randomly switches to Radio based on Playlist

[MarkEdward]

Premium Plan

Android Galaxy J3V

Why in the middle of my playlist playing (4000+ songs) sorted by title, does it switch over to 'Radio based on Playlist' all by itself? This is in a store, my playlist is customer friendly, I can't have random songs playing when I'm not always there to fix it, it happens every day, I can't have this happening! Please help! Uninstalling and installing current version is not the answer.

[Jeremy]

Hi there @MarkEdward,

Thank you for taking the time to post here in the Community. This seems odd so let's take a closer look into this.

To start with, can you confirm that you followed the steps that are provided in this article? There's some more steps to help thoroughly uninstall the app from your device, so if you haven't, we'd highly suggest it since the steps will make sure there's no old cache files causing this.

On another note, does this occur on one specific device or multiple devices?

We'll keep an eye out for your reply.

Take care!

[MarkEdward]

Hello,

Thank you for replying to my question. Yes, I have done the suggested uninstall based upon the article.

I only use this one device. I will also note: usually we know when it has jumped off the playlist based one a couple songs it seems to go to, same ones every time, like it's favoring them for some reason. I know, also odd, but this playlist plays 10 hours a day, 7 days a week, we are very in tune with what is happening.

-Mark

[Eni]

Hi @MarkEdward, 

Thanks for your reply.

Just to confirm, is this happening when you're listening to music through Bluetooth/Connect or when you're streaming directly on your phone?

On another note, we suggest logging out and then logging back in to your account twice in a row. This will trigger a sync between your account and your phone. 

Lastly, keep in mind that having large playlists can have an impact on the performance. To avoid this, we suggest splitting your large playlist into smaller playlists to ensure an optimal performance.

Keep us posted.

[MarkEdward]

Hello,

Yes, this is happening thru bluetooth only.

I will try logging in and out twice as recommended.

Splitting up the list is not really a viable option, and since we DO have days where everything works fine I am questioning that the size is the problem. I can go days in a row with no hiccups, and then I can't string two days in a row to save my life.

Also, I shut down the program weekly and clear the data, and the cache.

-Mark

[OscarDC]

Hey @MarkEdward,

Thank you for keeping in contact and for the info shared.

In case that the process of logging out and back in doesn't make any difference, would you mind testing it by using a different WiFi connection. In case you don't have a different WiFi network available, you can use a mobile data hotspot to see if the issue persists.

Also, could you try using a different device to stream to see if it makes any difference? This will give us a better look at the issue.

Lastly, if the issue persists, include in your next response the OS version of your device, along with the Spotify version you're currently running.

We'll be on the lookout. 

[MarkEdward]

Hello again,

I am going to try a different device starting this weekend, easier to rule that out before trying other remedies!

I will report back next week after a good 5-day run!

Thanx again,
-Mark

[Eni]

Hey @MarkEdward,

Thanks for your reply.

Take your time to test this out and keep us posted on the result.

We'll be keeping an eye out for your reply 🙂

[MarkEdward]

Okay, first off I did not change devices. What I did instead was I changed over to Shuffle mode, and HAVE NOT SHUT IT OFF since, it's been playing for a full week now 24 hours a day (and night). Previously we sorted by title and did not shuffle, so the songs played thru in alphabetical order (that way we never missed a song and never had a repeat until we started from the top again) and paused the playing at the end of the workday. Since we switched over to Shuffle mode we have stayed ON playlist with no hiccups. How do you figure?

Does Spotify flag the songs already played so they don't repeat again until they ALL play? It never used to, that's why we switched over to non-shuffle. Wondering if that has changed.

[MarkEdward]

AND, that didn't last long!  I cleared out my data and and the cache to free up memory on my phone, I usually have to do that every week or two because Spotify is a memory hog on my older phone. I started everything back up this morning, started playlist, changed to shuffle, and about 7 hours in it switched to "Radio based on Playlist" again. I thought I had it figured out, guess not...

[Eni]

Hi there @MarkEdward, 

Thanks for your reply.

The shuffle option plays the songs that the algorithm thinks the user would enjoy more and gives priority to those, so it hasn't changed.

Apart from the other suggestions @Oscar mentioned above, you could try with a different sorting that isn't Title (with shuffle mode disabled) to see if the issue persists.
 
On another note, keep in mind that Spotify is only for personal, non-commercial use. We suggest taking a look at this article. 

Let us know how it goes.

[LiHAMNZ]

---

@Eni wrote:

Hi there @MarkEdward, 

Thanks for your reply.

The shuffle option plays the songs that the algorithm thinks the user would enjoy more and gives priority to those, so it hasn't changed.

Apart from the other suggestions @Oscar mentioned above, you could try with a different sorting that isn't Title (with shuffle mode disabled) to see if the issue persists.
 
On another note, keep in mind that Spotify is only for personal, non-commercial use. We suggest taking a look at this article. 

Let us know how it goes.

---

Just an FYI I have the exact same problem that drives me mental, so do a few of my mates, but only will happen after I select a song from my playlist. Seems to happen more of I lock my phone immediately after too which is really annoying when you select a song as you're exiting your driveway, it plays 3 seconds of it then starts another random song lol

[nckmat]

I am having the same issue on a Pixel 6 Pro with my entire pre-randomised playlist loaded onto my phone. It seems to happen when my phone is out of WiFi range, at work, in the car etc. I too have tried all the fixes mentioned above. It is incredibly frustrating as I don't want Spotify deciding what I might like to hear from my own playlist so shuffle is not an option. Yes my playlist is large, but that's the point I listen to music a lot and I don't want to hear the same song twice in a week let alone twice in a day, which is what happens when I use shuffle.

[Lyubka]

Hey there folks, 
 

Thank you for your replies in this thread.
 

Can you double check if Autoplay is disabled on your device? 

To do that go to your Spotify app tap on Settings> Playback> Autoplay and check if it's toggled OFF. In case it's not, make sure you change it to see if you'll still experience this.

We also suggest that you keep the app up to date with the latest version, so that you don't miss out on any fixes.

Hope this does the trick for you, reach out if you need more help!

[9x21k-1twd_i]

Hi, I’ve been having this problem as well for a few months. It started around June/July/August if that helps y’all figure this out. I’ve kept my app up to date. As for disabling auto play, I’d still like to have it on for when I reach the end of playlists, but of course I don’t want it to go to radio in the middle of playlists. Any updates on if the Spotify team is looking for a fix for this?

[MarkEdward]

Shutting AutoPlay OFF seems to work, it doesn't bounce me over to "Radio based on Playlist" HOWEVER when I leave it OFF, for some reason at some point during the day everything stops!  Can't have that either!

[MihailY]

Hey everyone,

Thanks for posting in the Community.

Can you please try enabling Autoplay again and turning on Repeat in the Now playing view? Also, make sure that the app is allowed to run in the background and is set as an exception in the battery and memory optimizing services on your phones.

Keep us posted.