, Android terminates the playback thread within 1 to 3 minutes of screen timeout.

How do I keep YouTube Music playing in the background without Premium?

Official YouTube and YouTube Music apps enforce a server-side lock on background playback unless you subscribe to Premium. To play background audio for free with your screen off, you can use specialized lightweight clients like SoundPlus, which run native media sessions without video stream bloat.

Does disabling battery optimization drain excessive battery?

For lightweight audio clients like SoundPlus (18.5 MB), disabling battery optimization consumes negligible battery because audio decoding uses hardware DSP and requires zero screen backlight power.

Why Music Stops When Your Screen Turns Off on Android (and How to Fix It)

Step-by-Step Fixes by Phone Brand

1. Samsung Galaxy Devices (One UI 5, 6 & 7)

Open Settings and navigate to Battery and device care > Battery.
Tap Background usage limits.
Tap Never sleeping apps, tap the + icon in the top right, and select your music player.
Long-press your music player icon on your home screen > tap the (i) info icon > Battery > set to Unrestricted.

2. Xiaomi, Redmi & POCO (MIUI & HyperOS)

Long-press the music app icon and tap App Info.
Toggle ON Autostart (essential on Xiaomi hardware).
Scroll down to Battery saver and change from "MIUI Battery saver" to No restrictions.
Open your Recent Apps screen, long press the app card, and tap the Lock icon to pin it in RAM.

3. OnePlus, Realme & Oppo (OxygenOS & ColorOS)

Go to Settings > Battery > More settings.
Select Optimize battery use, find your music player, and choose Don't optimize.
Under App Battery Management, ensure both Allow background activity and Allow auto-launch are enabled.

Why YouTube Music Still Pauses (Even With Battery Optimizations Disabled)

If you are using official YouTube or YouTube Music and the music still cuts off immediately when the screen goes dark, battery optimization is not the culprit.

Google intentionally locks background streaming behind their $13.99/month YouTube Premium subscription. Their mobile client actively monitors Android display wake locks; when the display compositor powers off, their playback engine pauses the audio stream.

The Permanent Zero-Tinkering Solution: SoundPlus

If you do not want to constantly change manufacturer system settings or pay monthly subscriptions just to keep music playing in your pocket, SoundPlus was engineered specifically to solve this problem.

Unlike conventional media wrappers, SoundPlus registers a native Android MediaSession foreground service and custom compositor overrides. The Android operating system recognizes it as an essential audio pipeline, guaranteeing that playback continues smoothly through phone locks, screen timeouts, and deep multitasking.

Play Music with Screen Off for Free

Download SoundPlus (18.5 MB). Native screen-off background play, built-in 5-band DSP equalizer, zero mid-song audio ads, and zero account required.

Download SoundPlus APK (18.5 MB) Launch Web Player

Frequently Asked Questions

Android introduces power-saving states called Doze mode. When the screen turns off and the accelerometer detects no movement, the CPU suspends background network requests and terminates non-foreground threads to conserve battery.

Yes. You can use SoundPlus. It streams the pure audio layer directly through Android foreground services, enabling continuous playback with your display locked without requiring any paid subscription.

Audio decoding with the screen off uses less than 2% of battery per hour because the display backlight (which consumes 70-80% of total phone energy) remains completely powered off.

Why Music Stops When Your Screen Turns Off (and How to Fix It)