Songs stop and start when my Google Pixel 7 is locked.

[Zara13]

I am getting increasingly frustrated. Over the last week my songs just start and stop playing randomly when my phone screen is locked or when it times out and locks itself. It entirely defeats the purpose of a music app.

I have unpaired and repaired my bluetooth earphones about 10 times, I have turned on the setting to allow background usage on my phone.

I'm at a loss of what to do at this point

[Declancheetham]

**bleep** this is happening me too! My pixel 7 is brand new though so I thought it was a problem with the phone

[Maria]

Hey there folks,

Thanks for reaching out on the Community!

Just to check, does this only happen when connected to Bluetooth headphones? Or does it happen when playing directly from the phone as well?

Do you notice any difference after clearing stored cache? Are you experiencing similar issues on any other devices that you use Spotify on?

It would be great if you could let us know what version of the operating system you're running, along with the Spotify version, should the issue persist.

Keep us posted on how it goes.

[Declancheetham]

Hi Maria,

this happens when using bluetooth speaker/headphones and when playing through the phone speaker.

The problem persists after cleaing the cache.

I am using a Google Pixel 7 Pro running Android 14, Build number AP1A.240405.002 and my spotif app version is 8.9.26.592

[Zara13]

Check your software updates. I had a security update and it seems to have solved the issue ...for now. 

[Declancheetham]

Still happening to me after April security update 😞

[Zara13]

Nevermind. The issue persists now 

[Zara13]

Hi Maria, 

Cache has been cleared, the Spotify app has been uninstalled and reinstalled, phone is fully updated. The music pausing happens even with downloaded songs. 

I have Spotify version 8.9.26.592 and Android v 14 which is fully up to date. 

The issue happens with Bluetooth devices. I never used to have this issue but it has started recently. The Spotify app has permission to run in the background. When my screen is active, the song plays without issue. Once my phone is locked the music will stop-start play (with no indication of pausing and unpausing). 

[Maria]

Hey @Zara13 & @Declancheetham,

Thanks for keeping us in the loop!

In addition to disabling all background restrictions for Spotify (done from the phone's settings > Apps > Spotify), could you make sure to disable the battery optimization too? This could be hindering the app's performance as well. Once it's done, try letting your phone turn off the screen by itself, to check if the app would still stop.

Also, does this happen on different internet connections as well? For example, if you're currently connected to 4G/5G, you can try connecting to WiFi.

If this doesn't do the trick, it would be great if you could send us a video showing how things look from your end, so that we can have a look as well. Should the files be too large to attach here in the Community, you can send them to us as unlisted YouTube videos or via Google Drive. 
 

Let us know how you get on!

[Declancheetham]

Hi Maria

Thanks for your reply, all background restrictions have been disabled on my end the whole time but thanks for the suggestion.

This problem occurs when connected to any Wi-Fi or mobile data.

I have been trying to screen record this happening all morning but it seems whenever I'm screen recording it doesn't happen

*Edit* additionally when I set my screen recorder to also capture audio, the music from Spotify is not recorded anyway. 

[Maria]

Thanks for all additional info @Declancheetham!

Would you mind double-checking the phone's settings to ensure that "Pause App activity if unused" is switched off for the Spotify app? Then, open the Spotify app, and to be on the safe side, make sure that Keep app open on screen is toggled off. You can find this by going to Settings > Car.

It's worth trying to toggle off and on Spotify Connect in Background as well, to see if you notice any difference.

If possible, should the issue persist, could you ask a friend or a family member to log in to their own Spotify account on your device to see if the same thing occurs?

Keep us posted!

[Declancheetham]

Hi Maria,

I have followed these steps to bo avail unfortunately, I had my brother log into his account on my phone and the problem persisted. I have finally been able to get it happening on video and have attached it here 

In the video the music stops near the start and then again near the end, in the video I have locked my phone manually both times but this happens whether I lock the screen manually and when it times out

[AlejaR]

Hey @Declancheetham,

Thanks for your reply and for all the info shared.

In this case, we'd like to check, are there any pending updates for Spotify on the Play Store? If yes, update the app to see if you notice any difference.

On another note, would you mind opening your account on a different device to see if you can replicate this behavior? It'd be great if you could ask for the mobile device of a relative or a friend to open your account and check.

Lastly, and just to confirm, do you use any cache-clearing or task-killing apps? Take into account that these apps can affect the performance of the app. We'd suggest disabling any of those to see if you notice any difference.

Keep us in the loop!

[Declancheetham]

Hi @AlejaR,

My Spotify app is currently up to date

I have not logged into my account on a different device, however the phone I am currently using (Pixel 7 Pro) is new and the problem only started occuring when I started using it, a few days beforehand I was using a Pixel 6 Pro which had never experienced this problem.

I do not use any task-killing or cache clearing apps.

I have not been listening through bluetooth recently so I will start again and get back to you if the problem continues

[Declancheetham]

Hi @AlejaR

I can confirm this is still happening over Bluetooth, I have taken another video of it happening but it's too large to upload here so I have included a link to view it on Google photos.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/A5A4dC2KB5ZrEiF7A

[AlejaR]

Hey @Declancheetham,

Thanks for your reply and for all the info shared.

We've seen reports in other forums in which users mentioned this same behavior started to happen after updating the OS of their devices. Some noticed that disabling the battery optimization (long pressing Spotify> App info> Battery> Battery optimization> Select don't optimize) has helped.

Nonetheless, since you mentioned you've already tried that, we'd like to check if it's possible for you to downgrade the OS of your device to see if you notice any difference.

We understand that downgrading the OS is not ideal. If this is not possible, we'd recommend reaching out to the manufacturer of your new device, so they can help you with further insights about this behavior.

We'll be on the lookout.

[Börmt-die-Buse]

I am sure it's a problem with the tensor chip. Since i have the pixel 7 pro I had only problems with the phone. I have already contacted google through feedback. But I doubt that will fix anything.

[Hoser2525]

Or maybe Spotify can be taught to play nice with Android 14? I have this same issue, but not on Bluetooth, just the phone speaker. Spotify stutters, stops playing DOWNLOADED music. It's not a data, streaming, battery issues. I've set all permissions to give Spotify unrestricted data and battery. Yet, it can't handle playing music with the screen off. As soon as I wake the screen, it's fine.

[Butterstick951]

+1 to the issue above. Tried all fixes and getting no where. Very frustrated

[Novy]

Hey all, 

Thanks for the replies. 

If you haven't already, make sure to send over the following info: 

• The model of your device
• The exact OS version of your device 
• The exact Spotify app version you're currently running

Once we have the above, we can forward your reports to the relevant teams. 

We'll be on the lookout.