Songs pause on Android Auto

[technikal]

Plan

Premium

Country

US

Device

Pixel 8, Pixel 7, Pixel 7a

Operating System

Android 13 and Android 14

My Question or Issue

When requesting music from Spotify using Android Auto in a 2022 Toyota 4Runner with the Entune 2.0 factory head unit, Spotify pauses the song just after starting.

Ex - I activate Google Assistant and say 'Play Tyler Childers'.  Assistant responds back saying 'Playing Tyler Childers on Spotify'.  You get a microsecond of the song and then it pauses.  You can play the song by pressing play on the screen, changing volume levels or skipping to the next song.

Things I know:

• I've tried multiple phones and all have displayed the same issue. 
• I've tried other music services and those work fine. 
• I've reinstalled multiple times with no change (though sometimes the first time you use it post install it will work before reverting). 
• It works ok on other head units (kenwood aftermarket, 2023 Toyota RAV4 JBL)
• It's been this way for ~ 6 months - but worked fine prior to that
• Sometimes it will pause/cut off Assistant if the request is long - ex Play 'Yes I Guess They Oughta Name a Drink After You' by John Prine" and it will respond "Playing 'Yes I guess they oughta name a drink after..." and then it just stops and you have to press play to hear the song

Thanks!

[OscarDC]

Hey @technikal,

Thank you for reaching out to the Community.

To continue investigating this case, it would be great if you could have someone log in with their account on your 4Runner - such as a friend or a family member, to see if the issue persists with a different account. This will help us understand if it could be account-related or not.

Also, could you check if the issue persists if you use another type of connection with your head unit (Bluetooth, AUX)?

We'll be on the lookout.

[technikal]

It does the same with my wife's phone ( Pixel 7a) logged into her Spotify account.

It's hard to replicate exactly with just bluetooth and no Android Auto, but saying 'Ok Google - play 'whatever' on Spotify' usually results in it opening Spotify, but not playing anything...

[Vasil]

Hey @technikal,

It seems to me that this is a Google-related issue so let's try unlinking your Google and Spotify accounts and then reconnecting them again for good measure first.
(You can also check in the Google Home app parameters under "music" and unlink any old Spotify accounts that could still be listed there)

Should the issue persists after this, you may take a look at this Google support page for further assistance.

Keep us posted on how things go! 🙂

[Edgie70]

Hi , hope someone can help , I have android auto in my car , I use Spotify, I ask Google to " play Bon Jovi livin' on a prayer" , it selects the song BUT it doesn't play the song , I have to manually press play , anyone else have this or know why it might not play straight away ? Thanks 

[Eni]

Hey @Edgie70, 

Thanks for getting in touch about this and welcome to the Community! 

Could you let us know if this has always happened or if it started happening after a specific event such as an update? 

On another note, does this happen across devices or only on your phone? 

Lastly, does the same happen while using a different internet connection? 

We'll be on the lookout for your reply.

[Edgie70]

Hi , this is the first time using Android auto and Spotify, it's on my phone because it's the phone I use in my car using 5g , thanks 

[Edgie70]

Hi , I spoke to someone on the Toyota Facebook page and he said he has the same issue , ask Google to select a song , it selects and shows in the screen but doesn't immediately play , unfortunately I don't have another phone to try , thanks 

[TalShar]

I've got the same issue on my 2023 Prius Prime. At first Android Auto worked fine. Then for a month or so, Google Assistant would get two or three words of its response of (Okay, playing Bon--) before it played the song. Now it does that, plays a tiny snatch of the song, and then pauses it. I can unpause it at will, but this happens whether I'm physically connected or through Bluetooth, and persists after restarting my phone. If I disconnect from Android Auto and attempt it in exactly the same way, it works as expected and begins playing immediately on my phone.

[Aarbeet]

I also have the same issue. Started happening today. Any solution is appreciated.

[Iam2sound]

Same issue! Started happening this week!

[Iam2sound]

Same issue here! Just started happening this week.

[SahloFolina]

I have this problem too. Always worked good but in the last week when I try to ask assistant (hey google) for a song, the assistant starts with "Okey...", song sounds for 1 second and then all stops, music and assistant. Song is showed in the screen, in the app, but stopped. I have to press manually to start the song, and then works. 

Youtube Music have the same problem for me, so maybe is a Android Auto / Google Assistant bug, I dont know... Both apps (AA and Spotify) have been updated recently.

Please help us!! Thx

[MihailY]

Hey folks,

Apologies for the lack of updates on our end.

For anyone still experiencing this, please send us the following (if you haven't already) so we can relay it to our tech team:

• The model and OS version of the head unit.
• The make, model, OS version and Spotify version of your phone.
• A detailed description of the issue.

Cheers,

[SahloFolina]

Hey MihailY,

Ty for the answer. I still have this issue, I send you my info:

- Xiaomi POCO F5 Pro, System Version: 1.0.3.0.UMNEUXM, Android Version: 14

- Spotify Premium 8.9.8.545

- I will paste my previous message: Android Auto + Spotify always worked good for me, but in the last week when I try to ask assistant (hey google) for a song, the assistant starts with "Okey...", song sounds for 1 second and then all stops, music and assistant. Song is showed in the screen, in the app, but stopped. I have to press manually the Play button to start the song, and then works. 

I tried all, reinstall Spotify and Android Auto, remove Spotify from my Google Account and re-sync, restore my car settings... Nothing seems to work.

Thanks in advance!!  

[Maria]

Hi @SahloFolina,

Thanks for the additional info, your details about this has been noted!

While we can't give you a specific timeframe in which this issue with songs not playing using Android Auto will be resolved, we'd suggest that you always keep the app up-to-date to stay on top of any new released fixes.
 

Should anyone else still experience this issue and encounter this thread, feel free to send over your details as well, as mentioned by @MihailY earlier in the thread, as this will help the investigation.

If anything else appears in the meantime, the Community is here for you!

[TalShar]

The issue appears to have self-resolved for me. 

[Frantix]

Its seems i had the same problem but the way i solved it is to re install my meeting apps (google meet,zoom, etc.) Because its seem android auto classify this apps as calls so if there is problem on that app or it thinks the meeting is still happening it wont let you play music

[#19]

This is a problem I had before, where by having my phone connected both via Bluetooth and Android Auto to the car, the stream on Android Auto would keep pausing. I solved it then by turning off the option to stream music over Bluetooth on my phone.
Now I have a car with built in Android Automotive OS (AAOS) (Volvo XC40) on which I have the Spotify app installed.
An update had now made Android Auto available as an app on the AAOS in the car, and the problem of music pausing has come back, presumably as it now sees 2 streams in the same account - one via my phone to the Android Auto connection and the other on the AAOS app.
Please advise a solution as I can't 'turn off' either one!!