Wrong artwork cover on car's Bluetooth.

[seekingfor81]

Plan

Premium

Country

Greece

Device

Nothing Phone 1 

Operating System

Android 13

Car

Hyundai Tucson (2021)

My Question or Issue

Mobile connected via Bluetooth (not android auto with cable, only Bluetooth).

Music plays from Spotify. The title and the artwork cover in the first track play well. In the next one, the title changes but the artwork cover remains the same as the previous one. On the 3rd track, you see title name change normally of the 3rd track but artwork cover of the 2nd. You move on to the next one and so on.

With another player everything works fine.

But since I'm very comfortable with Spotify, I'm struggling to make it work properly. I found some tips for changing the Bluetooth avrcp and battery optimization, but it's useless. The only thing I managed to do is not to show the artwork cover to any player by changing the Bluetooth avrcp but with the song titles changing correctly. In order to show the artwork cover it needs to have Bluetooth profile avrcp 1.6.

The infotainment of the car should not be to blame. It's most likely a Spotify bug after some update that I didn't hear about. It definitely has something to do with the Bluetooth avrcp profiles and how Spotify transfers the metadata to the car's infotainment.

In other players of my mobile the artwork cover changes normally. Like something sticks and stays in the artwork of the previous song while the next one is playing. It transfers the metadata, but laterally.

Is there any solution because it is very frustrating? I am very comfortable with Spotify and would not like to remove it.

Thanks in advance

[dbachran]

Still the same for me with Spotify version 8.9.38.494 (and AVRCP 1.6).

Additional note: With AVRCP 1.5 (the default), I never see any cover art, regardless if pausing/unpausing or skipping between songs.

[AlejaR]

Hey folks,

Thanks for all your replies and for the info shared.

We've gone ahead and passed your reports to the right team, and they're currently looking into this. However, we can't confirm when or if this will be fixed.

In that sense, we'd suggest you keep both the app and the car's receiver/unit up to date, so you won't miss any developments.

We'll be on the lookout!

[aldop]

Bunch of clowns working for Spotify.

Has been an issue since, let me check my notes "2023-06-19" LMAOOOOOOOOOO

How is this not something a staff software engineer jumps on in one day and fixes. give him a one plus 12r (400 dollars, expense it to the company) and rent a Tesla for day or two. Done, you can re create it yourself and actually fix it.

[ilkereryilmaz]

Not to defend Spotify (I am also one of the persons who reported the issue) but this seems to affect almost all Chinese phones (OnePlus's, Xioamis, Oppos etc.) and affects not only Teslas but Hyundais, BMWs, Mercs and other car brands. I say, not that easy to catch about what's different in the Bluetooth stack interpretation of Chinese brands. The brands don't release that kind of information to app developers. I used to have a Samsung before OnePlus and regardless of the car or Spotify version I used, the Album art always worked flawlessly. Clearly, there is something bizarre going on with the Chinese brands.

[marvbonk]

Plan

Premium

Country

Germany

Device

iPhone 15 Pro

Operating System

iOS 17.5

My Question or Issue

Hey, I switched from Apple Music to Spotify and in my car I can't see the Song Cover Pictures in the display. With Apple Music I saw them. Is there anything I can change in the settings that I can see them with Spotify?

With Apple CarPlay I can see them, but not with Bluetooth.

[martinh1199]

Currently, about 85% of the images are displayed correctly. For the rest, no image is displayed at all.

App version: 8.9.52.552

[ilkereryilmaz]

No, you can't. It either works or it doesn't. Nothing you/we change on the phone affects it. The bug is related to the Bluetooth stack interpretation. In one version of Spotify it could work and in the next version, it is gone again. My recommendation is to update Spotify regularly and if you encounter a version that displays the cover art correctly, never update Spotify afterwards.

[dbachran]

Well, still does only work sometimes for me. Still using Fairphone 4 in an VW id.3. Both my mobile and the id.3 are running the latest available software. Spotify verion is 8.9.70.556 right now...

Guess there will be no more activity by Spotify to finally fix this for everyone. Sad, there was some real progress initially and I was really hoping that his annoying issue could get fixed. Perhaps I may need to check out YouTube Music after all, which has no issues displaying song covers in my car...

[Paetsn]

Yes, unfortunately the error is still there. The thread is now almost 15 months old...

I also use YouTube Music from time to time because of the Premium membership. Strangely enough, the album covers have sporadically not been displayed here either for a few weeks now. Sometimes it helps to stop the song briefly and then press play again. But that doesn't always help either. If you select the next song and then go back to the previous song, the album cover is there again.
Perhaps the different Bluetooth interpretations of the various cell phone manufacturers have an influence on this? I use an Oppo Find X5 Pro. It's not a Samsung or iPhone, I know. Nevertheless, it would be great if the app providers (Spotify and YT Music) didn't just support the "big" cell phone manufacturers.

[pablocano]

I have the same issue, when will be the solution?

Thanks

[sentagoda]

Problem still - Tesla model 3 Highland. Spotify version 8.9.82.628 . Not car issue - tried Qobuz - work flawlessly.

[pablocano]

Wow! 16 months and it doesn't has been solved... Deezer work fine in my cell phone and my car, thanks

[Spottifymechupa]

I have a therory that the problem is that spottify does not want to pay royalties related to cover art costing them something. 

It works on Android Auto and it works on HEOS, so its something that is just related to Spottify.

On that topic, has anyone ever tried to actually talk to someone from Spotify? Either on chat, email or text.... There seems to be no way to get help. Kind of a bad thing. 

[ilkereryilmaz]

No, it is not related to royalties. The issue gets fixed and re-introduced over and over. I think the problem has 3 components and Spotify controls only one of them.

1. The car infotainment system. Everything works when Android Auto is used but normal Bluetooth connection causes the album art to disappear. Clearly, in whatever format Spotify is sending these images, then cannot be handled by the auto's infotainment system. I tried in multiple BMWs, in a Merc and in a Nissan. Depending on the version of the car infotainment system, or the Spotify version or even the phone's Android version, the issue comes and goes and comes back again.
2. The phone's Android version and how the Bluetooth stack is being implemented. Apparently, Chinese brands are more susceptible to this problem. For instance, my wife has an iPhone and I have never seen her missing any art work.
3. Then there is the Spotify version. The software engineers are trying solutions without really understanding what the **bleep** is going on. So, sometimes their patch fixes the issue in one version that works on some brands but breaks it for other brands/versions. It is the approach of "throw it to the wall and see which one sticks".

Personally, I don't think that this issue will EVER be resolved. Just use Android Auto guys, that is the only viable solution. Or when you are in need for an upgrade, chose an iPhone or a Samsung. Something non-Chinese basically.

[pablocano]

I think it is a bad programming of spotify, if you keep the screen of the smartphone connected by bluethoo to the car on, you will always see the cover art, if you turn off the screen you will stop seeing it, so I guess it is just a validation of priority of downloading music, metadata and cover art when the screen is on and when it is off, so it should be an easy solution that seems they do not want to repair.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)