Podcast pauses and starts again after notification

[nikolayt]

Plan

Premium

Country

Bulgaria

Device

OnePlus 5t

Operating System

Android

My Question or Issue

Every time I start listening to a podcast(only podcasts, not music) and get a notification, the podcast starts to pause and plays again after 1-2 seconds. Sometimes it straight up sounds like buffering after a notification.

It happens with Bluetooth earphones and wired.

Tried looking up that issue before - saw advice to reinstall the app - tried it but didn't work.

Tried clearing cache of app later on, still nothing.

Sometimes I try going to Silent or Vibrate mode to "mute" the audible notifications - no effect.

Even if I have only Spotify and Messenger working and no other apps - no effect.

Tried downloading the podcast so it's not buffering - not the issue. Happens both on WiFi and 4G.

I've been trying to find a solution on here and in general and nothing helps. I've seen people with similar issue but to my understanding not quite what I'm experiencing.

I've been ignoring this for too long. I need an answer, and an efficient one.

Thanks.

[MafeG]

Hi @nikolayt,

Thank you for reaching out to the Community. 

Great troubleshooting so far! There are other things we can try here to help you sort this out. 

Could you enable your phone's airplane mode and see if the same happens when you play the downloaded episode? 

Also, can you log in with another account, such as a friend's or a family member's to see if the issue persists? Alternatively, you can create a free account here, just make sure you're logged out of your own account before creating a new one.

Let us know how this goes.

[nikolayt]

Thanks for the reply.

I've listened to downloaded podcasts while in airplane mode a few times and the issue didn't happen. However, in airplane mode, obviously I cannot get notifications, which is the key moment for the issue. It does happen sometimes when switching between apps but that's about 2% of the times.

Sadly, I don't have an account to switch with that somebody is not actively using.

As for the new account, do you mean to log out of mine from all devices and register a new one with different email address?

Thank

[Jeremy]

Hey @nikolayt,

Thank you for getting back in touch.

You don't have to log out from all devices. Just make sure that you've signed out from the device that you'll try the new account on 🙂 This will help us understand if it's account related or not.

We'll keep an eye out for your reply.

Take care!

[nikolayt]

If I understand correctly - you'd like me to register a new account with a different email etc?
But then what happens with my subscription etc?
Sorry if I'm not following that well..

[MafeG]

Hi @nikolayt,

Thank you for keeping in touch.

The suggestion to create a new account is just to test and find out if the same issue happens on a different account or not. Please give this a try and let us know how it goes. 

If the issue persists, you can go back to your Premium account and make sure the Spotify app has all permissions enabled on your phone's settings.

Keep us posted.

[nikolayt]

Hey @mafeg,

Just registered a new account, logged onto it on my phone, started playing a podcast episode on bluetooth buds - the moment I switched over to Instagram - the same buffering-like sound interruption happen (that's on high speed wifi). Downloaded an episode and played it - same.
Disconnected the buds, tried only while playing on the device's speaker - same again.
I've cleared cache on the app, tried out different streaming options - no effect.

Thanks

[Ver]

Hey @nikolayt,

Thanks for keeping us posted.

Could you please share with us a video recording, showing what's happening when you get a notification? Just make sure to hide any private or sensitive info. We'll look into this further.

In case you're using any battery optimization or power saving apps, you can deactivate them for Spotify.

Did this occur, for example, after an update? 

Keep us in the loop.

[nikolayt]

Hi there,

I don't think I'll really be able to do the recording as I listen on headphones and in general not sure if i'll have the time to spare.

I remembered a few more things I've tried - I had read in a forum to clear cache/reinstall the app, which I tried and it seemed to work for maybe a few days.

Also, the issue happened just an hour ago when I was listening to a podcast and using Facebook Messenger, on Silent so no actual notification sounds coming through. The buffering-like interruption started happening while I was having back and forth messages so I thought it's the mobile connection - but I checked and it was a downloaded episode of the podcast. Also, I had a look at the RAM usage and there were at least 2GB free at the time.

If you think nothing can be done and is an isolated issue, even though I remember other people talking about it on other forums, I'll just try reinstalling again and worst come to worst - deal with it.

Thanks.

[nikolayt]

Hi,

Another thing I just noticed.

I start an episode, switch to Messenger then lock the device. A notifications comes through, I tap my screen to wake up, I can see the message notification but no Spotify Notification Dot on the top or the screensaver player controls - even though the episode is still playing.

I switch to Spotify I few times and only then the dot appears as well as the background and controls on lock screen.

Then it would disappear multiple times while I navigate other apps.

I checked and the app is allowed in background etc, no battery saver mode and whatnot.

Thanks.

[Kiril]

Hey there @nikolayt,

Thanks for your response.

Considering all the troubleshooting we've tried so far, we can suggest you to also try to clear and then to set anew the notification options for all background apps in your OnePlus phone's Settings menu. We also found a thread here at the OnePlus forums, where a user has suggested this as a solution for such similar situation. Check if this will make any difference for you.

Hope this helps. Let us know how you get on.

[TheStupendusMan]

I'm running into the same problem, currently. I updated my Spotify app recently. Prior to the update, both music and podcasts would simply dip in audio but continue playing so I could hear both the notification chime as well as my media. Since updating, music still dips but podcasts fully pause. This is a Spotify app issue for sure.

[BBSB]

Hi, for anyone who encounters this problem, I had the same issue with my podcasts with another app pausing with incoming notifications.  I was able to solve it by taking the app out of "sleep" mode.  In my Samsung "Background usage limits" there are options for putting apps to sleep when not in use.  I had to switch my app to the category "never sleeping apps".  No more pausing.