The Apple Music lock screen player is useful for controlling playback. If the widget just won’t go away though, there are a few fixes users can try.
Although the Apple Music lock screen widget is quite useful, it occasionally gets stuck, and there seems to be no way to remove it. Every once in a while, an iOS error or bug turns up and affects users worldwide. Back in May, a similar Apple Music bug forced the app icon to appear at the fourth spot on the iPhone home screen. Apparently, Apple Music was replacing other third-party app icons.
Another recent bug with Apple’s music streaming service caused song lyrics to disappear. Users also reported that they were unable to stream music with lossless audio or Dolby Atmos. Others complained about being unable to play music, even if it was downloaded for offline use. As with all iOS bugs, Apple is usually quick to roll out a fix. The Apple Music lock screen bug, however, seems to be a recurring issue that surfaces from time to time.
If the Apple Music player can’t be removed from an iPhone’s lock screen, users should check if music is still playing via another connected device such as their AirPods. If that is the case, pausing the music should make the Apple Music widget disappear in a few moments. However, if the widget is stuck on the lock screen without any playback, force quitting the Apple Music app from the recent apps section can provide an easy fix. To do this on the iPhone X and later, swipe up from the bottom of the display and pause for a second. Swipe left or right to view recent apps, and swipe up on Apple Music to close it. On iPhones with a home button, the recent apps section opens by tapping the home button twice.
Getting Rid Of The Apple Music Lock Screen Widget
A thread on Apple’s Developer Forums says that the solution to this problem is disabling Today View. Doing this will disable the lock screen widgets from iPhone, removing Apple Music from the lock screen. To do this, head over to Settings and scroll down to open ‘Touch ID & Passcode.’ Locate ‘Today View and Search‘ and tap on the toggle to turn it off. Another method that could fix the Apple Music lock screen error is turning off notifications for the app. To do this, head to Settings, tap ‘Notifications,’ scroll down to locate Apple Music, and disable the ‘Allow Notifications‘ toggle for the app.
Users can also try uninstalling and reinstalling the Apple Music app. Sometimes, there is a runtime glitch in an app, and re-installing the app can fix the problem. If none of the fixes work, it’s time to restart the iPhone. More often than not, restarting an iPhone can fix most of the temporary issues or bugs. Whether the Apple Music app is playing a song or not, rebooting the device should remove the widget from the home screen. Users can also try a hard reset if a simple restart doesn’t work. If all else fails though, it’s likely an Apple Music bug that Apple will eventually roll out a fix for.
Source: Apple, Apple Developer Forums
