Podcasts breaking Android Auto

[Kwaku1331]

Plan

Premium

Country

USA

Device

SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 20 ULTRA

Operating System

Android Version 11, One UI ver. 3

My Question or Issue

I switched back to Spotify Premium strictly for the JRE podcast, I use a different player for all my other podcasts without issue. I use Android Auto via USB to listen to music or podcasts. Several times I have had it happen that when I start my vehicle and plug in my phone Spotify shows up, because it was the last thing I was listening to on my phone, and nothing plays. I open my phone and click on the play button in the app and nothing. I then click on music and it usually (not always) switches over to music, but again will not play. Force close and open the app, will not play. I have done a few reinstall of the app after other issues with Spotify and it still happens after each install. 

The only work around I have found is to open another audio app on my phone, typically podcast republic, play another podcast which plays perfectly fine and then switch back over to Spotify and this seems to resolve the issue until the next time I try to listen to a podcast. Pretty ironic how I need to use a superior FREE app to make your inferior paid app work. 

I also have tons of issues with the podcast stopping and having to close and re-open the app to get it to start. 

The app doesn't show what's actually playing, this happens with music and podcasts. 

Then the other totally infuriating thing that happens often is that when it freezes, or just on resuming listening later it COMETELY LOSES MY PLACE IN THE PODCAST, this is ridiculous considering most of the podcasts are 3 hours long and trying to find your spot again is a real P. I. T.A.

These forums and reddit etc are filled with people with the same or similar issues. If you are going to force us to get the content we want through exclusive deals with content creators, at least have the decency to give us a decent tool to listen.... It's not impossible as there are literally dozens of free apps doing much better with a fraction of the resources your company has. 

[CarlosE]

Hey @Kwaku1331,

Thanks for reaching out to the Community and welcome!

We understand that you already tried reinstalling the app, but can you make sure to follow these specific steps for a clean reinstall? This is more thorough than a regular one and can be helpful to get rid of any cached files that might be causing trouble.

If the issue persists, could you try a different connection such as Bluetooth and let us know if that makes any difference?

Keep us posted. We'll be on the lookout.

[Kwaku1331]

I typed out a reply, but just like your app your website is apparently bug ridden.

To summarize my lost post, the reinstall doesn't work and the issue continues. Bluetooth solution is not a solution, Android auto is used via cable.

I included a nice screencap showing your website error as well. 

[Mihail]

Hey @Kwaku1331,

Thanks for your reply. 

It's a good idea to make sure that any any power saving or data cleaning services on your mobile device are disabled. In some cases these tend to cause issues like the ones you're describing. In addition, you can try authorizing both Android auto and  Spotify to run without restrictions despite. Make sure you try this since such features can often prevent the apps from operating at full capacity. On most devices these setting can be found like this: 

1. Mobile Settings> Apps> Spotify> Permissions. Allow everything you see there.

2. Mobile settings> Apps> Spotify> Battery> Optimize battery usage> select top All (not optimized for apps)> Spotify> disable.

3. Last step - restart the phone.

Note that the menu order may differ on different devices.

If this doesn't fix things, could you borrow a friend or family members account and see if the behavior comes up there as well? Also, does it come up only when connected to your car or in other situations as well?

Keep us posted. We're right here if you have any questions.