YouTube pip is not working on iPhone and Android, and Google says a fix is in the works. The failure hits Picture in Picture, the feature that should keep video playing in a small floating window after you leave YouTube.
iOS 15.0 PiP settings
YouTube's current iPhone and iPad help requires iOS 15.0 or later, and YouTube uses Apple's system Picture in Picture switch on those devices. That means a broken setup can sit in the device setting, the YouTube app setting, or both, instead of in the video itself.
On iOS 15 and later, YouTube's PiP switch is on by default unless background play has been turned off in the YouTube app. Users who want to rule out a simple setup problem should update the app and iPhone software, then close and reopen YouTube before trying anything else.
YouTube Premium for PiP
Non-music long-form videos and Shorts work without YouTube Premium, but music content needs YouTube Premium for PiP. That includes official music videos, Art Tracks, children's songs, and user-generated song covers.
For readers who only see the failure on music clips, the first checks are the account and the membership rules. In the YouTube app, users can tap their profile picture, then Purchases and memberships, or tap Accounts and then Use YouTube signed out if the sign-in looks stale.
Premium and Premium Lite rules
If PiP fails only for Premium-only music content during travel, YouTube says to check YouTube Premium availability for the current location and the subscription country. Premium and Premium Lite benefits can change outside the country where the subscription was purchased, and those benefits may stop working until the user returns if the plan is not available where they are.
Users should not use a VPN or other location workarounds to get around YouTube's availability rules. YouTube says misrepresenting location can lead to cancellation, so the safest test is to check membership status and the current country rule before assuming the app is broken.
iPhone X and SE steps
If the problem still persists, YouTube's own recovery steps call for restarting the iPhone after updating and reopening the app. On iPhone X and later, users swipe up from the bottom and pause in the middle, then swipe to YouTube and swipe up on the preview. On iPhone SE, iPhone 8, and earlier, users double-click the Home button, swipe to YouTube, then swipe up on the preview.
The open question is which specific bug is breaking YouTube PiP across iPhone and Android, and how long Google needs to land the fix.
