How to Enable Live Activities for Lyrics on CarPlay
You installed a lyrics app, connected to CarPlay, hit play — and nothing appeared on the car screen. Nine times out of ten the culprit is a single iOS setting: Live Activities. It's the switch that lets lyrics travel from your app to your CarPlay display. Here's what Live Activities is, exactly which toggles to turn on, and what to do when the setting refuses to cooperate.
To enable Live Activities for CarPlay lyrics, open Settings on your iPhone, tap your lyrics app (such as Lyricast), and turn on Live Activities. Then open Settings → Face ID & Passcode and allow Live Activities on the Lock Screen. Connect to CarPlay and play a song, and the synced lyrics appear on your car screen.
What are Live Activities — and why do lyrics need them?
Live Activities is the iOS feature that lets an app show real-time, glanceable information outside its own screen — on your Lock Screen, in the Dynamic Island, and on the CarPlay Now Playing display. It's what powers the live sports scores and food-delivery timers you've probably seen. Lyrics apps use the exact same channel to push the current line of your song to CarPlay, updating word by word as the track plays. If Live Activities is switched off, the lyrics have no route to your car screen — which is why this one setting is the make-or-break step.
Step 1: Turn on Live Activities for your lyrics app
Open the app once first — iOS only shows the toggle after an app has run and registered that it uses Live Activities. Then:
- Open Settings on your iPhone.
- Scroll to your lyrics app — for example, Lyricast — and tap it.
- Turn the Live Activities toggle on (green).
Step 2: Allow Live Activities on the Lock Screen
There's a second, separate switch that controls whether Live Activities appear while your phone is locked — and it affects what surfaces to CarPlay too. Open Settings → Face ID & Passcode, enter your passcode, scroll down, and make sure Live Activities is turned on under "Allow Access When Locked." Miss this and lyrics can vanish the moment your screen locks on a drive.
Step 3: Know where the setting lives on your iOS version
The toggle is always called "Live Activities," but its exact home shifts by version. On iOS 17 it sits directly under the app's own settings page. On iOS 18 and iOS 26, Apple groups apps under Settings → Apps, so you tap Apps first, then the app, then Live Activities. If you can't find it under the app, use the search bar at the top of Settings and type "Live Activities."
Step 4: Connect to CarPlay and test it
Connect your iPhone to CarPlay, start a song in Apple Music or Spotify, and open your lyrics app on the car screen. With Live Activities on, the current line appears and scrolls in time with the music. If it works once, it'll work every drive.
Live Activities won't turn on? Try these
- The toggle is missing. Open the app at least once so iOS registers it, then look again.
- Lyrics lag or stop mid-drive. Low Power Mode throttles background updates — turn it off in Settings → Battery for smooth sync.
- Nothing shows when locked. Re-check the Face ID & Passcode → Live Activities switch from Step 2.
- Still nothing. Restart your iPhone, or delete and reinstall the app so iOS re-registers its Live Activity.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Live Activity on iPhone?
A Live Activity is a real-time, updating display an app can show outside itself — on the Lock Screen, in the Dynamic Island, and on CarPlay. For a lyrics app, the Live Activity is the moving line of the song that stays in sync with your music.
Do I have to enable Live Activities to get lyrics on CarPlay?
Yes. Live Activities is the mechanism that carries the lyrics from your app to the CarPlay screen. With it switched off, no third-party lyrics app can display on CarPlay, no matter how it's set up.
Does Low Power Mode stop Live Activities?
It can interfere. Low Power Mode reduces background activity to save battery, which can make Live Activities update slowly or pause. If your lyrics lag or freeze, switching Low Power Mode off usually restores smooth, real-time sync.
Why is the Live Activities toggle missing from Settings?
iOS only shows the toggle for apps that actually use Live Activities, and only after you've opened the app at least once. Launch the app, play a song, then return to Settings and the Live Activities switch will be there.
Once Live Activities is on, Lyricast puts synced lyrics on your CarPlay screen, Lock Screen, and Home Screen — free to download and set up.
For the complete setup from install to first song, see how to get lyrics on CarPlay.