Play command heard but not actioned on Android Audio

[Seawater]

Plan

Premium

Country 

Australia

Device

Google Pixel 6 Pro (also tried Google Pixel 4a 5G)

Operating System

Android 12

My Question or Issue

When using Android Auto in the car my voice commands are understood and repeated back to me but not actioned by Spotify. For example, if "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" is playing and I say "Hey Google, play The Beatles" it'll say "playing the Beatles on Spotify" then resume playing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".

I have tried clearing cache, uninstalling/reinstalling app, turning off battery optimisation, restarting phone etc. I purchased a brand new phone and same problem occurs. It has been happening for the last few weeks, it worked fine before that. About to cancel my subscription as I subscribed to listen in the car and it no longer works, but thought I'd try here first.

[joemama42]

I'm on a Pixel 5a on Android 12. You're probably having the same problem I am. Rather than automatically playing songs I get a Search Results button on the screen.  Clicking on the button provides a list of results. Really sucks because it makes voice control worthless while driving.

[Alex]

Hey @Seawater,

Thanks for the post.

Since this is happening on multiple devices, could you try loggin in with another Spotify account and check if you experience the same issue there.

You can create a free account for test purposes.

Let us know how you get on.

[technikal]

Same issue here.  Pixel 5a, Android 12.  Impacts both Google Assistant and voice commands in Android Auto.  You can say 'Play Tyler Childers' and the device will say 'OK - playing Tyler Childers on Spotify' and then nothing actually happens.  If you're currently playing something on Spotify, it goes back to playing that.  

The search will show in 'Search Results' in the Spotify app, so the commands are being understood and getting to the app.

I've tried reinstalling the app, relinking Spotify in the Google Assistant settings, restarting the phone.  Occasionally it'll work but not for long.  

[technikal]

I tried logging in with a different account, and the issue still exists. 

My real account is a premium family account and my account is the main account holder.  The test account was a new free account I just signed up for.

[Seawater]

Hi Alex

Thanks for the response. I logged-out, deleted storage/cache, deleted app, restarted my phone, did a clean re-install of the app, created a new free account and logged in with the new account.

As per previously, it worked the first time I connected to Android Auto but did not work on subsequent occasions. So the problem seems to occur the same way as originally observed.

I note that another user has reported a problem that appears to be the same. Do you have any other suggestions? It's only been happening for the last few weeks, is it possible to install an older version of the app in case it was caused by an update? 

[Seawater]

Interesting to see that someone else has the same problem. Did Spotify used to work ok with Android Auto in the past? When did you first notice the problem?

[technikal]

Yes- Android Auto used to work fine.  Issue seemed to pop up about a month ago.  Not sure if it's related to a change in the Spotify app, or how Spotify interacts with Android 12.

[Seawater]

It looks like this issue has been reported to Google too: https://support.google.com/androidauto/thread/131013530/spotify-is-no-longer-working-with-voice-comm...

[Seawater]

Update: I tried using a test account provided by Spotify customer support. Same problem occurred.

[technikal]

This is definitely a Spotify app issue.  I found an older version of the Spotify APK (8.5.0.735) and commands from Google assistant / Android auto work perfectly.  It's been months - would be nice to have it fixed.  For now though, install an older version and save some sanity.

[technikal]

According to Google - Spotify has updated the app to address this issue.  I'll have to try the updated app and see how it works.

https://support.google.com/androidauto/thread/131013530/spotify-is-no-longer-working-with-voice-comm...

https://support.google.com/androidauto/thread/131013530/spotify-is-no-longer-working-with-voice-comm...

[technikal]

Seems to be fixed!  

[Seawater]

Yes seems to be working after latest Spotify app update