Casting podcasts causes them to start over

[davidbauer19]

Plan

Premium

Country

USA

Device

Spotify Connect from: Pixel 6 Pro, Macbook

Connecting to: Bowers & Wilkins Formation Flex

Operating System

Android, MacOS 11.6, software version 2.5 on the speakers (latest)

Whenever I use spotify connect on my Bowers & Wilkins Formation Flex, podcasts over a certain length will always play the audio from the beginning. The time tracker on the app will show it proceeding from wherever I had left off, even though the audio does not match. If I try to move the position slider to a different spot it seems to freeze and then disconnect after a minute or so.

This does not happen with songs, or shorter podcasts (ie: 30 minutes seems OK while 1h10m has issues).

I have tried connecting from both my phone and laptop and the issue is the same from either. I have tried restarting the speakers as well as my phone/laptop.

[Dian]

Hey @davidbauer19,

Thanks for posting in the Community.

First we'd need some more information on the described issue:

• Does it happen only with certain podcasts, that exceed the 1h mark or you can recreate it with any podcast above 1h?
• You've mentioned, that if you move the slider, the podcast will soon stop. Is this the case, if you move the slider of a podcast already playing on the external speaker?
• How far into the podcasts are you at the moment you try to cast them to the external speaker? Try different timestamps and most importantly try casting before the first ad and after the first ad for comparison. It is possible, that the app resets the podcasts, because the ads in it are being skipped.
• Can you reproduce this observance by controlling the desktop app with your phone through Connect?

Keep us posted,

Cheers!

[davidbauer19]

---

• Does it happen only with certain podcasts, that exceed the 1h mark or you can recreate it with any podcast above 1h?

---

Since posting this I have found that it is not every podcast. For some examples, the podcast Malt Couture, episode titled Batch 202: Beers of Fame: IPAs (2h0m) it happens 100% of the time on. Everything works as I would expect for Timesuck episode 219 - Annie Oakley (2h21m).

• You've mentioned, that if you move the slider, the podcast will soon stop. Is this the case, if you move the slider of a podcast already playing on the external speaker?

---

I'll be more specific here, using the Malt Couture podcast mentioned above as an example. If I have it paused at 45m in on the app, connect to the Flex speaker and press play, it will play audio from the beginning of the podcast but the slider shows it at the 45m mark and increasing. If I attempt to move the slider to anywhere else in the podcast, it will stop the audio and then usually disconnects after a short time (30s - 1m).

---

• How far into the podcasts are you at the moment you try to cast them to the external speaker? Try different timestamps and most importantly try casting before the first ad and after the first ad for comparison. It is possible, that the app resets the podcasts, because the ads in it are being skipped.

It does not appear to matter if it's a few minutes in, about half way, or near the end. For podcasts that I observe this issue on, it appears to happen no matter the timestamp. There are no Spotify ads on these podcasts (at least the Malt Couture one), so I don't think that's the issue?

• Can you reproduce this observance by controlling the desktop app with your phone through Connect?

I have no issue controlling the desktop app through my phone for these podcasts that I've tried.

Hope this helps, let me know if there's anything else I can add!

[AndresM]

Hey @davidbauer19,

Thanks for your reply. 

We suggest that you log out everywhere. You'll find this option by scrolling down here. Afterwards, reinstall the app on your devices (you'll need to download your tunes again if you have Premium). Once this process is completed, restart them before launching Spotify again and tell us if the issue stills persists. 

On another note, let us know if this is happening when logging in with a different account (if possible).

Keep us in the loop.

[davidbauer19]

I followed these instructions and the exact same thing happened as before. I am able to verify that the same behavior happens on another account as well, I tested it with my partner's phone and account.

[OscarDC]

Hey @davidbauer19,

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

As the same behavior happens with a different account/device we'll need more info to keep investigating this case. 

In your next response, include the Spotify version you're currently running and the Make, model and OS version of the device you tried on.

Also, it would be great if you could test this using a different speaker to see if it makes any difference.

Lastly, would you mind checking if you can replicate the issue using a Bluetooth connection instead of the Connect feature? This will give us a better look at the issue.

We'll be on the lookout. 

[davidbauer19]

My phone's details are:

• Spotify Version 8.7.32.1554 (no update in google play store)
• Phone model: Google Pixel 6 Pro
• Phone OS: Android Version 12, May 5th Security Update, April 1 Google Play system update, Build Number SP2A.220505.002

My laptop is:

• Spotify Version: Spotify for macOS (Intel) 1.1.85.895.g2a71e1b8
• Model: Macbook Air (M1, 2020)
• OS: macOS Monterey 12.3.1 (21E258)

Unfortunately I don't have easy access to any other speakers with Spotify Connect to test this on (other than casting between my phone/laptop which works fine). However I have no issues with Google Cast (to a Google Home or an older Chromecast Audio).

When I connect to the Flex speaker with bluetooth it works normally as expected.

Please let me know if there's any other information I can add!

[Eni]

Hi there @davidbauer19,

Thanks for all the info you've sent so far.

Could you send us a video of the issue happening so that we can have a look directly from your end? You can attach it to your next response by using the Insert Video option in the post editor. You can also upload it to Google Drive and share the link with us (make sure the video has the permissions for anyone to see it).

We'll be on the lookout.

[davidbauer19]

Here is a link to a video I recorded a little bit ago when reporting this issue to Bowers & Wilkins (the speaker manufacturers). https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hDMbm3zJE_kJaSvWmEWtfMoTWFDvpATH/view?usp=sharing

In it, I start the podcast on my phone (the guitar riff is the very beginning), skip to a ways in, and then pause. I select the Flex speaker (named Kitchen) and cast it, and you can hear the guitar riff and intro start. Then I show that the Spotify app thinks it's still in the middle of the podcast. I also showed that the speaker's own control app thinks it's in the same spot as Spotify (I included that in the video originally to demonstrate to the manufacturer that it was an issue in both apps.

Please let me know if there's anything else you need, or if I should record a new video with something else.

[Vasil]

Hey @davidbauer19,

Have you tried casting another episode and then pressing next to get back to the desired one :? 
I'm wandering if the bar will be functional then.

We'll be on the lookout for your response.
Thanks a lot!

[davidbauer19]

Hi @Vasil,

I tried to do that just now, but I don't see any way to do "next" for podcasts. The button that would normally be a skip button instead becomes the "fast forward 15s" button.

If I put multiple podcasts in the queue and then switch to the second or further in the queue I either get this same behavior as before where the audio is playing from the beginning, or sometimes no audio will play at all and the timing bar will continue to increase. Interestingly, in these cases where no audio is played, if I hit pause on the app it will reset the time to the initial point I had casted at.

[AndresM]

Hey @davidbauer19,

Thanks for the additional info. 

In this case, skip a podcast by swiping its cover to the left or right (to see if the bar is functional).  

Changing tunes, let us know if it's possible to test this with a different speaker in order to see if the issue persists (you can try with a different phone too). 

We'll stay tuned.