Problems with VW Golf

[rubeduardo]

I own a VW Golf 7.5 and i' facing issues with my iPhone 12 Pro Max. I have full updates on both.

When using Apple Music with my car radio or controls on wheel driver I can browse through a list of all albums, playlists, artists and songs on the car radio. I am currently not able to get this information on my radio when using Spotify. This causes the need to grab my phone everytime I want to change the album or playlist.

A more detailed description, using numbered steps
1. Start play a playlist using Blutooth on my iphone
2. On my car radio, press the "browse content" button.
3. When using Apple Music, I can choose Playlists, Albums, Authors, Tracks, etc
4. When using Spotify I get the message that there is no content available.

Note: I am facing this issues using Bluetooth connection..And i have Spotify Premium

[Yordan]

Hi @rubeduardo,

Thanks for reaching out in the Community.

Could you let us know which troubleshooting steps you've tried so far so we avoid repeating them? If you haven't already, try performing a clean reinstall of the app on your iPhone to see if that does the trick.

Make sure also that you've turned on Background App Refresh for Spotify. You can do that in Settings > General > Background App Refresh.

If you have another mobile device (you can also try with a friend's or a family member's), try connecting it to your car via Bluetooth to see if the issue is still present.

Keep us posted on this.

Cheers!

[rubeduardo]

I did what you mentioned but without results. 

[MafeG]

Hi @rubeduardo,

Thank you for keeping in touch.

We'd like to isolate this issue as much as possible. Could you log in with another account, such as a friend's or a family member's to see if the issue persists? Alternatively, you can create a free account here, just make sure you're logged out of your own account before creating a new one.  

If the issue persists, is it possible for you to connect to your car using a different phone to check if the same happens? 

Let us know how this goes.

[rubeduardo]

I tried with a diferent account with my iPhone without results. 
i tried with an Android phone and nothing diferent. 

[MafeG]

Hi @rubeduardo,

Thanks for keeping us in the loop.

Since this seems to be isolated to your audio device, can you check if it allows you to reinstall the Spotify app? 

Also, please make sure you don't have any pending firmware update.

As always, we'll be on the lookout.

[rubeduardo]

I had read a lot of people complaining about this issue. Is it an issue that Spotify can't really solve it? I have tried with 4 different phones. With this issue the CarPlay function is no more a really function because if i want to change to a different playlist, album or artists i have to pick up my phone to do it.

[Alex]

Hi @rubeduardo,

Thanks for the reply.

We've looked further into this and it seems that as both CarPlay and AppleMusic are developed and maintained by Apple, compatibility between the two has been enhanced within CarPlay.

As we don't have any influence on how CarPlay is configured to interact with our app and the Spotify API, it doesn't seem as there's anything we can do about this at this point.

Don't hesitate to reach out again if you have questions.

[Kamil12]

I have an exact same problem. 
When I connected samsung s21 to VW golf7 I could not only see the song but also browse the whole playlist! No issues on android!

Now when I have an iPhone when I try to view the playlist I see message saying "feature unavailable" or something along those lines. I have newest iOS firmware 15.5 and spotify App 8.7.46.1678

[rubeduardo]

Apparently there is no solution to our problem. Baaaahhh

[mrsmichael]

I use golf beginners putters at my end its working fine.

[Bhotani]

It sounds like you're experiencing an issue with Spotify's integration over Bluetooth with your VW Golf 7.5's infotainment system. While Apple Music appears to be fully integrated, Spotify may not be offering the same browsing capabilities via Bluetooth. This is a known limitation with some car infotainment systems when using Spotify.

Here are a few suggestions that might help:

1. Check Spotify's Settings: Ensure that Spotify has the necessary permissions enabled to interact with your car's system. You can do this by going to your iPhone’s settings, finding Spotify, and checking if all permissions are enabled.

2. Update Car Software: Verify if there are any available updates for your car's infotainment system. Sometimes, newer updates improve compatibility with apps like Spotify.

3. Use CarPlay: If your car supports Apple CarPlay, consider using it instead of Bluetooth. CarPlay offers more robust integration with apps like Spotify, allowing you to browse playlists, albums, and artists directly from the car's display.

4. Reconnect Bluetooth: Try removing the car from your iPhone’s Bluetooth settings and then re-pairing it. This might reset any connectivity issues that could be causing the problem.

If none of these solutions work, it might be a limitation of Spotify's Bluetooth implementation with certain car models. In that case, using Apple CarPlay or another connection method might be the best workaround.