Offline not working properly

[Mr2NuT123]

Plan

Premium

Country

UK

Device

Pumpkin Android Car Stereo

Operating System

Android

My Question or Issue

Offline mode was always SUPER reliable last year.  It did what it says on the tin, you download once and it just always worked.  I know for a fact that a recent update has been implemented where the app needs to connect to the Internet every single time you launch it now, as it even has a lag/delay on my mobile phone too when in bad reception areas.

This is dreadful as I don't have WiFi in my car and almost every time I get in and just want to listen to music, the damn thing doesn't work and I have to turn on my phones mobile hotspot, connect, then disable it again.  It causes me distractions when driving and is a massive pain.  Can this be reversed please to work how it did before?

Whilst I understand you are trying to detect if the app is being used by multiple devices at the same time, I'm a genuine paying customer and just want it to work when I get in my car and I'm also in terrible reception areas with my phone.

Maybe you could implement some type of timeout where if it doesn't detect Internet, allow it to almost instantly play music, but then give perhaps a 30 day warning that you will need to connect just once to Internet before it then disables..?

This distrust and annoying crippling of offline mode is making me question my requirement for the service, and consideration of going back to mp3 so it just works.

[ribezaz]

Hey, how are you? Welcome to the Spotify Community!

Have you tried doing a clean reinstall of your Spotify app? Sometimes these updates need a clean reinstallation for the new version's bugs to go away!

Keep me informed, it will be a pleasure to continue helping you.

Cheers,
ribezaz

[Mr2NuT123]

Yes, tried on both phone and Android.  That's not what is going on here though, it's very clearly the app insisting on an Internet connection first before playing.  If you connect to WiFi then press play, it then plays IMMEDIATELY, after being frozen indefinitely.

[ribezaz]

Ok, I get it!

Have you checked if this only happens to your device and account, or does it also happen to others?

[Mr2NuT123]

It happens to anyone, but they don't notice as most devices these days are connected either via 4G and/or WiFi, but my car stereo does not.  I know exactly what the app is now programmed to do from recent updates, and the reason behind it, but it's massively impacting those customers that have genuine offline devices.

[ribezaz]

Hello again! I'm sorry for answering so late.

Let me ask, do you have an SD card? If yes, try removing the downloads and changing the location to your phone's internal storage instead of SD Card. Another thing that might work is downloading music in lower quality.

You can follow these steps:

Open the Spotify app on your device > Select the Settings icon for more options. > Select the Audio Quality option
> Scroll down to the Download section > Change the quality from Very High to High.

Also, are you using VPN or proxy? If so, turn it off and see if there is any difference!

Keep me posted if it doesn't work!

Cheers,
ribezaz

[Mr2NuT123]

No VPN, no proxy.  Like I said in my first post, this device does not connect to the Internet, and that's the problem.  My phone always works fine, unless I have no 4G/WiFi, to which it does the exact same thing.

I know exactly what is going on here, and it's border-line subscription breaking.  Within 1-2 seconds of connecting to an Internet connection, the playlists immediately begin playing after the app 'touches' the service.

[ribezaz]

Hello, sorry for the delay in responding. Can you send me your device details? Including from your phone, and if you can send a video showing what is happening in detail so that I can continue helping you in a more assertive way.

[Mr2NuT123]

When I turn my car onto ignition, Spotify indefinitely FREEZES on the last played song.  Pressing play, result in nothing at all, only a pause symbol.  Restarting the app, and even the whole device does nothing either.  Literally, the millisecond that I turn on my mobile hotspot on my phone and connect to it, Spotify magically wakes up and starts playing fine.  It will work absolutely fine for the remainder of the journey, and it sometimes will be fine for the day if I turn my car off/on a few times parking up.

It couldn't be more obvious that this is a new hidden feature in order to prevent people misusing the service by loading up devices with offline playlists that never connect to the Internet.  That's all well and good, but what about legitimate customers like myself that it causes a massive headache to every time they get in their car?  Being direct, it pisses me right off, to the point where I want to just cancel the service and mp3 to the internal drive.

[ribezaz]

Hey, how are you? Sorry for the delay in responding.

The behavior you described is not what you expected. Currently, you need to be online at least once every 30 days to maintain your downloads. No need to log in every day to find downloaded content or play it.

Please visit this Ongoing Issue thread and post the requested info there, so the tech folks can continue the investigation.

Cheers,

ribezaz

[Mr2NuT123]

That link doesn't work unfortunately.  Perhaps it has expired, but this issue is still happening almost every time I get in the car.  How do I get a Spotify dev or official to take over this?

[ribezaz]

Hey! I'm sorry I couldn't help you 😞 You can contact Spotify Support at this link, so that you can resolve your issue!