Spotify Auto loses place in playlist

[wolfstone636]

Plan

Premium

Country

USA

Device

Google pixel 7

Operating System

Android

My Question or Issue

I have a Google pixel 7. I connect my phone to my car audio system using android auto. I will select a playlist that I already have. I will start the playlist in the middle and it will work for as long as I remain in the car. Once I leave the car and come back, Spotify Auto doesnt pick up where the playlist stopped before I left the car. It will finish the last song that was playing and then not play the next succeeding song. I have to pull over and use the app on the phone to return to the playlist and scroll back to the song I had left off with in order for it to pick back up again.

Any assistance will be appreciated

[Ivelina]

Hi @wolfstone636,

Welcome to the Community!

Have you tried any troubleshooting steps so far? We recommend checking you have a stable Internet connection and if it disconnects during the playback. 

Does the same thing also happen with various playlists and have you enabled Autoplay in the Settings?

It'd also be great if you could try connecting Android Auto to a different device to see if the issue persists there as well.

Thanks and hope to hear from you soon 🙂

[wolfstone636]

I checked my Internet connection. There is no issue concerning disconnection.

I double checked  and made sure that autoplay was turned on. I tested it out again today. I got in my car, choose my playlist and started playing a song from the middle of the playlist. I left the car to run an errand and got back in the car. The song finished playing and instead of playing the next song in the playlist, the Auto app just returned to the home screen

[Susan_GP]

Hi @wolfstone636,

Thanks for your reply and the info provided. 

For starters, we'd recommend performing a clean reinstall of the Spotify app on your device. No worries, you won't lose any content, but you might need to download your offline music again. 

On another, did you notice if this started happening after a recent change or update on your device? If you have the chance, could you try using a different mobile device and check if you experience the same behavior?

We'll be on the lookout.

[wolfstone636]

I did the clean uninstall as you recommended. Unfortunately it did not solve the problem.

I dont think that the problem started after a recent update.

I do not have another mobile device that I could use to check if the same behavior occurs

What do you suggest as my next step?

[Susan_GP]

Hi @wolfstone636,

Thanks for trying out our recommendations.

Would you mind showing us the exact behavior you're experiencing? This will help us better understand the situation and know how to proceed. So if possible, send over two videos/recordings. One that shows the last song played in the car before you leave. And another one that shows how the app behaves once you come back. You can attach them in your next reply in mp4 format, or you can also upload them to YouTube or Google Drive and make them public.

Additionally, send over the Android version on your device, along with the Spotify version you have installed.

We'll be on the lookout!

[wolfstone636]

Here is a link to a public folder where I put the videos you requested. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/16QhgvZ89su7Yj31T3ZeUJx6CW1dnMdHb?usp=sharing

I am running Android 14. Spotify version 8.9.4.304

[Eni]

Hey @wolfstone636, 

Thanks for getting back to us and sending us this info. 

We checked the videos you sent and it looks like the playlist keeps playing after the last song you listened to. In this case, could you give us more context of the issue? Is the next song that started playing not the one that comes next in the playlist? 

We'll be waiting for your reply.

[wolfstone636]

The next song that started playing is not the one that comes next in the
playlist.

Sometimes the app also just returns to the home screen

[wolfstone636]

I was using my wife's car today. I wasnt connected to Android auto. I was just using the car's BT system to play the phone as a media source. The same exact problem happened. The song in the playlist finished and instead of the next song in the list playing, some random song started.

[Vasil]

Hey @wolfstone636,

Thanks for the update! We'll get to the bottom of this 🙂
If the same issue can be observed on a different vehicle and via Bluetooth, it's very likely that the mobile device or the installed copy of the app is at fault here.

In order for us to take a better look into this, could you send us a screenshot of the Now Playing View on the phone and one of the queue when the issue occurs?
We'd also like to know if the described behaviour can only be observed while playing songs, or with podcasts as well.

Many thanks 🙌🏼 We'll be on the lookout!

[wolfstone636]

I am attaching 4 screen shots. Step 1 show now playing when i get in the car and step 2 shows the que.

Step 3 shows Now playing after I get back in the car and when the previous song shown in step 1 finished playing. It goes to a song not in que. You can see the que in Step 4 and it will show what the next song should have been

[wolfstone636]

step 1

[Susan_GP]

Hi @wolfstone636,

 
Thanks for your reply and the screenshots.

You mentioned this didn't happen after an update or recent chance. Does that mean this is just the way Spotify has behaved the whole time when returning to your car? Or when did it start happening? 

Now, there's something else you can try. Go to Android Auto > General/Settings > Disable "Start Music Automatically" if it's on. If you're able to do that check if that makes a difference. 

Keep us posted!

[wolfstone636]

I tried your suggestion to disable "Start Music Automatically". It didnt solve the problem.

I have had the phone since November 2022 and I have had my car since December 2022. This problem started sometime MId 2023 around the summer time. So there was a point when I didnt have this problem.

[Ivelina]

Appreciate the cooperation, @wolfstone636!

Are you by any chance using an SD-card on your phone? Keep in mind that corrupted cache on it can cause different issues with Spotify's performance so if that's the case it's worth removing it, giving the app a clean reinstall once again and trying to see if the issue would persist without it in the phone. 

We also noticed that the songs in the playlist are downloaded. It's worth mentioning that you'll need to re-download them once again after the reinstall, but could you also try playing them without downloading them directly after the reinstall to see if it'll make any difference?

Keep us updated.

[wolfstone636]

I do not have a SD card

[AlejaR]

Hey @wolfstone636,

Thanks for your reply and for the info shared.

We really appreciate all your help regarding this issue. In this case, we'd suggest you connect a different device to your car to see if you can replicate this behavior. You mentioned you don't have another mobile device to try, so would it be possible for you to ask for the device of a relative or a friend to open your account there? It'd be awesome if you could check.

On another note, can you replicate this behavior if you open a different account on your mobile device? It'd be awesome if you could check. Again, if possible, you can ask for the account of a relative or a friend to open it on your mobile device and check. Give it a try and let us know how it goes.

As a next step, we'd like to check, does this happen when you select a specific playlist to play or does it happen no matter what playlist you choose to play? Would you mind giving us more details about your car audio system? If the app was pre-install on it, we'd suggest you try and reinstall the app there to see if you notice any difference.

Keep us in the loop!

[wolfstone636]

I am trying a different tactic. Previously, I was using "Liked Songs" as a playlist and it had over 3500 songs in it. Yesterday I created several actual playlists and spread the songs out over those playlists. I am now using them instead of Liked Songs and I will see if I can replicate the behavior or whether it solves the problem

[AlejaR]

Hey @wolfstone636,

Thanks for your reply.

We appreciate you keeping us in the loop about this issue. Remember to send us the info we mentioned above:

• Does this happen on a different device?
• Does this happen on a different account?
• Please give us more details about your car audio system.

We'll be on the lookout!