[Wear OS] Select something to play

[Warps]

When initially opening Spotify on Wear OS it always prompts to "Select something to play" despite audio already playing on phone. Only when the app is closed and reopened it populated with music data. Happens every time Spotify app is opened.

[Lyubka]

Hey @Warps,

Thank you for reaching out here in the Community.

In this case, we'd like to gather as much info as possible. Could you please share with us what type of watch you're using? Any additional details (such as device's make, model and OS) will be very helpful. Sending us some screenshots of how the issue looks like would come in handy.

On another note, would you mind letting us know what troubleshooting you've tried so far? This'll help us avoid repeating steps.

We'll be on the lookout for your reply. 

[CslCheetah]

I've been having the same issue with my Pixel Watch 2.

The smartwatch app works normally until I use any other function on it, play media from other non-Spotify sources on my phone, or let the watch sit idle for a while. Then the main app screen simply reads "Select something to play" with unusable media controls (though I should note that the watch's default media controls still work).

The controls might be disabled, but I can still use the app to start up playlists/podcasts. Plus, the 'recent apps' screen shows the name of the currently playing media underneath the app's title, so there must still be some communication between the app and phone.

As the original post mentioned, I am able to get Spotify on Wear OS to temporarily work again by deleting the cache or force-stopping it, but manually resetting things every time I shift off of using Spotify is becoming a real headache. I wonder if it has something to do with permissions/notifications on either the watch or phone...

[Ivelina]

Hi @CslCheetah,

Welcome to the thread!

Let's start troubleshooting this issue together in order to see if any of the suggested steps would make a difference.

To begin, make sure you're using the newest software version on your watch and give the app on your phone a clean reinstall with the steps here. This helps resolve different issues with Spotify's performance so it's worth giving it a go (the steps also include clearing the corrupted cache). Also, we recommend deleting the app on the watch and installing it again after that.

Additionally, on your phone check if you've got any battery optimization apps or settings enabled that can interfere with Spotify's performance as well. You can find more info here.

We'll be on the lookout 🙂

[CslCheetah]

I'd given some thought to battery-saving features on either device disrupting and then failing to restart communication between the phone and watch, so I spent the last week casually testing different combinations of togglable performance-effecting features. Unfortunately, I didn't see a difference in the frequency that the "select something to play" glitch appeared in any particular case. I'll continue trying out things as I think of them and leave a comment back here if I find a solution. 🙂