To use picture-in-picture (PiP), exit the YouTube app while a video is playing. If you have the PiP setting turned on, the video will shrink into a PiP window. The PiP window can be dragged to different parts of the screen, allowing playback to continue on top of other apps.
YouTube requires you to press the Home button to activate the PiP feature. Some Android phones disable that button when you turn on on-screen gestures. If this is the case with your phone, disable the gestures, and YouTube's PiP mode will start working.
The picture-in-picture feature is present on both Android and iOS, but it's only available to YouTube Premium subscribers. Nevertheless, you can use a few neat little tricks to watch YouTube in PiP mode on any desktop or mobile device.
If you're using an Android phone, swipe down the notification panel and tap the "Play" button from the playback notification to resume playback in the background. If you're using an iPhone or iPad, open the control centre and tap on the Play button on the music widget to resume playback in the background.
Now, YouTube had rolled out support for PiP mode on Google's Android mobile operating system with the launch of Android Oreo back in 2017 but, Apple users couldn't access this feature up until now. Thankfully, that has changed. If playback doesn't begin shortly, try restarting your device.
Restart App
If you just enabled the PiP feature on your iPhone settings or the application, the app might need a little refreshing to reflect the change in settings. Hence try restarting the app to see if PiP works on your iPhone.
Background play only works in the YouTube mobile apps and requires a YouTube Premium membership. Some videos aren't available for background play or to download offline, even if you have a channel membership.
If YouTube 'Picture-in-Picture' (PiP) is not working for you, make sure the feature is turned on in your device settings and YouTube app (under Profile > Settings > General) and update the app.
YouTube on Android has had picture-in-picture support for several years, but the iPhone app lagged behind. That finally changed, and you can now watch YouTube in a tiny floating window on your iPhone or iPad, too. It was a long journey for iOS and iPadOS devices to get picture-in-picture for YouTube.
Launch the Miniplayer
If you're using the YouTube app, the Miniplayer will automatically pop up at the bottom of the screen if you click the back button, or if you swipe down while watching a video. Note: If the content you're watching in the app is set as made for kids, the Miniplayer will be paused.
Background play only works in the YouTube mobile apps and requires a YouTube Premium membership. Some videos aren't available for background play or to download offline, even if you have a channel membership.
Check Your Background Playback Settings
Ensure the option is enabled. Launch the YouTube app and go to Settings. Then go to Background & Downloads and tap Background Play. Make sure background playback is not set to Off.
If the YouTube background play feature is not enabled on your YouTube app, YouTube background playback not working will happen inevitably. You can tap your profile picture, go to Settings > Background & Downloads > Background Play to check whether the feature is enabled. If it is off, you need to turn it on.