Spotify iOS app not playing the next track automatically.

[nofreeshows]

Hello there,

I've been using the Spotify iPhone app for about 2 months now. It worked like a dream for the first month and a half but now it's barely usable, in my opinion. When I start the app up and play a song, the app will not automatically play the next track, no matter if shuffle is on or off. I've tried researching the issue before making a post so I'm certain this is not the issue where the next track is not automatically played when you're playing a track from Search (a setting that developers apparently purposely put in--which has its merits). My app is not playing the next track no matter if it's from the Search screen, one of my playlists, or one of my friends' playlists.

I've uninstalled/reinstalled, rebooted my phone, checked all the settings (to my knowledge) and still have not come up with a solution. I am currently running iOS 5.1 on my iPhone. Am I crazy? Spotify is a great product but not being able to use the mobile app is really pushing me to cancel my subscription.

Thanks,

Eric

P.S. Obviously a reply with a solution would be ideal but any reply from a moderator would be great. Even one that just says "We've logged the issue and are looking into it." At least it will give me hope for the future .

[lorlando]

I've taken everyones advise and literally tried just about everything to fix this issue. I genuinely thought I had fixed it at one point and was excited to share the solution with everyone but a few minutes later found out I did not. What a waste of time this has been... all the researching as to how to fix it and trying sooo many different things. They need to get this fixed!!! So frustrating. 

[DevonLTaylor]

Yeah, bad news, mine isn't fixed either. Thought the gapless playback fix worked, but it won't work on anything other than my playlists. Bummer.

[Rod85]

As always, Spotify releasing an untested app.... such a shame.

[miafrate]

I cancelled my subscription until this is fixed. 

[Rwiseman714]

Same problem here. Sometimes it will play a number of songs, sometimes only 1 or 2. I am using it with Apple TV and Airplay. I would also like to see a volume slider somewhere. Is there any way to integrate the new Spotify Apps into this? Seems like a waste to develop apps that can't be used the only way I ever listen to Spotify - thru my Ipad and over Airplay. Searching for artists and albums is suddenly clumsy, where it worked pretty well before. I like the upgrade overall, but it lacks basic needs. Why do I have to "zoom" to now playing to get to the shuffle or airplay triggers?

[streetmapp]

Just saw this topic after creating one, as I didn't expect there to be one after I had looked previously.  

The workaround I was originally given was to create a 3-track playlist, make it available offline, test, then turn off the offline availability, and test again.  Like the other "fixes" here, it worked briefly, but then it failed to persist. The issue came back.

You would think if they were going to charge $10/month for this you would get a solid experience, and solid support. Nope. Certainly not the case with Spotify.  This is extremely disappointing.  

[oluv]

it seems to work for me when the iphone is docked and being charged. so far every track skipped well, but before i was trying to listen to some tunes "free hand", and the app always stopped between tracks.

[Webern]

On my iPad 3 ("The New iPad") having updated to the new iPad spotify app, it does not pay the next track.  I'm glad to see Spotify has created a native iPad app.  It would be nice if it worked.

[hscotland21]

I am having the same problem on my ipad2. Just downloaded the latest update of the app from iTunes but problem is still happening. When playing a playlist, spotify only plays one track and then stops. Very frustrating. Is there a fix for this? Cheers

[streetmapp]

I'm about to cancel my "premium" account if this isn't fixed soon. This is absolutely rediculous that Spotify seems to not even care about a showstopping bug like this, only providing temporary workarounds and not a permanent fix.

[streetmapp]

This is happening on my iPhone as well. There's a thread about this, but Spotify doesn't seem to care/believe it's a widespread issue since "their version" works without issue.  Their support model is coming off as VERY broken.  If they don't address this issue soon, I sense a lot of people canceling their subscription as $10/month for something that you can only play one song at a time is a joke.

[oluv]

for me all trackchanges work during the whole weekend. i haven't had any problems until today morning where the app just stopped between 2 tracks again, but afterwards it worked again for all tracks i have played.

seems to be a temporary problem and not related to the app itself but rather a problem with the music-servers as well?

[Rwiseman714]

Since the app is new, I'll give Spotify some time to fix it. They need to let users know that they are working on a solution before we start jumping ship. It has become such an annoyance that I'm starting to consider other services.

[comter]

Although I can not comment about the iPad, I would hope that it functions much the same as the iPhone version of Spotify.

http://daigo.org/2011/12/how-to-stop-iphone-spotify-music-from-shuffling/

And a quick summary of the article: Tap on the album art while playing a song and a menu will appear with a shuffle button that can be toggled on and off. All that Shuffle Play does is make the first song that you play random (and then turn on shuffle) as opposed to choosing the first song and then turning on shuffle (and I think the Shuffle Play shortcut is really only useful when you have a large playlist).

Now, I will take away a few points from the developers for doing this (when a play button and a shuffle toggle button on the album screen would of worked just as well for Play Shuffle and used the same amount of space).

Pro Tip (for Spotify): include the illustrated guide from that blog article as part of your FAQ about using the iOS Spotify player. And if the iPad Spotify app doesn't function similiar to the iPhone Spotify app (same UI conventions) then that needs to be fixed.

-the purring dork

[Llerini]

Any answer from developers? Problem still in Ipad and no solution is provided....

[Bengan]

Hi guys, those of you who suffer from this issue, have you synced local tracks to your device? I've seen this issue myself when local files have been transfered to the deivce, but not without.

[streetmapp]

Nope. I don't sync offline tracks. I only use spotify for spotify music. I use the iOS music app for local files.

[nofreeshows · Accepted solution]

Edit: I don't think it's just isolated to the lock screen anymore. I just tested #4 in the bullet points below and the song did not play automatically. Also, I now realize that #2-#4 have more to do with user input rather than the lock screen. We've just come back to the crux of the original problem: Spotify won't play songs automatically (without user input). Back to square one... 

I think I've narrowed down the problem a bit more. It seems like the next track doesn't play automatically if the iPhone's screen locks at any point during the song. I've done a few things to confirm that it's the lock screen:

1. Slide the position bar to the end of the song (screen unlocked): the next song plays automatically
2. Played a song, locked the screen, let the song play out, unlock the screen near the end of the song: the next song does not play automatically
3. Click the next track button to go to the next track (screen unlocked): the next song plays automatically
4. Set auto-lock in iPhone settings to "Never" (so the screen never locks): curiously, song does not play automatically

I've also observed, while going through #2, that Spotify automatically shows the album art/title for the next track with about 5 seconds left on the first track. I don't know if this is a feature or not (to show users the next track) but I thought I would mention it.

Thanks,

Eric

[Bengan]

Thank you very much for the detailed description of the problem 🙂 I'll see if I can re-produce this using your steps.

[user-removed]

Add me to the list of users with the same issue... I only got the premium subscription today, and then this happens 😞 If it's any help, the next song plays automatically for me if I don't leave the app or lock the screen... The second I press the home button or lock my device, the next song refuses to play, and I have to pick a different song as the buttons become unusable... Thanks!