JRE video on mobile

[ihickman]

• None of the below information is required. However, the more you provide the easier it will be for us to try and help.

Plan

Free/Premium

Country

Device

(iPhone 8, Samsung Galaxy 9, Macbook Pro late 2016)

Operating System

(iOS 10, Android Oreo, Windows 10,etc.)

My Question or Issue

I really only listen to podcasts, never watch them. Is there a way to get JRE podcast as audio only on my phone? I don’t want to have to download video every time I want an episode

[hozae]

The bandwidth requirements bring back the horrors of buffering.  Please offer audio only options.

[Alexander121]

I download a podcast when at home so I do not have to worry about data and WiFi connection when I'm not at home.
Now the podcast stops randomly to buffer the video part, that I don't even use. I can not imagine how Spotify could have reasoned when deciding this was ok for release. It simply doesn't work! make the audio separate from the video and the problem would be solved.

[ihickman]

Also I have noticed, the video won’t even play when I have my VPN turned on, while other audio only podcasts have no issue with that...come on Spotify, this is not a user friendly experience!

[maximo101]

i havent experienced anything buffering for years. Been a daily user of multiple streaming services and have dual internet connections.

Now that i have to watch JRE on spotify, it keep buffering and I know its not my connection...

[adina-listener]

Hello, please vote here: https://community.spotify.com/t5/Live-Ideas/Mobile-Podcasts-Toggle-Video-for-podcasts-on-mobile/idi-...

[Novy]

Hey folks, 

Thanks for reaching out about this in the Community. 

You should be able to download only the audio of the podcasts by turning on the option Audio Only Podcasts in the Data Saver section of the setting menu on mobile devices.

If you're unable to see this option, we'd recommend performing a clean reinstall of the app as this can help remove any cache that might be causing issues.

If anything else comes up, don't hesitate to let us know.

Cheers.

[adina-listener]

Dear Novy,
this is not helping.

This will still Stream the video when I play the episode even if I don’t watch it unless I am in an OFFLINE mode.

So no. This is a bad workaround and does not help this issue.

See how many people are totally helpless and sad about this:
https://community.spotify.com/t5/Live-Ideas/Mobile-Podcasts-Toggle-Video-for-podcasts-on-mobile/idi-...

It’s very surprising we’re not getting any help here.

[Novy]

Hey @adina-listener, 

Thanks for getting back to us. We'll do our best to help you sort this out. 

Just to confirm, were you able to reinstall the app following the previous recommendations? 

Also, could you let us know your device's make, model, OS version and the Spotify version you're currently running? 

We'll keep an eye out for your reply. 

[adina-listener]

Dear Novy,
I can confirm that on the latest iOS app version 8.6.12.1032 on ios 14.4.2 there is no option to stream podcast without a video. Also, the option "download audio only on wifi" will play the podcast with video if I don’t set the phone to airplane mode or spotify to offline mode.
There is simply no way for me to just stream or download audio and then play that audio podcast without going offline. this is annoying.
Reasons:
1) people with no wifi can’t download audio only podcast
2) If I download podcast with "audio-only podcasts" on wifi and then play, it STILL plays the video, streaming, eating the data (!!) unless I go offline in spotify or on my whole phone.
3) there is no way to just play audio of a podcast. it is streaming video even if I am not watching.

This is:
a) not safe for driving
b) not okay while working
c) taking up too much space
d) using too much of data plans
e) using too much battery

This is bad UX. Give control back to the user. Some people just want audio and no video. Read more people saying the same thing here: https://community.spotify.com/t5/Live-Ideas/Mobile-Podcasts-Toggle-Video-for-podcasts-on-mobile/idi-...

Can we get this resolved?

[Novy]

Hi @adina-listener, 

Thanks for this info!

We understand where you're coming from and we'd like to take a deeper look into this issue. 

Would you mind sending over a screenshot where we can see how the app settings look from your end? You can attach it using the Insert Photos option in the post editor, just make sure to remove any personal info from the photo. 

Keep us posted.

[adina-listener]

Dear Novy, I don’t think that will help you, when there is no settings for audio only streaming.
Let me attach the settings for audio-only download.
The download that will still stream video if I’m not offline.

[Novy]

Hi again @adina-listener, 

Thanks for keeping us in the loop. 

If possible, could you ask a friend or a family member to log into their personal account using your device and let us know if they can replicate this behavior?

You could also try logging into your account from a different device to see if the issue persists. This will help us investigate further. 

We'll be on the lookout for your reply.