Android Auto and Spotify issues - SOLVED

[Kevin789]

Hi all,

I wanted to make a post in hope that it helps others out even if it's just a little.

For a long time I was having issues with the Spotify application when being used with Android Auto, the application would fail to resume play, wouldn't start playing or sometimes wouldn't even load and I would have to do things found on this forum such as having to force quit the application, clearing the app cache, signing out and in again, unplugging the phone and plugging it back in etc.

I've found a resolution it's simple and I'm stumped as to why I didn't try it ages ago, mind you I've done this about 4 weeks ago and not once have I had an issue since.

Simply make sure the Spotify application is exempt from any application optimisation your Android phone may be doing. Just search your phone and find out if it has optimisation for applications such as using power (battery), cpu, background usage etc etc and stop it.

I was using a Pixel 3, running Android v10 with the latest Spotify version, constant issues, a few friends of mine running Samsung Galaxy S10s and even a few Oppo users same issues. I've had them all do it and they all are having no issues with Spotify and Android Auto anymore.

Hope this helps someone.

Cheers,

Kev

[DavidST]

Thanks. This ties in with what I've found when experimenting prior to buying a car with Android Auto. It's necessary to have Spotify enabled in the background, otherwise Android Auto doesn't "see" it, and therefore won't work.

[PhilBass]

Thanks. The original poster's solution fixed a recent issue with my Pixel 3 linked to my Honda Jazz (2020). It was working fine for over a year until the phone updated to Android 12. The problem was as follows:
Spotify started as expected when the phone was connected to the car, continuing with the last song I had played on the phone. The play/pause buttons on the car worked, but...
when I spoke to Android Auto and asked it to play a different song (e.g. "Play Long and Winding"), it would correctly identify the song (e.g. responding "Playing The Long and Winding Road by The Beatles on Spotify), but then it didn't play it, and the previous song would continue to play.
The problem was resolved as per the original post - ie on my phone: Settings/Apps/Spotify/Battery/>Unrestricted (vs Optimised).
Again - many thanks!