Can't Use 2 Devices Simultaneously??

[AndrewFantasia]

Hello,

I recently upgraded to Premium so I could share Spotify with my mom. But if I'm listening to mine, she can't listen to hers, and vice versa. She was at work listening to her playlist, and I was at home searching songs, but I could HEAR what SHE was listerning to. Can't they be separate like Netflix? Isn't there a way for her to listen to her stuff and me to listen to my stuff simultaneously without it crossing over like that? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[AndrewFantasia]

Hey folks,

Thanks for your comments on this thread.

The Premium Family plan is indeed for up to 6 people who live together, each person with their own personal account. Since every member has their own account, they can listen to their music whenever they want on their own devices, no matter if another member of the plan is listening, as they would be using their own account.

As @Alex mentioned above, what is not possible is to use one single account on more than one device at the same time.

Regarding the smart speakers, keep in mind that it's necessary to link a Spotify account to the speaker's manufacturer account, such as Google or Amazon, and this is required from both ends (Spotify and the manufacturer). Therefore, each Spotify account must be linked with an individual speaker manufacturer account and the speaker can only be used by the account that is linked.

In the case of Amazon speakers, for example, you can create an Amazon Household which allows you to have multiple profiles in the same account, and you can link your Spotify account to your own Household profile and use the smart speaker you want, even if someone else is using another one in the house.

In the case of Google speakers, you can set up multiple accounts in the same speaker via Voice Match.

If you have any questions on how those work, we recommend reaching out to the manufacturer's support.

You might also be interested in Spotify Kids. Right now, the Spotify Kids app is  available in a few select markets, so no worries if you're having troubles seeing it. We hope to have it available in other markets soon!

There's an idea about adding Spotify Connect in the Spotify Kids app - we'd recommend adding your +VOTE and feedback in a comment there to show your support and contribute to the discussion.

We hope this sheds some light on this.

Cheers!

[Maxim]

Hey @AndrewFantasia,

Thanks for reaching out.

It sounds like all family members are trying to use the same Spotify account to listen to music at the same time. To be able to listen to music at the same time, all family members need to have their own Spotify account. If they don't have a Spotify account yet, they can sign up on http://spoti.fi/2e1FH6k.

You can learn how to invite family members to your Premium for Family plan here: https://support.spotify.com/account_payment_help/premium_for_family/premium-for-family/

[AndrewFantasia]

But Maxim, I've already invited her into my premium account. If we can't be using Spotify at the same time, what's even the point of having Premium in the first place?

[Maxim]

She's most likely still logged into your account in her app. I'd recommend telling her to log out and log back in using her account.

Thanks and let me know how it goes 🙂

[AndrewFantasia]

Perfect, that did the trick! Thank you very much, Maxim!

[Jwkac1]

I have had a premium plan for many years. i was promoted to join a family plan as another member in my family wanted to join.

She has a free account. Every time I send invite whether via email or Whatsapp it brings up a message that they are already on a premium plan. They are not.

Is it a hoax that Spotify charges another $6 for nothing extra?

How can we make the Family plan actually work without the constant "error" messages?

I log out. They log out. They even uninstall & reinstall. No change or difference. It says they are on a premium plan. No truth. They are not listed on my plan.

Needs fixing otherwise they will go back to Deezer or another platform.

[jeffpj]

We are in the same boat. My wife and 2 kids are added and have received the links and we have logged out 10 times each and logged back in and nobody can listen at the same time. What is the scoop?

[aliceandsimon]

 I have the same problem, I have 3 accounts and a family premium plan. 1 master account and the other two accounts joined to the family plan. It all used to work fine, but now if the master account is listening to Spotify, when I try to use device logged into one of the added accounts, I can see what the Master account is listening to and I can't listen separately. This completely negates the point of paying the extra money....

[Xenia]

Hey there folks,

Glad to have you on the Community! Don't worry - we're here to help 🙂

Keep in mind that all members of the plan need to have their own personal account, so you don't interrupt each other's playback. We'd recommend following the steps in this Spotify Answer to make sure every family member is logged in to the right account. 

Just a heads-up, if you are using Voice Assistants in your household it's good to double-check that they are linked with the correct Spotify account, as otherwise this might be the reason why your music gets interrupted from time to time. 

Hope this helps. Let us know if you have any other questions.

[Naoseiusar]

Hello,

So they each have to have their own account on the “free account” and then enter through the link? Sorry I didn’t quite understand.

Best

[Alex]

Hi @Naoseiusar,

Welcome to the Community!

Every member of the Premium Family plan needs to have their own separate account, which they can then use to log in and listen to music. When you're logged in the Main account you can send invite links to the email addresses of the other people you want to add to the plan. After they accept the invitation, their account becomes a Premium Family sub account. You can have up to 5 of those in a Premium Family. The link needs to be accepted only once, after that they just need to verify that they live on the same address and that's it.

You can check out this article for a full guide on how to manage your Family plan.

Bear in mind that if you've logged in on several devices with the same account, you'll only be able to listen to music from one device at a time.

Hope this info was useful 🙂

[Cvore2004]

This is BS. It's 2020. Netflix has had this figured out for 15 years. There needs to be a way to listen on smart devices at home without having to switch accounts or killing the music my wife is listening to at home while I'm driving.

[Alex]

Hi there @Cvore2004,

The idea behind not being able to play music simultaneously on several devices with one account is to enable users to keep their individual listening history and habits intact. This way you'll only get recommendations that fit your personal taste. 

This wouldn't work so well if 5 different users listen to different music genres and podcasts all the time on the same account.

Hope this clears things up 🙂

[nino_bravo]

Don't you think that if Spotify (through Google assistant or Alexa) could identify voices of family members everything could be easier? This is mandatory for family plans.
I had a similar problem and, in the end I had to leave Spotify which was a pity.

[boods]

We have the same issue. I don't care about our histories being mixed up, I just want us to be able to listen to music in the kitchen and someone else listening in the bedroom without cutting each other off. We have google home players throughout the house. Do we have to assign our google devices to each person? I also have 2 kids, who have kids plans, does that interfere in our being able to play regular music on more than one account? It seemed to me we had to download the app onto their devices to set this up, should they be deleted?

I am guessing we can only have one device each. How do you sign out of your account on google home?

And playing issues aside - does anyone else find Spotify to be the glitchiest program they've ever paid for? We have had a lot of laughs when one song is announced and a completely other song starts playing, but it's wearing a bit thin. Actively seeking music provider alternatives.

[Ianpscott1002]

If more than one family member can’t listen to their own music at the same time than a FAMILY membership is utterly useless!!! Come on Spotify companies like Netflix have a far more sensible approach and a family membership is exactly what you expect. It’s ridiculous you sell a family membership and then block family members from using it at them same time. 

you also have an equally ridiculous restriction of only being able to play music on ONE smart speaker at a time. We have FIVE in the same house.

By your logic I would need NINE individual Spotify memberships (me, my wife, two children and 5 speakers).  

[jeffpj]

Nope, doesn't help at all. Family plan shouldn't exist then, make it all individual plans. It's utterly useless.

[Ianpscott1002]

Hi Alex (Moderator)

With respect your response was not helpful.  You guys either don’t get it, are not listening or simply ignoring the feedback presumably for commercial reasons.  When we sign up to family membership we expect family member to be able listen to their own music simultaneously.  As I am writing this is just sounds like I am stating the obvious.  We also have a number of shared smart speakers which again we want to use at the same time and listen to our own music.  This is SIGNIFICANTLY more importantly to our individual music history and the minor benefit this may deliver.

As a number of folk have said, Netflix has been managing family memberships for years.  It is easy for family members to select their own watching history and most importantly we can all watch stuff at the same time!!!!

Please listen to the feedback it’s all pretty consistent.  If not, in my opinion, you need to stop selling a family membership.... because it is NOT a family membership and frankly I am tempted to make a complaint under the Trade Description Act 😳

Sorry to be blunt.

[CarlosE · Accepted solution]

Hey folks,

Thanks for your comments on this thread.

The Premium Family plan is indeed for up to 6 people who live together, each person with their own personal account. Since every member has their own account, they can listen to their music whenever they want on their own devices, no matter if another member of the plan is listening, as they would be using their own account.

As @Alex mentioned above, what is not possible is to use one single account on more than one device at the same time.

Regarding the smart speakers, keep in mind that it's necessary to link a Spotify account to the speaker's manufacturer account, such as Google or Amazon, and this is required from both ends (Spotify and the manufacturer). Therefore, each Spotify account must be linked with an individual speaker manufacturer account and the speaker can only be used by the account that is linked.

In the case of Amazon speakers, for example, you can create an Amazon Household which allows you to have multiple profiles in the same account, and you can link your Spotify account to your own Household profile and use the smart speaker you want, even if someone else is using another one in the house.

In the case of Google speakers, you can set up multiple accounts in the same speaker via Voice Match.

If you have any questions on how those work, we recommend reaching out to the manufacturer's support.

You might also be interested in Spotify Kids. Right now, the Spotify Kids app is  available in a few select markets, so no worries if you're having troubles seeing it. We hope to have it available in other markets soon!

There's an idea about adding Spotify Connect in the Spotify Kids app - we'd recommend adding your +VOTE and feedback in a comment there to show your support and contribute to the discussion.

We hope this sheds some light on this.

Cheers!

[Erinaov]

I'm a little frustrated/concerned that it sounds like I am required to create e-mail addresses and spotify accounts for my 5 and 7 year olds so they can use the family plan we just purchased. This sounds ridiculous!