Casting to Google Home Speaker Group, Android app stops running in background after 3-5 minutes

[hortonio]

Plan

Premium

Country

USA

Device

Google Pixel 2

Google Home (original)

Google Home mini (1st gen)

Operating System

Android 10 - April 5th 2020 security patch

My Question or Issue

Using Spotify Connect to cast music to a Google Home speaker group, I am able to successfully connect and play music as designed. This allows me to change the volume of the speaker group using the Pixel 2 device volume keys, quickly skip a song, like a song, etc. 

About 3-5 minutes with my phone being locked (screen off), the Spotify app will stop running in the background and the notification bar controls will disappear. This causes me to be unable to adjust the speaker group volume with the volume keys on my phone as well as unable to access the Spotify app notification shade controls (prev/pause/skip/like). I am unable to permanently restore the volume control unless I disconnect/reconnect Spotify Connect (volume key control only works in app). I am able to re-open the app, but I lose the instant convenience of adjusting the speaker group volume. The notification shade controls come back, but they again disappear after 3-5 minutes later when device is locked with screen off. 

I have tried literally every troubleshooting technique including:

• Confirm all permissions and battery settings allow for Spotify and Google Home app to run in background
• Remove all battery optimizations from Google home and Spotify apps
• Logout/Login
• Uninstall/Reinstall app
• Clear storage and cache
• Factory reset of Google Home devices
• Factory reset of phone

I left Google Play Music for Spotify Premium around December and never had this issue during the first month or so. I have tried other apps and other devices like an iPad and do not experience the same problem. This bug appears to be specific to the Spotify app running on a Google Pixel 2 device and casting to a Google Home speaker group. I have a friend with a Pixel 3A XL who also confirmed the same bug happens to him. 

I've seen a few other reports of this issue in the Spotify message boards but nothing recent. Hopefully the Spotify Android dev's can show some love for us Pixel users 🙂

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TLDR; When casting from a Google Pixel 2 to a Google Home speaker group, the Spotify app will stop running in the background after 3-5 minutes of the screen being off. Device volume up/down controls to adjust speaker group volume are permanently unavailable unless I disconnect/reconnect Spotify Connect. 

[louishp]

Same problem pixel 3. If I kill the app after starting a song then casting it works no problem.

[x_hpzwje-91op]

Same problem here. The music playing on the group will always stop too. Sometiems after 5 seconds, sometimes after 5 hours... But it will ALWAYS stop. Every time!
Unfortunately I only realised it was Spotify causing it AFTER I forked out $500+ for a new Google Wifi Mesh system that I thought might have been the cause.

Since using Amazon music, playback hasn't stopped once. The app stays connected to adjust volume - everything works like a dream.

Hurry up and fix it Spotify, I don't want to have to cancel my Family subscription, but it's unusable for the majority of my daily listening the way it is.

[st4hli]

I'm having the same problems, Android 8, all Spotify App versions since a few years.