YouTube Picture in Picture Mode Not Working in iOS 16, 16.4 and 16.5 | How to Fix?

Picture-in-picture alias PiP Mode is a great feature that allows users to multitask by minimizing the video player window. Recently, iOS 16.4 brought the PiP mode support for the YouTube app on iPhones and iPad. However, this did not last long. YouTube disabled the Picture in Picture mode from its platform. Normally, YouTube Premium(yes, the paid version) comes with all the cool features like no Ads, PiP, downloadable content, etc.

The video-sharing platform wants to restrict the PiP mode for its premium subscribers. So, if you use an iPhone or iPad running the latest iOS 16.4 or iPadOS 16, you cannot use the Picture in Picture mode on them. However, a tweak can still enable the PiP mode on Apple phones and tabs. In this guide, I have put up a simple but slightly technical workaround to make the feature work. We will use the Shortcuts app of the iPhone and iPad to implement our trick. Let’s check out how to do that.

YouTube Picture in Picture Mode Not Working in iOS 16.4 | How to Fix?

As I mentioned about the Shortcuts app, we will use it to create a custom shortcut for YouTube PiP mode. Keep in mind that the workaround will work on the Safari browser.

• Open the Shortcuts app on your Apple device
• Tap on On the right-hand corner, there will be the + button tap on it.
  
• Next tap Add Action > select Web
• Under Web, select Run Javascript on Web Page
• Now, tap Web Page > then tap Shortcut Input
  
• There will be an existing javascript(the one you see in the above screenshot). Remove this script
• Now, write the following code fragment

  let v = document.querySelector(‘video’); v.addEventListener(‘webkitpresentationmodechanged’, (e)=>e.stopPropagation(), true); setTimeout(()=>v.webkitSetPresentationMode(‘picture-in-picture’), 3000); completion()

• Then tap on the three-dot icon to access details of the shortcut and give it a name such as PiP.
• Just below the naming field, there is an option Show in Share Sheet. Tap on the switch beside it to enable it. This means the shortcut will show up as an option under the Share icon.
• Next tap on Share Sheet Types. By default, it is set to anything.
• Deselect every element that has a checkmark beside it.
  
• Only keep the checkmark beside Safari Web pages.
• Once done, tap on the back button to go to the Details page where you named the shortcut.
• Tap on Done to confirm the changes and exit.

Playing YouTube Video

• Go to your iPhone or iPad
• Launch Safari browser app
• go to YouTube.com
• Browse and play your choice of video
  
• Then tap on Share
• Select the YouTube PiP shortcut
• Tap Allow on the pop-up that will ask you to add permission for the shortcut to access YouTube.com
• Immediately you will see the video player will turn into a mini window. Picture in picture mode is now enabled on your iPhone/iPad. Now, you can multitask by using other apps.
  

Note
Here is one important thing you must keep in mind. That code fragment I have shared, DO NOT directly copy-paste it to the javascript field. It will not at all work that way. You have to manually type in that code. Then tap on Done. 

Now, all you need to do is enjoy your YouTube video in Picture in picture mode. Follow the steps in the guide carefully. I know the only hard part for some users may be writing the correct javascript code fragment. Correct in the sense not making any syntax errors. So, make sure to write that correctly. I hope this guide was informative for our readers.