(Smart) Shuffle not working when in car only

[bobross222]

FIRST: Yes, I have already
1) uninstalled, reinstalled,
2) logged out, logged back in
3) logged out, uninstalled, reinstalled, logged back in

Device: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Premium Family Plan

I don't know what happened, but recently, I cannot use the shuffle or Smart Shuffle feature on my playlists when in my car - connected to WiFi, cellular data, or even offline/airplane mode.

The icon turns green, then immediately back to grey. When I look a the queue, the app looks like it's trying to shuffle (random songs populate) but then almost immediately the queue returns to the playlist order pre-shuffle.

When I am at home (connected to WiFi) or at work/public (connected to cellular data) the shuffle works. But for some reason, only in my car does shuffle not work.

I live in Texas. But I have only ever encountered this when I am in my car (2015 Mazda CX-5) but not when I am in other people's cars in Texas or other states. 

Is there something my car is doing that is causing this? It's connected via BlueTooth.

Attached gifs show when on cell data, when offline, and when leaving my home WiFi in the car.

I would like to highlight that this is still as of 2025, with first instances in 2022 - and it seems like it is still not resolved (https://community.spotify.com/t5/Other-Podcasts-Partners-etc/Cannot-shuffle-playlist-when-connected-...).

My issue is with Android and my car - everything had been working fine (Shuffle and Smart Shuffle) until December 2024. Now instead I have to use Spotify DJ (too random).

[Dessi]

Hey @bobross222,

Thanks for reaching out and for the detailed info you've provided!

Have you tried this suggestion from the thread you mentioned? It seems that enabling shuffle mode in the car via voice command works for a lot of the users in the other thread. 

Another thing you can try, so that we can rule out if it's the Bluetooth that's causing this, is connecting your phone to your car with a different connection - like an AUX cable (if supported). It'd also be great if you can ask someone to connect to your car from their own device to check if they experience the same issue.

Keep us posted.