- If music playback stops immediately after the computer screen turns off, the music app may be causing this issue. Try using an alternative app.
- If music playback stops a while after the computer screen turns off, your computer may have entered Sleep mode. To save power in Sleep mode, the system stops certain apps from running such as pausing music playback on the app. You can set how long you want your device to wait before going to sleep when you're not using it.
- Click the Windows icon and then the Settings icon, and select System.
- Click Power & sleep, then adjust sleep settings.
- Click the Windows icon and then the Settings icon, and select System.
Summary: This page shares all possible solutions to fix iTunes keeps freezing on Windows 10/11 Problem. "When I open iTunes on Windows 10, it freezes and won't let me make any selections. So, I have to close it through task manager."
"When I plug in my iPhone, iTunes freezes immediately. What's wrong? By the way, I use Windows 10."
"Whenever I try to sync with iPhone, iTunes freezes. Has anyone had this problem?" Many users reported online that iTunes could freeze on their Windows 10 computer when they start up iTunes, connect iPhone or other iOS device, sync files, restore iPhone from iTunes backup, play back media, etc. Really annoying, right? So, how to fix this iTunes problem on Windows 10? Keep reading and get answers. By the way, if you are plagued by other iTunes problems, click here to see all the possible iTunes errors and fixes here>> Firstly, close your frozen iTunes. If it doesn't respond after you click the close icon, shut down it via task manager. If the whole PC freezes, force close it. Then, reboot computer, right-click on iTunes icon, and select "Run as administrator". In this way, you can isolate iTunes from any interference caused by third-party plug-ins. To start iTunes in safe mode, hold down the Shift and Ctrl keys on your keyboard when opening iTunes. Then, you should see a message "iTunes is running in Safe Mode. Visual plug-ins you have installed have been temporarily disabled." If iTunes no longer freezes on Windows 10 after running in safe mode, the culprit should be third-party plug-ins and you'd better remove them. Close iTunes, and then open Task Manager. Navigate to Processes tab, locate APSDaemon.exe and close it. Then go back to iTunes and see if the issue gets fixed. If this solution works, take the following actions to avoid doing the same thing every time your restart your Windows 10 computer: go to Run > enter msconfig > click Startup tab > uncheck "Apple Push" > hit on OK > reboot computer. If there's no APSDaemon.exe file, remove SC files, and then restart computer and iTunes to have a try. To repair QuickTime, go to Control Panel, then Programs and Features, click QuickTime, and tap on Repair. Move one of iTunes preference folders to the desktop and see if iTunes not responding on Windows 10 error persists. If it does, move it back and try another folder. Below are the locations for those folders: C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Apple Computer\iTunes Older iTunes version can cause the iTunes freezing error on Windows 10 or Windows 11. It is better to update to the latest version. Just launch iTunes > click Help menu and Check for Updates. If it shows a new version, click install and download it. Then reboot your PC to finish installation. Auto-sync option is enabled by default, which consumes the system resources heavily and thus causing iTunes to freeze on Windows 10/11. You can disable the auto-sync to check if the iTunes freezing error is fixed. To do this, please choose Preference > select the Devices tab and check the box “Prevent iPods, iPhones, and iPads from syncing automatically. Then you can check if the iTunes freezing error is removed when iPod or iPhone is connected to Windows 10. Third-party plugins are notorious for most program freezing, let alone iTunes. If you have installed some iTunes plug-ins, chances are you may facing “iTunes freezes when iPhone is connected to Windows”. Removing these plugins can help fix the error. Background apps can use computer RAM and lead to slow program running or even freezing. If your RAM space is not enough, iTunes may freeze and even not respond any more. You can open Task Manager by pressing Ctril+Shift+Esc keys, and turn off the apps that take up too much memory. In addition, corrupted USB cable or port is also known for iTunes error reading iPod or iPhone. You can try another cable or port to check if the iTunes responds again. Also read: 5 Most Common iTunes Errors on Windows 10 >> If you still keep iTunes and endure iTunes freezing on your Windows 10 computer from time to time or other iTunes errors because you need it to manage your files of iPhone iPad iPod, now it's time to discard it. You can manage, backup and transfer iOS files in a much simpler way. That is WinX MediaTrans. WinX MediaTrans is an iPhone file manager, specially designed as an iTunes alternative for Windows [10/11]. It is available to transfer photos, music, videos, audio books, podcasts and more between iPhone/iPad/iPod and PC. Other fantastic features include: create music playlists, make iPhone ringtones, remove DRM from iTunes purchases, turn iPhone as a flash drive, etc. Compared with iTunes, it has many advantages, for example: So, why not free download this iTunes alternative to have a try, and stay away from freeze problem on Windows 10 forever! It's safe to use! Free Download For Win 11 or earlier Free Download for macOS 12 or earlierFix 2. Run iTunes in safe mode
Fix 3. End APSDaemon.exe
Fix 4. Remove SC files
Fix 5. Repair or reinstall QuickTime
Fix 6. Move iTunes preference folder
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\iTunesFix 7. Update itunes to the latest version
Fix 8. Disable auto-sync
Fix 9. Remove iTunes plugins
Fix 10. Close apps running in background.
Jun 12, 2009 3,416 482 San Clemente, CA USA
I have a really annoying issue when using my HomePod as a speaker from iTunes. It will just stop playing sound at random. When you into the place where you select the speakers to playback on, the HomePod will have a line through the checkbox. If I deselect it and click it again it will start playing sound again. If I stop the track and play again, it will start playing again. Sometimes it will stop and then start up again at random. Has anyone else experienced this? Again, I'm talking about using the HomePod as a second speaker from iTunes. I like to play music from iTunes through my PC sound system as well as the HomePod. Thanks,
Mark
try rebooting your router, and any other network gear
the broadcast messages that airplay uses tend to confuse them sometimes.
Jun 12, 2009 3,416 482 San Clemente, CA USA
try rebooting your router, and any other network gear
the broadcast messages that airplay uses tend to confuse them sometimes.
I have the exact same problem! Playing audio through iTunes for Windows, on both the PC and Homepod: after a few seconds / minutes, the Homepod will stop playing, with the strange [-] checkbox sign besides; rechecking the checkbox resumes playback, until the next occurrence...
Were you able to find out what the issue might be?
I have a really annoying issue when using my HomePod as a speaker from iTunes. It will just stop playing sound at random. When you into the place where you select the speakers to playback on, the HomePod will have a line through the checkbox. If I deselect it and click it again it will start playing sound again. If I stop the track and play again, it will start playing again. Sometimes it will stop and then start up again at random. Has anyone else experienced this? Again, I'm talking about using the HomePod as a second speaker from iTunes. I like to play music from iTunes through my PC sound system as well as the HomePod. Thanks,
Mark
I had the same problem and then bit the bullet and joined Apple Music, not a single issue since then. Any reason you are resisting?
Oct 18, 2011
1,057
161
Iowa
I have the exact same problem! Playing audio through iTunes for Windows, on both the PC and Homepod: after a few seconds / minutes, the Homepod will stop playing, with the strange [-] checkbox sign besides; rechecking the checkbox resumes playback, until the next occurrence...
Were you able to find out what the issue might be?
Jun 12, 2009 3,416 482 San Clemente, CA USA
I had the same problem and then bit the bullet and joined Apple Music, not a single issue since then. Any reason you are resisting?
Well I have Apple Music I just like controlling my music from my computer because I’m a developer and I sit at my computer all day long. Of course I could just ask my homepod to play whatever, but don’t have a whole lot of control that way. I like to be able to browse and discover new music etc.… Even if it is on windows.
I use Apple TV as my hub, never a hiccup or a disconnect, it's got a 5.1 system wired to it and then AirPlay's over to 3 HomePod's in different rooms of the house. The only thing I use iTunes for Windows for is to a] upload my 1000's of rarities/boots/imports to Apple Music's cloud and b] stream my iPhone Home Movies to Apple TV. Other than that, I don't use it at all.
Is your computer connected to your network via ethernet or wifi? If you're on ethernet, then make sure that your wifi router is in bridge mode rather than creating a subnet. Bonjour doesn't work well over subnets and so iTunes can lose the connection to the speaker. If that's your problem, then you'll definitely see better reliability, though iTunes and HomePods seem to have a tenuous relationship in general, so it can still be frustrating to keep the HomePod playing, or tell it to stop playing, or keep it in sync, or... My experience is that HomePods do seem to work better playing from iOS devices. But at the end of the day, you're playing to a buggy speaker from a buggy app over a buggy protocol.
I have had this same issue. 28 seconds into a track the sound stops followed by the "-" symbol next to the speaker in the list of connected devices. The sound comes back about 8 seconds from the end of the track and goes into the next song just to repeat the same. This does not happen 100% of the time but it is very common and the timing is always the same. You'll see in the attached picture all other Airplay devices are humming along. Only the office speaker has the "-" which is my Homepod. Much like phpmaven described, if I click on the minus the sound comes back only to go back out 28 seconds into another song. I have no bandwidth issues [Link rate is 866 Mbps to the Homepod]. I've reset the homepod multiple times, restarted router, computer, etc. I've even flashed the bios on the off chance that something weird was going on there. The issue persisted. I've talked to apple in store and on the phone. They act baffled like it's never once been reported but never went so far as to offer a replacement or repair. I decided to try a brand new Homepod. It was on version 11.2.5 out of the box. After set up, I did not update it. Guess what...it played perfectly for over an hour. Unfortunately, it would not stay connected to the network when it was idle. I had to unplug it then plug it back in to get it to reconnect. I decided to update to 13.3.1 in hopes of correcting the connectivity issue and everything working fine with playback.
Two tracks into playing on 13.3.1 the infamous 28 second "-" symbol returned. The issue is with 13.3.1 [or a prior release].
Sorry for the long post but thought I'd share since others seem to be experiencing this same issue. Hope this helps someone and that the issue gets corrected in a future update.
Did you guys find out why?
Mine is also doing it from Itunes to Homepod, playing through pc speakers and homepod
Did you guys find out why?
iTunes and HomePod seem to have a fairly fragile relationship. My ultimate solution was Sonos but I've found that iTunes --> AppleTV and iTunes --> Airport Express are both reliable over ethernet.
you're playing to a buggy speaker from a buggy app over a buggy protocol.
Did you guys find out why?
Mine is also doing it from Itunes to Homepod, playing through pc speakers and homepod
Time for you to upgrade your Wi-Fi, get an Apple Music subscription, and leave the world of iTunes and Airplay behind.
Hey guys, this is happening because of a bug in iTunes. Apple adjusted the timeout for the TCP connection for the control functions on port 7000 for homepod and apple tv. iTunes is supposed to send a message every 30 seconds to keep that connection alive but sometimes it fails to do so. That's why you'll see the issue happen on the 30 second, 60 second, 90 second mark. You can work around it by changing the volume by a single pixel every 25 seconds. Not really a bug I suppose, rather they updated homepod and appletv but failed to update iTunes airplay stack to account for the change.
See the last couple of posts here: //discussions.apple.com/thread/251214360?&page=4
Reactions: pup
Interesting. I don't doubt that's true, but it's odd that I don't and have never encountered the same problem on AppleTV, even though I could never get my HomePod to play continuously. Getting the Apple TV to display the current song without flickering though...
Some progress has been made on this issue. I wrote a small app that seems to work around the AirPlay TCP connectivity issues between Windows iTunes, HomePods & Apple TVs. Initial tests have been very positive. Shoot me a note at bryan dot kinkel at geee mail if you want to help test this out. Thanks!
Reactions: shaddix
I'm seeing this behavior on my M1 Mac, in the Music app v1.2.1.40, on macOS 12.1. Streaming from the app to multiple AirPlay devices in my home, including an Apple TV 4k. My laptop and the Apple TV are hard-wired via GigE, so there's no WiFi or bandwidth issue. At the beginning of each song, the ATV plays for about 30s and then stops. This fits exactly with the issue mentioned by shaddix above, and the following AppleScript implements on macOS the same basic fix as BerwynDead's app for Windows.
on run
repeat
tell application "Music"
set sound volume to [sound volume + 1]
delay 2
set sound volume to [sound volume - 1]
end tell
delay 25
end repeat
end run