Make downloaded items immediately available when offline

[1211098110]

I've found that when I'm in offline mode (say, in the car with mobile data turned off) that the Spotify app is less responsive than when I'm on wifi or data. I think it's a bit ridiculous that I have to wait 10+ seconds in order for my downloaded tracks to load in the app. I would think that since I have these tracks downloaded to my device that if I'm in offline mode, or have no internet connection, Spotify wouldn't bother trying to connect to the internet and should just show me the things I have on my device locally. Or at least try to connect in the background instead of making the entire interface a loading spinner while at the bottom of the screen it clearly says "Spotify is in offline mode" or whatever the message is. Like, I just want to be able to access my downloaded tracks without a hassle! That's why I downloaded them!

[MafeG]

Hi @1211098110,

Thank you for reaching out to the Community.

We've moved your post to this help board since it's not an idea submission.

What you mention could be happening for multiple different reasons. To start, we'd like to know if you've tried activating the Offline Mode after you've turned off the mobile data/WIFI. This will ensure your app doesn't try to connect to the internet, which will help it load your music faster. 

Can you confirm how the app behaves after trying this? This way we can keep assisting you with it.

We'll be on the lookout.

[1211098110]

Hi,

Yes I have tried turning on Offline Mode but the problem persists. I've
tried putting it in offline mode when I'm on wifi/data as well as when I
have no internet connection, but I still get the same loading behavior when
I open the app with no internet connection. The only thing Offline Mode
seems to do is prevent the app from updating in the background (say when I
add songs to a playlist or whatnot).

[MafeG]

Hi @1211098110,

Thank you for your swift reply. 

In order to start helping you sort it out, we'd like to have some more information. Please share with us the make, model and OS of your phone, as well as the Spotify version you're running.

Also, let us know if you use an SD card to store your downloads. If you do, could you try downloading the music to your internal storage and check if that makes a difference? 

Keep us posted.

[1211098110]

I'm using a Google Pixel 5 running Android 12.
Spotify version *8.6.98.900*
All of my downloads are stored on my device, I don't use an SD card.

Unrelated to this, but also something irritating is an issue I've been able
to reproduce consistently while not on wifi/data: Pressing the "Play"
button when opening up a podcast episode screen (to read a longer
description of the episode) does not work. Like, ever. The only way I can
get it to play is by going back to the list of downloaded podcasts and
pressing the tiny play button there. It works when I'm on wifi/data though.
Just another thing I was reminded of when using the app today.

I should say though that I really appreciate your willingness to help, and
your responsiveness! I honestly love Spotify and I think it's a great
product.

Thanks again.

[Eni · Accepted solution]

Hey there @1211098110, 

Thanks for getting back to us 🙂 

We can confirm that the app loses some functionality when offline, but it shouldn't be too bad. This seems to be a general performance issue and the app probably needs a bit more optimization for its Offline Mode.

On another note, it's great to hear that you enjoy Spotify that much, and rest assured, we'll make sure to pass your report and feedback on to the right folks. We're sorry we don't have anything better at that point, but hopefully with some future tweaks and optimizations this will get better.

If you need a hand with anything else, the Community is here for you.