Automatic start of the app on mobile, how to remove?

[Dsemenoff]

• None of the below information is required. However, the more you provide the easier it will be for us to try and help.

Plan

Premium

Country

Russia

Device

Google Pixel 4a 5G

Operating System

Android 11

My Question or Issue 

The app launches automatically and starts playing songs on mobile when I activate the Bluetooth, even if I don't connect my TWS (AirPods 2). How to remove the automatic app launch?

T

[Jeremy]

Hi there @Dsemenoff,

Thank you for reaching out to the Community.

Can you let us know if this behavior always been like this or did it start happening recently?

Also, can you clarify if you mean that you have Bluetooth disabled on the phone and as soon as it's turned on Spotify starts playing through the phone speakers even though the app is closed?

We'll keep an eye out for your reply.

Take care!

[Dsemenoff]

Hi Jeremy,

Thanks for reply. I think it has always been like this (but I am only using this phone for a month now).

Yes, you are right, this is exactly what happens when I turn on Bluetooth - the music starts to play and Spotify player appears on top of the screen (please see the screenshot).

Denis

[Eni]

Hi there @Dsemenoff, 

Thanks for getting back in touch.

In this case, we'd recommend you check the suggested steps in this thread to see if those do the trick.

Let us know how it goes.

[Dsemenoff]

Hi,

Thanks but what steps exactly do you mean? I checked the thread but didn't find anything that could fix the issue.

[MafeG]

Hi @Dsemenoff,

Thank you for your reply.

The steps shared in the thread are about disabling the AutoPlay feature from your app's settings. After you do this, please connect to your Bluetooth device again and see how it works.

If the same behavior repeats, please take into account that if the app starts playing by itself after connecting to a Bluetooth device, it's more related to the operating system playback settings than the app itself. 

Let us know if you have any questions.

[Dsemenoff]

Hi there,

The Autoplay feature (as mentioned in the same thread) doesn't seem to be a solution as it just allows to automatically play similar songs when you reach the end of an album, playlist, or selection of songs. So it's not related to the described case. I tried it just in case but nothing changed. 

Also there's a Gapless feature (I assume that allows to have no pause between songs) but it doesn't help neither. 

About this point - "If the same behavior repeats, please take into account that if the app starts playing by itself after connecting to a Bluetooth device, it's more related to the operating system playback settings than the app itself."

Actually I don't connect to any device (my earphone are in the case), I just turn on the Bluetooth. I also have another music app installed (Yandex.Music) but it never behaves like this.

Thanks!

[MafeG]

Hi @Dsemenoff,

Thank you for your reply and clarification.

It's odd that the music is playing by itself just by turning the Bluetooth on, but there are some things we can try here. 

Please go to your phone Settings > Apps > Spotify. Once in Spotify settings go to Battery and disable Allow Background Activity. Does it make a difference? 

If it doesn't do the trick, try the following:

1. Go to your phone Settings > Spotify.
2. Open Other Permissions.
3. You'll find an option about changing the Bluetooth connectivity, select the option that notifies you whenever there's a change made by Bluetooth.

Let us know how this goes.

[Dsemenoff]

Hi,

Disabling background activity doesn't help + I can't use the app properly as it asks for this permission.

As for the second suggestion, I can't find this Settings > Spotify.

Do you mean Settings>Apps?

Thanks,

D

[Mihail]

Hey @Dsemenoff,

Thanks for getting back to us and apologies for the confusion.

The setting @MafeG mentioned can be found under Settings>Apps>Spotify. Another step we also recommend trying is to navigate to Settings>Connections>Bluetooth and unpairing all devices there. That way we can be sure that none of them is interacting with the app.

Keep us posted how things work out!

[Dsemenoff]

Hi,

Can I get the answer please?

My phone's just updated to Android 12 but same issue persists. It's really annoying as I simply disturb people around when I turn on Bluetooth with the music the app starts to play! I myself flinch from that every time!

[Dsemenoff]

Hi,

I could not find an option about changing the Bluetooth connectivity, there is nothing like this in there about Bluetooth, can you show where to find it?

Thanks!

[Dsemenoff]

Hi,

Unpairing all devices would  mean I will have to manually connect them every time I use my earphones, Android Auto in my car or a sports watch...not a solution really..

[Jeremy]

Hi there @Dsemenoff,

Thank you for your reply.

We mean to test if this happens when there're no paired devices in the list of previously paired devices. You can of course re-pair them again afterwards. If the issue stops when there're no previous paired devices you can trace which device makes this behavior reappear.

Besides that, the Android OS and the current ROM is responsible for instructing the phone on what to do when Bluetooth is enabled, which in this case, oddly enough, seems to be to start/resume music playback, and we assume Spotify is the default music app, so it gets launched.

We'll keep an eye out for your reply.

Take care!

[Dsemenoff]

Hi there,

I don't really understand this logic. I turn on Bluetooth which launches Spotify app. What paired devices have to do with it? I don't need to pair any of them to experience such an app behaviour.

On Android OS. As I mentioned, I also have Yandex. Music app installed and I never selected it or Spotify to be a default one (can it be done at all?). But I never saw Yandex. Music behave like this. 

Denis

[Xenia]

Hi @Dsemenoff,

Thanks for this extra information. We immensely appreciate the hard work and effort you've poured in to troubleshoot this on your end.

We are aware that some users do experience this issue and we'll make sure to let our developers know so they can take it into account while moving forward, however we can't set an exact timeframe for when this will be resolved. The reason is that the autostart functions are dependent on the way a device is configurated to interact with the app API. We recommend that you reach out to the manufacturer to report the issue with them as well.

That being said, some users have found a way to disable this by altering certain settings on their device. We've compiled a list of possible solutions for you to try bellow:

• post by @weenyoceans
• post by @LedLeo
• post by @Cartman7891
• post by @Eriksen

Hope this helps!

[Dsemenoff]

Hi,

I reviewed all the links and didn't find any reliable solution, I only saw many people were complaining about the same issue for many months and nothing was done on your side to fix it.

"autostart functions are dependent on the way a device is configurated to interact with the app API" - isn't it your job guys to make sure the app works properly on all phones and fix the issue so many people complain about? Instead you suggest I go to Google. Really? Google is not owning Spotify, so you have to fix it with them, not me. I think I'm going to unsubscribe as it is clearly your issue you don't want to fix. So I am paying money for the painful experience which is supposed to be quite the opposite. No other music app I have behaves like this, so they have no API issue apparently...

It's sad to see so little action from you...