Some Playlists Not Shuffling Correctly on Android Only

[Lagaes_Rex]

A couple of days ago I updated my phone's Spotify app, and ever since the update Shuffle Play has not been working correctly.  Here are the details of the problem:

• One of my playlists (All The Songs!, embedded below) is stuck only shuffling the first 9 songs (out of ~1,300) when I play it on my Android app.  After recognizing the same VNV Nation songs playing over and over I decided to track it, and with precisely two exceptions for the last 72 hours it's just been those 9 songs playing.
• As far as I can tell, none of my other playlists have this shuffling problem when played on my Android app.
• I've tried the All The Songs! playlist on both my iPad and the Web Player, and they seem to shuffle just fine.

Here are my stats:

• Phone: SAMSUNG-SM-G950U (Galaxy S8)
• OS: Android 7.0
• App Version: 8.4.43.632 armV7

In my attempts to troubleshoot the problem, I have already performed the following:

• Force stopped and restarted the app
• Restarted my phone
• Logged out and logged back into the app
• Uninstalled and reinstalled the app

Thank you for your assistance.

All The Songs!

[jeffhpc1]

Unfortunately, many users (myself included) have been experiencing similar problems with shuffle on the Android app, especially since the November update. (That's when I started having a problem, and it affects all of my playlists.) So far, the folks at Spotify seem unwilling to acknowledge that this is even an issue.

[Lagaes_Rex]

In the few days since my initial post, I've noticed a few additional things worth noting.  I initially thought it was just the one playlist, but it seems to be affecting all of them.  A couple times I've let a playlist play out longer, and I think I have a better sense of what's happening.

If we use the analogy of the playlist as a deck of cards, when I tell the playlist to Shuffle Play, instead of shuffling the whole deck the first 10 songs or so from the top of the playlist get dealt into a smaller pile which gets shuffled and used.  As songs get played the next song from the top of playlist deck gets dealt into the pile getting shuffled.  The result is something not quite shuffled, but also not quite in order.

Here's where things get weird.  Yesterday I discovered that if I start a playlist on a different device (I've tested this now a few times with both an iPad and the Web Player) and then switch to the Android app to resume the playlist, it seems to shuffle just fine.  However, if I start a different playlist on the app, the problem returns.

Is the shuffling being handled client side?  I always assumed it happened server side, and then the decided songs were streamed to whichever client is currently being used.  That way switching devices along the way wouldn't have any effect on the shuffle.

[Lagaes_Rex]

Updated to 8.4.43.633 armV7 three days ago.  The first time I tried using the app after the update the shuffle appeared to be working correctly.  Unfortunately the moment I changed playlists the problem returned, and it hasn't shuffled correctly since.

[Lagaes_Rex]

Updated to 8.4.46.575 armV7 yesterday.  I tested several playlists and the problem is still occurring.

[janeolsson_]

Bro same. On my phone (Galaxy S8 with current version), any playlist that I have created has this weird blue button that says "Listen In Shuffle", and when you click it, a message pops up and it says "This icon means the playlist is available in shuffle. This helps keep things free." After that you press the Got It button, but it doesn't change anything. The message makes no sense because I have the free account, but when I press Shuffle Play, the playlist plays in the order it was created in; it doesn't even shuffle the top ten songs; it just goes down the line. I'm getting really frustrated finding no answers to this, and I was wondering if you also had the blue button.

Also, if you wanted to know, the second part of the message says, "Bonus: You also get 15 special Spotify playlists that let you pick and play any track, and skip as much as you want. Just go to Home." (FYI: I went to my  "home", and I still couldn't find anything, and I really don't know what this means).  Maybe this might help you look into more stuff, but I don't know, and I was also wondering if you have the same thing.

[Lagaes_Rex]

I do have the blue button you refer to in addition to the green Shuffle Play button.  I figured it was just there to give that message.

As for the special Home playlists, I never looked into it, but I just assumed it was the "Made for you" playlists (e.g. Daily Mix, Discover Weekly).

[TomNarz]

Same problem on the 8.0 OS and Galaxy S9. I came here with the same problem, but mid typing, I solved it somehow miracously. Through some messing around to see if it worked on other playlists, returning to the playlist I wanted to shuffle, I found it was finally shuffling through every song in my ~7,000 song playlist. Here's the best I can describe what I did:

1. Started playing my playlist.

-I had been playing this playlist for awhile and it was only shuffling the first few, in a weird semi-sequential way

2. Went to Discover Playlist and started playing through some of it.

-Discover still wasn't shuffled

3. After skipping a few tracks, a lone spotify ad played.

-I kinda got aggravated and just started swiping right on my phone out of frustration, going back to the beginning of the playlist (not sure if important)

4. Went back to the original playlist I wanted to listen to, and abracadabra, it worked.

I have absolutely no clue what happened, if this was an intentional by Spotify or if it's a glitch, but I have it working now, and I'm honestly too afraid to touch it.

Other things to note of possible varying importance:

-I have just started using it on Android recently

-I tried uninstalling and reinstalling twice before this

[TomNarz]

Update: What the **bleep**.

It WAS working fine for about 30 minutes when it all of a sudden went ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP of the playlist and started playing the first 10 again. I have no clue what happened.

It seems that listening to Discover Weekly does fix this everytime however. Weird how that works, wonder if that's intentional.

[sara_boccia]

Starting up a playlist from my Mac temporarily fixes the prob. Then it goes back. Just checked out the update and problem still isn't resolved. I wonder if it is just the free version or the paid version as well.

It's sad that I can no longer listen to my playlists when I am on the go or at the gym. I have had Spotify for years and have built up quite a collection of music. Spotify is now pretty worthless unless I am at my home.

[TomNarz]

Can confirm that this is another solution. Starting the playlist on something besides your phone (like a laptop) will cause it to start shuffling all for awhile before it goes back to doing it semi-sequential. I don't think this is a feature, it must be an actual bug in the software, which makes me very wary to pay for premium if it's bugged in such a way. I do have a month of premium trial that I can use and may very well use at some point, so I'll update here when I've done that and if it does it still.

[The_Gorm]

A slight work around I found is to switch to a daily mix, skip a few of those songs and then when you go back to playlist you want to shuffle it should shuffle. You'll have to use a few skips though cause it doesn't always work first try. Honestly Spotify is so wack.