You’re staring at your screen, and there it is. That weird, technical-sounding error: the request to open com zhiliaoapp musically failed. It looks like something a hacker would leave behind, or maybe a piece of code that wasn't supposed to see the light of day. Honestly, it’s a bit jarring. Most people don’t even know what "zhiliaoapp" is, let only why their phone is trying to "request" it.
Basically, you’ve just encountered the skeleton inside TikTok’s closet.
That strange string of text is actually the internal package name (for Android) or bundle ID (for iOS) for the TikTok app. Even though we all know it as TikTok, the code still refers to it by its older identity, tied to the days when ByteDance acquired Musical.ly. When you see this error, your phone is essentially saying, "I tried to launch the TikTok app via a specific link or notification, but the hand-off didn't work."
Why this error pops up out of nowhere
It usually happens when you click a TikTok link in another app—like WhatsApp, Discord, or even a Google search result. Your phone tries to "deep link" you directly into the app. If the connection breaks, you get the "failed" message.
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Sometimes, it’s a permission issue. Other times, it’s just a software "hiccup" where the operating system loses track of where the app is installed. On iPhones, users often report seeing this when their device is locked or if there's a conflict with the Shared Web Credentials. On Android, it's frequently linked to the "Open by Default" settings getting scrambled after an update.
It isn't a virus. It isn't a sign that you've been hacked, despite what some frantic Reddit threads might suggest. It’s just a broken bridge between a web link and your installed application.
Quick fixes for the request to open com zhiliaoapp musically failed
If this is happening every time you try to watch a video, start with the low-hanging fruit.
1. The classic "Nuclear" reset
Don't just close the app. Force stop it. On Android, go to Settings > Apps > TikTok > Force Stop. On an iPhone, swipe up and toss that preview card away like it never existed. While you're at it, restart your phone. It sounds cliché, but clearing the temporary system cache resolves about 80% of deep-linking failures.
2. Check your "Open by Default" settings (Android-specific)
Android 12, 13, and 14 are notorious for being picky about how apps open links.
- Go to Settings.
- Tap Apps and find TikTok.
- Look for Open by default.
- Ensure Open supported links is toggled ON.
- Check the "Supported web addresses" list. If
v.tiktok.comorm.tiktok.comaren't checked, the system won't know that the "request to open com zhiliaoapp musically" is actually meant for TikTok.
3. Clear the in-app cache
TikTok is a data hog. It stores massive amounts of video fragments in a local cache. Sometimes this data gets corrupted and interferes with the app's ability to process new requests.
Go to your Profile > Settings and Privacy > Free up space and hit Clear next to Cache. This won't delete your drafts, but it might just clear the "brain fog" the app is experiencing.
What if you don't even have TikTok?
This is the part that creeps people out. Some users see the request to open com zhiliaoapp musically failed even when they’ve never downloaded the app.
How? Usually, it's a "ghost" notification from a website. If you were browsing a site that has TikTok integration or a "Share to TikTok" button, the browser might have tried to trigger the app's protocol. If the app isn't there, the system gets confused and throws a generic error. In some rare cases, certain "lite" versions of apps or pre-installed bloatware from carriers might have these hooks buried in them.
The deeper technical reason: Deep Linking and Universal Links
In the developer world, this is a failure of Universal Links (iOS) or App Links (Android). When a developer sets up an app, they tell the phone: "Hey, if the user clicks a link starting with tiktok.com, open my app instead of the browser."
To make this work, the phone checks a file hosted on TikTok's servers called apple-app-site-association or a digital asset link file. If your internet is spotty at the exact moment you click the link, or if the server response is delayed, the "verification" fails. The phone then tries to fall back to the old-school "custom URL scheme" (which is musically://), and if that fails, you see the package name: com.zhiliaoapp.musically.
Actionable steps to stop the error for good
If you've tried the basics and it still persists, try these specific maneuvers:
- Update the "Android System WebView": Go to the Google Play Store and search for "WebView." If there's an update, take it. This is the engine that handles web links inside other apps.
- Toggle Airplane Mode: Switch it on for 10 seconds and off again. This forces your phone to re-establish its handshake with the DNS servers, which can fix link redirection.
- The Reinstall: It’s a pain, but uninstalling TikTok and downloading it fresh is the only way to reset the "Bundle ID" registration on iOS if the system has flagged it as broken.
- Browser check: If you're clicking links from a specific browser (like Brave or Firefox), try switching back to the default (Chrome or Safari) just to see if a privacy setting is blocking the app hand-off.
Most of the time, this error is just a minor glitch in the matrix. It’s the digital equivalent of a door sticking because the weather changed. A quick restart or a settings tweak usually gets things moving again.
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Next Steps:
Check your phone's "Default Apps" list to see if TikTok is listed as the primary handler for web links. If it isn't, manually re-assign it to prevent the "failed" message from reappearing.