IPHONE
How to keep music playing while recording video on an iPhone
In short
Open Settings, tap Camera, then Record Sound, and switch on Allow Audio Playback. Music or a podcast then does not pause by itself when you start recording video. The page adds one limit: audio played through the iPhone speaker is recorded in mono.
Well, it is a little deflating when you press record and the iPhone politely stops your song, as if it thinks you wanted to film in silence. Whether music stops when you press record depends on one switch in the camera settings. On our iPhone 17e with iOS 27.0.1 it was on. If your music still pauses, this is the place to look.
3 of 3 steps show a real screenshot from our iPhone 17e.
Steps
- 1
Open Settings and tap Camera
Camera is in the group that starts with General, a few rows below it.
- 2
Tap Record Sound
It is near the top of the Camera page, below Record Slo-mo. The row shows the current sound format, here Spatial Audio.
- 3
Switch on Allow Audio Playback
The note below the switch says: audio playback will not pause automatically when recording video. When playing audio using the iPhone speaker, audio will be recorded in mono.
If you do not see this option
- The sound formats differ on older models. Apple says iPhone 16 and later record video with Spatial Audio, and earlier models record in Stereo. Ours showed Spatial Audio, Stereo and Mono. Source: Change sound recording options on iPhone
- Search for it. Open Settings, tap the search field at the bottom and type Record Sound. Apple notes that the sections in Settings depend on the iPhone model. Source: Find settings on iPhone
If this does not work
- The music sounds flat in the video. The note under the switch says audio played through the iPhone speaker is recorded in mono.
- Wind noise sounds different. Wind Noise Reduction, below on the same page, was on on ours. Apple says it works on iPhone 16 or later when you record with Spatial Audio or Stereo.
- The music is too loud in the clip? With music playing from the speaker, the iPhone's microphones pick it up along with voices and background noise. Turn the volume down before you press record if people need to be heard over it. Otherwise your birthday video becomes a music video with some faint shouting in the background.
- Music still stops in one app? Check the switch again in Settings, Camera, Record Sound. If it is on and only one player stops, that app may handle its own audio differently. Try the same song in another app to see which one is doing the pausing.
Good to know
To have music pause again when you film, switch Allow Audio Playback off.
The format of the recorded sound is set at the top of the same page: how to record video sound in stereo or mono on an iPhone.
The switch only changes what happens when you record video in the Camera app. Music in other situations, such as a phone call or a voice note, behaves as before. If a clip ends up with too much silence or noise at the start, open it in Photos, tap Edit and move the sliders on both sides of the timeline to trim it. Apple notes that Save Video keeps only the trimmed version, so choose the option that saves a new clip if you want to keep the original as well.
About this guide
- Device
- iPhone
- Shown on
- iOS 27.0.1 (iPhone 17e)
- App
- Settings
- Path
- Settings › Camera › Record Sound
- Real screenshots
- 3 of 3 steps
- Checked
- October 2026
- Sources
- 2 official, linked below
The screenshots are our own, taken on an iPhone 17e running iOS 27.0.1, in dark mode.
What changed: the screenshots are now our own iPhone 17e on iOS 27.0.1, dark mode, and the wording is checked against those screens.
Sources
Links checked October 2026. Menus and features can change with updates.Did this guide work for you?
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