The Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro offer an immersive Android experience with rich multimedia capabilities. One handy feature is the ability to access media controls—play, pause, skip—directly from the lock screen. However, many users have noticed that these controls sometimes disappear or fail to appear when playing music or podcasts.

If you’re finding that media controls are missing from your Pixel 7’s lock screen, this guide will help you understand the common causes, walk through step-by-step fixes, and help you restore this essential feature.

Common Symptoms

Users have reported the following issues:

  • Media controls (play/pause, skip, etc.) do not appear on the lock screen
  • Controls appear intermittently or only when the phone is unlocked
  • No media player notification is visible at all
  • The lock screen shows the app icon but not the media controls
  • The issue occurs with certain apps only, like Spotify or YouTube Music

Why Media Controls May Be Missing from the Lock Screen

Media Session Not Active

For controls to appear, the system must recognize an active media session. If an app hasn’t properly signaled that playback is ongoing, Android may not display the controls on the lock screen.

Notifications Disabled or Restricted

Media controls rely on notification access. If your music or podcast app’s notifications are turned off or silenced, controls may not show.

Also, apps running in the background without notification permission won’t push controls to the lock screen.

Battery Optimization Restricting Background Activity

Apps like Spotify, Audible, or YouTube Music may be affected by battery optimization, which limits their ability to run or update media playback when the screen is off.

This can lead to:

  • Controls disappearing after the screen locks
  • Playback stopping or glitching
  • Media notification not being refreshed

Android 13/14 Lock Screen Bugs or Behavior Changes

With Android 13 and 14, Google introduced dynamic color theming, enhanced privacy, and notification grouping. This has occasionally caused:

  • Lock screen widgets not rendering properly
  • Media controls appearing only after tapping the screen or unlocking
  • Inconsistent notification behavior

Do Not Disturb or Focus Mode

When Do Not Disturb (DND) or Focus Mode is on, the system may suppress media notifications along with other alerts, even if music is playing.

In these modes, the lock screen may remain minimal or blank except for the clock.

Face Unlock Triggering Early Unlock

If Face Unlock is enabled and unlocks the phone too quickly, the lock screen may transition to the home screen before media controls are displayed.

As a result, users may not even notice the controls are briefly active on the lock screen.

Third-Party Music App Compatibility

Some music or podcast apps may not fully support lock screen integration, especially:

  • Older apps not optimized for Android 13/14
  • Streaming apps that use custom notification styles
  • Apps affected by permission limitations or denied background access

How to Fix Missing Lock Screen Media Controls on Pixel 7

Restart the Device

Sometimes the media player session can crash or become unresponsive.

  • Hold Power + Volume Up
  • Tap Restart
  • Play media again and check if lock screen controls appear

Check Notification Settings

  • Go to Settings > Apps > See all apps > [Your music app] > Notifications
  • Ensure all notification categories are enabled
  • Confirm Media playback controls and Now Playing notifications are turned on

Also:

  • Go to Settings > Notifications > Notifications on Lock Screen and ensure it is set to Show all notifications

Disable Battery Optimization

  • Go to Settings > Battery > Battery usage > [Your media app]
  • Tap the app and choose Unrestricted or Don’t optimize

This allows background playback and notifications to continue on the lock screen.

Enable Media Player in Quick Settings

Ensure media controls are shown in your notification panel:

  • Swipe down twice to open Quick Settings
  • Tap the gear icon > Sound & vibration > Media player
  • Toggle on Show media player

You can also customize which apps appear here.

Disable Do Not Disturb and Focus Mode

  • Go to Settings > Sound & vibration > Do Not Disturb
  • Disable DND and ensure Media sounds are not silenced
  • Also check Digital Wellbeing > Focus mode to ensure the media app isn’t restricted

Clear Cache for Media Apps

  • Go to Settings > Apps > [Your media app] > Storage & cache
  • Tap Clear cache
  • Restart the phone and try again

This can help refresh the media session interface.

Reinstall the App or Use Another Media Player

If a specific app is not working properly:

  • Uninstall and reinstall the app from the Google Play Store
  • Alternatively, try a different app like YouTube Music, Poweramp, or VLC to test lock screen integration

Check for Software Updates

  • Go to Settings > System > System update
  • Install any pending updates, as Google often releases patches for lock screen and media notification bugs

When to Contact Support

Contact Google Pixel Support if:

  • Media controls never appear on the lock screen, even with all settings correct
  • The problem persists across all apps, not just one
  • You’ve reset the device or performed Safe Mode testing and the issue remains

There may be a firmware or system UI issue that requires deeper troubleshooting.

Conclusion

Missing lock screen media controls on the Pixel 7 can stem from a variety of causes, such as:

  • Notification or battery settings
  • Android 13/14 behavior quirks
  • App-specific issues
  • System UI or background process restrictions

Fortunately, the problem is usually fixable by:

  • Adjusting notification and battery optimization settings
  • Restarting the phone and clearing app cache
  • Ensuring Do Not Disturb is off
  • Keeping your OS and apps updated

If you’ve gone through all fixes and media controls are still missing, contacting support may help resolve device-specific or system-level problems.

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