Here is how to play YouTube videos in background, even after you close the app. YouTube is the go-to platform for video content, and in recent times, it has gain popularity for music consumption as well. Unfortunately however the official YouTube app doesn’t allow users to continue watching content after they close the app. This means if you are listening to a song, you can not exit the app and let it play in the background like you would normally with an offline music player. Luckily, there is a workaround and this article will show you how. No root required for this guide.
YouTube does offer some premium features on its YouTube Red app but for those, you have to pay. Rather than going the subscription route for background playback or Picture-in-Picture viewing, you can simply use a clever workaround that offers extra functionality on top of all the stock feature set that native YouTube offers. Read ahead to find out exactly how along with latest download links.
Play YouTube Videos in Background without Root – YouTube Vanced
The all inclusive solution to having YouTube videos play in background comes in the form of YouTube Vanced. Developed by a third-party developer team, YouTube Vanced is a complete YouTube client and more. It follows the same fundamentals, UI and layout as the native client but adds loads of functionality up top — including the ability to play YouTube videos in background.
YouTube Vanced gets installed side-by-side the normal YouTube app — you can run both on your phone at once. After install, users can sign-in just as they would on the stock build and then proceed to watch videos. Only this time, once you exit the app, the video will continue to play in Picture-in-Picture mode. If you are listening to audio, you can close the PIP window and the video will stay play in the background and this time, it will minimize itself to the notification center.
How to Install YouTube Vanced and Play YouTube Videos in Background
Installing YouTube Vanced is a bit different than normal manual APK installation. Different doesn’t mean difficult and with the step-by-step guide ahead, users would be able to easily install YouTube Vanced and then use it to play YouTube videos in background.
Here are the complete steps for playing YouTube videos in background with YouTube Vanced:
Step 1 – Download microG YouTube Vanced for your phone. This is the base app that you need to install first.
Step 2 – After the download has completed, open up the file on your phone and install it. Need help installing APK files? Read: How to Manually Install APK files on Android.
Step 3 – Now, download YouTube Vanced APKS file. This is a special split APK file.
Step 4 – After you have downloaded YouTube Vanced APKS file, install Split APK Installer (SAI) from Google Play Store.
Step 5 – Open up Split APK Installer, tap on Install APKs and then select the file you downloaded in Step 3.
NOTE: Your phone might ask you for permission to access storage and allow SAI to install apps, grant both of them.
Step 6 – The APK installer should now let you install the app. Once that is done, just go on back to your app drawer, find YouTube Vanced and launch it!
Step 7 – Start playing a video. Once it starts, just quit the app. You should see a Picture-in-Picture window pop-up. If you just want to listen to audio in the background, just tap on the Cross Icon, it should still play after that as well!
That’s all to playing YouTube Videos in background. If you ran into issues, problems or have questions, we can reached through the comments section below.
