Spotify silently crashes when the phone is locked

[nuncidvides]

Plan

Premium (Student)

Country

Ireland

Device

Samsung S8

Operating System

Android 9

My Question or Issue

This issue has only begun recently, and previously Spotify worked perfectly on the phone for 18 months. Every now and then when my phone is locked Spotify will stop playing in the middle of a song. When I unlock the phone the Spotify loading screen shows again and the song can be played from the start. This never happens when the phone is unlocked and in use (using either Spotify or any other app). It only happens when the phone is locked. Has anyone else seen this issue/has any suggestions?

[nuncidvides]

Update: I have now also had the silent crash occur in the background whilst using another app (Reddit in this case)

[rachelm42]

My spotify app (also on Samsung s8, android v9) has started cutting out when the screen is locked. I noticed it before but since the most recent update (2 days ago) it has become nearly every time. It mostly happens when there is no spotify notification icon on my screen (with the skip/play/pause button), which doesn't appear even after going into spotify and clicking around. Sometimes it will re-appear and then it behaves fine again for a short while. Definitely appears to be a bug 😞 

[Katerina]

Hey there @nuncidvides and @rachelm42,

Thanks for reaching out about this here in the Community!

We'd first suggest making sure that Spotify is set as an exception to any cache-clearing or battery optimization apps on your device.

We'd also recommend checking that your device is running the latest OS version available, so if you see any pending software updates, make sure to install them.

If these don't do the trick, you can follow the steps in this Spotify Answer for a thorough reinstallation of the app. 

@rachelm42 If you're having troubles seeing the status bar notification, it'd be a good idea checking that all relevant notifications for Spotify are enabled from your device's settings. 

Let us know how you get on! We'll be right here if you need more help.

Have a lovely day 🙂

[LienekeG]

Me too

[rachelm42]

Hi,

I hope you have had a good weekend 🙂

I have checked everything is updated and not disabled for notifications (and the notification is there when it is working, so it can't be fully disabled). There was an update to the app a couple days before your reply and this seemed to help but today it started crashing again (I had a shower and in the 10 minutes I didn't get through one 3 minute song because it kept cutting out 😞 ) 

My partner is also experiencing this issue (also a Samsung s8), he says he finds it worse when he leaves his phone to lock itself rather than pressing the lock button. Having spoken to a few friends they are also seeing it and I believe most of them have android devices too. I'm not sure if it is a Samsung update which caused the app to break, or a spotify update which has cause the loss in reliability? 

Thanks,

Rachel

[Emirljuca]

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We'd first suggest making sure that Spotify is set as an exception to any cache-clearing or battery optimization apps on your device. 

---

How do you check the exceptions on the most recent android software? I have a lot of my music downloaded so I really dont want to reinstall spotify if I dont have to but this issue is very annoying.

Thanks

[rachelm42]

Hi Katerina,

Has there been any update on this? I'm still having problems, my spotify and android have both recently updated and it's still happening 😞 It's getting to the point I can hardly use spotify any more as I have to get my phone out every few minutes to force close the app and restart it! 

[rachelm42]

For me the battery bit in Settings has a section of apps and power saving mode, and you can allow Spotify in there. Plus in the notifications section in Settings there is a bit about what apps are allowed what. Finally in the Apps section of Settings there's a Spotify bit and I just make sure all the right bits are allowed. I also checked in Spotify's settings within the app to make sure there wasn't anything weird in there.

[Cainos]

Hi Katerina, i am experiencing this same issue and have tried all the steps provided with the issue still occurring. All (Of the many) posts about this issue are from Samsung Galaxy S8, S9 and S10 (All Android 9 too i think?) users so it is pretty obvious that either a recent Samsung or Spotify update is causing the rather annoying issue.

[Emirljuca]

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@rachelm42 wrote:
For me the battery bit in Settings has a section of apps and power saving mode, and you can allow Spotify in there. Plus in the notifications section in Settings there is a bit about what apps are allowed what. Finally in the Apps section of Settings there's a Spotify bit and I just make sure all the right bits are allowed. I also checked in Spotify's settings within the app to make sure there wasn't anything weird in there.

---

I am not sure what you mean by bit, is there a specific title for the path you followed, for example...

In the Settings App -> Apps -> Spotify -> Allow background activity

[Katerina]

Hey again folks!

Since we've received more reports regarding this issue, we'll move this thread to Ongoing Issues so we can get it reported with the right folks if needed.

If you're having troubles with the Spotify app on your Samsung device, we'd first recommend trying the following:

• Spotify is set as an exception to any cache-clearing or battery optimization apps on your device. You can find more details on how to do that from your device's manufacturer - you can also take a look at the solutions offered in this thread for more info.
• Use a different internet connection. If it works with no issues on a another connection, we recommend contacting the service provider of the original network for more information.
• Make sure your device isn't rooted and that the operating system is up to speed with any updates.
• If you're using an SD card, remove it and give it another try to see if that helps.
• Perform a clean reinstallation of the app following the steps provided in this Spotify Answer.
• Check if Spotify is listed in Sleeping Apps. If it is, make sure to remove it.

If none of these do the trick, please let us know the following details and add your +VOTE:

• Your device and its exact OS (operating system) version
• The exact version of the Spotify app
• Does this happen when using a different device? If so, make sure to add its details.
• Any screenshots or screenrecordings of what's happening would be very helpful

We'll be keeping an eye out for your replies, thanks!

[Peter · Accepted solution]

Hey folks,

We've moved this thread back to the help boards, since we already have a thread in the Ongoing Issues board which is related to this.

Make sure to head here and leave the requested info. We'll make sure to keep you posted and let you know as soon as we have any updates.

Thanks!