Shuffle only shuffling small subset of large playlist, when streaming to other device from iPhone

[Garbonzo]

I'm on an iPhone 6s, I have a playlist of just ~8k songs., and I'm noticing weird behavior with the shuffle feature. Here are the steps I take to recreate the issues: (I am also attaching a collection of screenshots that are numbered based on the lists below, so you can see what I am seeing)

Here is what seems to be working:

1. If I have shuffle off, and then select a song from this playlist, and then view my now playing queue, I see the ordered list of songs (as expected)
2. While still viewing the "Now Playing", if I tap the shuffle icon, I see that it shuffle to a seemingly random assortment of the songs in my big playlist (although I do see an eerie number of tracks by the same band, I'd expect not to see so many in a shuffle of 8k songs)
3. If I tap the shuffle button again, it correctly disables shuffle and I see my ordered playlist again (good), starting at the location in the ordered playlist of the currently playing song.

Here is where it gets weird:

1. If (while still on the iPhone) I choose to stream to another device (like my laptop, or my chromecast audio), it switches and plays just fine
2. However, if I then choose to enable shuffle, I can see when viewing my "Now Playing" on my phone that it is showing a random assortment of just a teeny tiny subset of my entire 8k song playlist. This is a problem.
3. If I then tap the shuffle icon to turn shuffle off, it goes back to the ordered play queue (expected)
4. Tapping shuffle icon again gives me a new play queue, but it is definitely only shuffling a small subset of the 8k playlist (and the subset seems to be in the vicinty of the last played song). I tried this several times, going between shuffled and unshuffled, and each shuffled playlist is only shuffling a small subset of songs, near the song currently playing.
5. With shuffle still on, If I select a particular song from my playlist, and then view my play queue, It shows me a new shuffled playlist (which is consistent with what the desktop app does), but the play queue is still a shuffle of a limited subset of the full playlist. 
6. However, if I then tap the shuffle icon to turn off shuffle, my play queue does NOT go back to the ordered playlist, it goes back to the previous shuffled play queue. This is a problem.
7. If I go back to my playlist and choose a particular song, and then view my play queue (shuffle is still disabled), then I DO see my ordered playlist in the play queue (which is expected)
8. Tapping shuffle here again, my play queue is a shuffled subset of the large playlist (bad)

So... it seems that the shuffle feature behaves strangely (only shuffles a small subset of the full playlist) when you are connected and streaming from the iPhone to another device. 

Does anyone know a fix? Is this a known bug? Thanks!

[Bruxism]

As I suspected - Spotify discovered a bug that was giving customers exactly what they wanted. This had to go as soon as possible. Well done.

[drunkenpumpkin]

**bleep** so much better now!

Will add another star to my review on itunes lol

[Joesaab]

JUST plug in an old phone that uses WiFi to headphone jack to the hifi system, or broadcast to a Bluetooth receiver/speaker

and shuffle 1000 songs and control it with your other real phone

[Daisy]

Hey there,

Thank you all for reaching out to the Community.

Please let us know the following:

• Device (make and model)
• Device OS
• Spotify version

We look forward to your reply.

Take care!

[Hazeltwist]

How are you seriously asking this?  The thread has been running forever
and contains countless details.

It applies when casting via google chrome, but also to spotify connect
devices.

It applies when casting via ios and android.

It is a massive, widespread and easily replicable situation. Read the
thread!!!!


I look forward to spotify checking in again in 3 years to ask for more info.

[iPReCuRSoR]

From: LG G6
OS: Android 8.0
To: Google ChromeCast

[patsmith139]

Too late. You did nothing to solve this. I now use Amazon Music

[wrodr2013]

Windows app and android 9 app

[wrodr2013]

Strange, I created a new playlist of all my Liked Songs and used this page (https://spotifyrandomiser.azurewebsites.net/) to randomize that new playlist.

I went back to check the liked songs and see if it is still shuffling the same 40-60 songs.... Now all my Liked Songs shuffle randomly.

Did creating the new playlist reset some hidden server chache?

[variable123]

I figured if you click on "SHUFFLE PLAY" each time on a big list, it will refresh a small shuffled range of a big list. So if you hit the "SHUFFLE PLAY" button every time, then it might make you feel it's working properly. BUT, for people who don't hit the button every time when driving (music auto starts when connected to car's bluetooth), you will listen to the same range of songs again and again.

But how difficult is it to shuffle a large playlist, say 1000 songs? Don't you just keep a list of song ids and shuffle the list? I really struggle to understand how complicated it need to be to shuffle a list of values.

[Katerina · Accepted solution]

Hey there folks,

We really appreciate you all posting about this here in the Community! 

We realize this thread is gone a bit off topic with different issues over time in one place. It’s for this reason we’re going to lock this thread.

Keep in mind that the issue when shuffling songs using Connect should be fixed. 

If you're having troubles with Shuffle in general, make sure to take a look at this Spotify Answer.

If none of these do the trick, the best way to find help is by posting in the related Help Board. We'll be happy to lend a hand there.

Thanks!