Playback not playing... time not running

[jmuellerbonn]

Plan

Premium

Country

Germany

Device

Fairphone 3

Operating System

Android 10

My Question or Issue

Hi, since 2 Weks the playback on my Android phone is not staring. The Playback button changes after clicking to the pause sign, but the timelin of the songs ar not moving... i can move the cursor on the timeline to lets say 1 minute, but still the playback is not starting.
I tried, Cache cleaning, clean reinstall, restart, remove all devices ... nothig helps... any suggestion?

[Mario]

Hey @jmuellerbonn,

Thanks for writing about this here in the Community. 

Just to confirm, have you already tried disconnecting all the devices you have Spotify on from any blue-tooth (or other) listening devices you use with the app? This should be something good to do together with removing all the devices from your account, as you already did. For instance, try deactivating the bluetooth on your Fairphone and/or having it manually forget any blue tooth speaker it's currently connected to. Then do the same with all the devices you have Spotify on.

Let us know if this does the trick. We'll be here to help further if you need us! 

[jmuellerbonn]

Hi Mario,
yes, I've tried all that. Spotify works fine on all my other devices (Android tablet, Windows laptop).

[Mihail]

Hey @jmuellerbonn,

Thanks for getting back to us.

The troubleshooting done so far indicates that something is interfering with the app on that specific device. You mentioned that you did a clean reinstall, could you confirm you used the steps in this guide? They are very thorough and make sure no leftover files from previous installations remain. Don't skip restarting your smartphone, that's a very effective step, but often overlooked. It's also a good idea to check for any available updates for your Fairphone.

Keep us posted. We'll keep an eye out for your reply.

[jmuellerbonn]

Hello,

I have now carried out the clean reinstall again according to the linked instructions. In step 4, I searched my entire mobile phone for any files with *spotify*, but found none.
After restarting and reinstalling, the problem still exists.
What strikes me is that despite clearing the cache and memory, the same song as before the whole process is still displayed as "currently playing" after the reinstallation. Is this information still stored elsewhere?

Thx,

Jörg

Attached the video...

[Mihail]

Hey @jmuellerbonn,

Thanks for getting back to us and for the video.

Are you able to switch the song? Does this happen with all tracks or is the app stuck on the one in the video? 

You mention that everything works fine on your other devices. If you use Spotify Connect and switch between them and your smartphone, does the progress bar update?

We'd love to investigate this further! We'll be here if you have any other questions.

[jmuellerbonn]

Hello Mihail,

I can switch songs on the Fairphone. However, they don't run then either. I can also manually jump forward within a song, but the playback just doesn't start (see video).

To test via Connect:

If I first open Spotify on the Fairphone, then want to listen to it on my laptop via Connect on the Fairphone, the playback does not start. As soon as I open the playback on the laptop, the music starts.
If I start Spotify on the laptop first, then open Spotify on the Fairphone and listen to music on the laptop via connect, the playback plays. So I can start and stop on the Fairphone, just like normal. The music comes from the laptop. As soon as I then stop Connect again on the Fairphone and want to listen directly on the Fairphone, the playback stops again.
Is this understandable and comprehensible?
Thank you,

Jörg

[Mihail]

Hey @jmuellerbonn,

Thanks for getting back to us.

The issue comes up when the output device is the Fairphone, regardless whether or not you are using Connect, right? Could you borrow a friend or family members Spotify account, log in on the phone and laptop and see if the app behaves the same? 

It would also help the troubleshooting if you could start your phone in Safe Mode and see if the playback functions properly there. You can use this Fairphone guide.

We'll be here if you have any other questions.

[jmuellerbonn]

Hello Mihail,

that's right: the problem always occurs when the output device is my Fairphone. And this problem was not always present, I think I noticed it about 4 weeks ago, before that everything went without problems.

I logged into Spotify with my daughter's account on my FP3, the problem occurs with that too. So it really seems to be related to a specific problem on this device....

I can not start Spotify in safe mode on my FP3. So I can not fulfill this request.

Thanks for the support!

Jörg

[Mihail · Accepted solution]

Hey @jmuellerbonn,

Thanks for getting back to us.

If you have issues starting Safe Mode, we recommend reaching out to Fairphone's customer support. They'll be more than happy to assist you.

Since the issue indeed appears to be device related, could you let us know if you're using an SD card? If you are, it's a good idea to remove it and run a clean reinstall once more.  That way we can test if the additional memory is causing this.

Keep us posted! 

[jmuellerbonn]

Hello Mihail,

Yeah! The problem is solved! (At least for the moment...)

Yes, I have an SD card (128 GB). I removed it and restarted my FP3. Without SD card Spotify ran without any problems. I was finally able to listen to music again! Yay! Even after reinserting the SD card and rebooting again, Spotify runs fine again!

So I did not do the clean reinstall.

So probably something got knotted up in Spotify's memory management. I haven't changed anything on the hardware of my FP3 for years....

BTW: I have no problems to start the Safe Mode. Only that in Safe Mode on my FP3 then I can launch programs only limited. Spotify is not one of them.

Thanks a lot! My problem seems solved for now!

Have a nice day!

Jörg

[Eni]

Hey @jmuellerbonn,

Fantastic news! Give us a shout if it starts misbehaving again; we're always here to help. 

Have a great day 🙂