How to Add and Use Sleep Timer on YouTube Music

If you often sleep with music on, the sleep timer proves to be one of the most useful features. As you may already know, these timers shut off the music or the video on your phone after a stipulated period. All you need to do is set the timer and drift off to sleep. The music will automatically stop. Though it’s a nifty feature, YouTube Music does not have a built-in sleep timer as of now, and it’s a huge bummer. Thankfully, there are some nifty workarounds for both Android and iPhone users.

The working of these timers is similar to the built-in timers of other music apps. In the case of iOS, you do not need to install any third-party app, whereas if you are using an Android phone, you’ll need to take help from third-party apps like Sleep Timer.

Regardless of the method, the implementation is easy, and the sleep timer on youTube Music works like a charm.

Now that it’s settled let’s see how to add a sleep timer to YouTube Music.

How to Add and Use Sleep Timer for YouTube Music on iOS

As noted earlier, adding a sleep timer on iPhones is super easy.

Step 1: Play the music of your choice on YouTube Music. Next, head over to the Clock app on your iPhone.

Tap on Timer.

Step 2: Tap on the When Timer Ends button. Here, you will see a slew of options.

Scroll down to the bottom, and select the Stop Playing option from the menu. That’s it.

With the option selected, play your favorite song & start a small 2-min timer and see the magic happen after 2 minutes.

Quite naturally, it’s a task to search and open the Clock app each time. Thankfully, this small task can be easily automated via Shortcuts.

For those unaware, iOS Shortcuts is a workflow app that lets you create dozens of custom workflows and shortcuts to automate daily redundant stuff. For instance, you can set it to open the music app of your choice when it detects Bluetooth Pairing. Or, you can build a shortcut to add the current playing song to your playlist. And yes, you can also automate the YouTube Music workflow.

Step 1: Open the Shortcuts app and tap on the Plus button at the top-right corner.

Next, select Add Action > Open App > YouTube Music from the menu.

Step 2: Once done, bring up the menu as shown in the screenshot below and select Add action.

Select Start Timer from the list and add the time. That’s it!

Now save the Shortcut and hit the Play button at the bottom to test it out. The song will end in exactly 2 minutes. Yes, you can thank me later!

This method has some limitations. For example, you can’t play with the timer’s time. Once set and engaged, it will stop the music from playing when the time is up.

However, you are free to add additional If-Else statements in between, should you want to customize the Shortcut further.

How to Add and Use Sleep Timer for YouTube Music on Android

When it comes to Android, you’ll have to rely on a third-party app like Sleep Timer. Yes, that’s the name. This aptly named app works as advertised and stops music within the stipulated time.

Get Sleep Timer

Step 1: Open Sleep Timer and tap on the three-dot button on the top-right corner. Select Settings > Player to start on launch, and select YouTube Music from the list.

Step 2: Head back, set the timer, and tap on the Start Player button. This will open YouTube Music. Select the song (or playlist of your choice), and that’s about it.

Sleep Timer gives you a buffer time of about 25 seconds to select the music. Once the timer is up, it will slowly lower the volume and fade the music. This is a major plus, compared to the abrupt ending on iOS.

At the same time, Sleep Timer gives you plenty of music apps to select from. You can also extend the timer, should you not want to go with the default timing. There are a couple of additional quirks, such as Shake to Extend, for you to explore further.

If you are using a lengthy timer, make sure to remove the app from the Battery Optimisation list. This is especially true if your smartphone employs aggressive battery-saving techniques.

The sleep timer app is free to use. Upgrading to the paid version unlocks features such as Widgets and a Tile for the Quick Settings menu.

Sleep Tight

Sleep timers are essential for the lot of us who love to listen to our favorite songs as we drift off to sleep. And it’s a shame that popular apps like YouTube Music don’t have this basic feature. The good thing is that there are apps and built-in methods that make it happen.