Audio Stutter when using Bluetooth with Spotify Android app

[bricker81]

When I play audio from the Spotify Android app to Bluetooth speakers, I get little audio stutter/blips a few times per minute.

I've verified this is a problem with Bluetooth in the Spotify Android app by checking the following:

1. Issue doesn't occur when using Bluetooth headphones with another audio source (eg YouTube),

2. Issue doesn't occur when using wired headphones with Spotify Android app,

3. Issue doesn't occur when using Bluetooth headphones with macOS Spotify app,

4. Issue occurs on multiple differerent Bluetooth receivers,

5. Issue occurs on both WiFi and Cellular data,

6. Issue occurs both while streaming or playing downloaded music,

7. Issue occurs in both Online and Offline modes.

I have tried the following to fix the issue:

1. Turned off the EQ in the Spotify Android app,

2. Turned off "Contact Sharing" in system Bluetooth options for the headphones,

3. Reinstalled the Spotify Android app.

Phone information:

Google Pixel

Android 7.1.2 (issue occurred on previous versions as well)

Spotify version: 8.3.0.681 armV7

[JamesWitty]

Exactly the same probleme here with the same phone!

[Inekar]

I'm having the same problem with a LG G4 (running Marshmallow)

I also tried to ignore battery optimisation for Spotify and the bluetooth.

The problem occurs with both my bluetooth speaker and my car.

One thing that seems to affect a lot the phenomenon is the load on my phone, if I use other apps, or if the screen must be one, or even if some apps are running in the background, the stuttering gets worse.

[shermozle]

Yeah I find a reboot resolves it for a while, but hardly a solution!

I have identical symptoms and have tried all the same things.

[Joe]

Hey, it's worth trying a different music app to see if the issue is with the phone or a specific player.

[Toekiyo]

Has there not been any solutions to this? i've been dealing with this problem for the past 8 months or so. Like another poster stated, its hardly worth restarting my phone every hour or so just so i dont have to deal with this obnoxious stutter. even after a restart it doesnt always fix the problem... I've cleared cache, cleared saved data none has worked thus far. 

[maartenva97]

I've got the same issues and tried the same ways you did.

Hatefull. Spotify is getting more and more rubbish...

You should check everything before a release. You cannot just simply throw it on Play Store and think "report of issues will come when the users are getting annoyed''.

That's not a way to keep your customers...

[joelittlejohn]

I'm experiencing this problem too on a Moto Z. On WiFi there is no stuttering, but using Spotify on 4G I frequently get stuttering audio when using Bluetooth headphones.

This is definitely a Spotify app problem. I've tested many other apps (Google Play Music, YouTube, etc) and they don't have the problem.

What will it take for this to be looked at? I'm resenting paying my Spotify Family subscription as I can't use it on the go! 😞

[sunday87]

I have the same problem on my G3s. At first I thought it was just because my phone is old and a bit underpowered by todays standards, but i also noticed that the problem only occurs when using spotify and bluetooth headphones. Probably some buffer that is too small? Some Locking issues in multithreaded code? Pleeease look into this!

[C-V-T]

Am having same problems.  Had complex phone was not powerful enough but able to stream other podcast & radio app fine in car with 6.0 Android.

Help!

[Denboogie]

Is there still no Fix for this? I'm having the same problem on my LG G4. The stuttering gets worse when something runs in the background.

[Grller]

Same here on Galaxy A5. Other apps play via Bluetooth just fine. I can't believe this has been a known problem for so long

[Cluhn]

I have the same problem on my Honor 5X. With other apps the Problem does not occur. Sadly I payed 1 year in advance for Spotify. With Prime Musik there are no issues. 

The problem occurs more frequently when the phone display is switched off. 

My wife has the same problem with Spotify and Bluetooth headphones on her Moto G. 

Occurs on Sony MDH-1000Xmk2, Bose QC35 and Edifier Extreme connect. 

[Chicaoterror]

Same here with a galaxy s8. 

The phone is not the problem as I tried other apps and the audio stuttering only occurs with Spotify. 

Waiting for a solution. 

[Toekiyo]

Current Phone: Galaxy Note 8

I posted on this thread in july and had a Samsung S7 then.

Possible Fix: Ok so i saw somewhere a week ago about going into your phones app permissions and giving spotify all the access it asks for. I've done this and its greatly decreased the stutter but its still present. There really needs to be an app fix already like COME ON!

[morbidmorgis]

I have this problem as well with my new Nokia 2. Until a few a days ago I used a Nexus 5 and had no problems at all so I come to a possible solution. 

As the Nexus 5 had limited storage capacity for all my music I decided to download it in limited quality and my Nokia now has 64 GB to use so I decided to download it in extreme quality (because why not?). This is the only difference to my old phone so it might be the problem. Technically this makes sense as the bandwidth of Bluetooth is limited and the higher the quality the more data need to get encoded/decoded. The extreme quality might be too much for it.

I'll redownload my songs in standard quality and test if this helps to prevent from stuttering. I'll keep you updated.

[Cluhn]

The Audi Signal sent to your Bluetooth devices is re-encoded: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bluetooth_profiles#Advanced_Audio_Distribution_Profile_(A2DP)
.
So the Bandwith for Bluetooth should be the same all the Time (regardless of the Quality of spotify).

I have the suspicion that the Problem is CPU limited. When using Spotify the Ogg Vorbis encoded Musik must be decoded and then encoded for Bluetooth Streaming again.

I switched from my Honor 5X to an Honor View 10 and the Problems are gone.

[morbidmorgis]

This is weird but I was indeed unlucky with my theory. But I got it working nonetheless. I was experimenting a lot and this is what I made:

- Deactivated several options in the app settings like gapless playback, volume normalization, autoplay, behind the lyrics, stranger things mode and Waze navigation.

- Granted every app permission in "Settings->Apps->Spotify->Permissions"

- Turned off battery optimization for Bluetooth and Spotify in "Settings->Battery->Battery Optimization->All Apps"

- Turned off WiFi which is weird. Either turned off WiFi is working or turned on but connected WiFi is working. Setting Spotify to Offline Mode didn't work as well.

I hope this will help some of you

[sunday87]

I had earlier reported having the same problem with my somewhat outdated LG G3s. Now, with my brand new HTC U11 I was surprised to experience the same thing again. No SD card yet, no junk on the phone, fresh installation. Just tried switching off the Wi-Fi and bam: no more stuttering. Apparently a busy Wi-Fi chip interferes with Bluetooth. After all they use similar frequencies. The problem was strongest when walking through town where the phone would constantly scan for access points and sometimes connect to an eduroam AP only to lose contact shortly afterwards. While switching off Wi-Fi is a nice workaround, it should be possible to fix this so we don't have to worry about that any more. 

[ov3rwatch]

Same issue on Moto Z Force. Thought it was my car radio for a while but then I realized it didn't happen while in calls or YouTube / Stock music player and I can reproduce it on a beats pill as well. What gives??