Unable to play anything in CarPlay

[DuckThom]

Spotify version
8.9.19.571

Plan

Premium

Country

The Netherlands

Device

iPhone 15 Pro Max / CarPlay in a Mini Cooper

Operating System

iOS 17.3.1

My Question or Issue

Lately, Spotify is not able to play anything upon (re)connecting with CarPlay. It’ll show the last song that was playing but the media controls don’t do anything and the time/progress bar is also missing. (See attached screenshot) To (temporarily) fix this, you have to open Spotify manually on your phone and then close it again so it can be restarted in CarPlay. It doesn’t happen every time, but when it does, it’s always when reconnecting to the car.

[OscarDC]

Hey @DuckThom,

Thank you for reaching out to the Community and welcome. 

This type of issue with CarPlay is commonly related to damaged cache stored on your iPhone that might be affecting the proper behavior of the app. Since the issue gets temporarily fixed by restarting the app, we'd recommend performing a clean reinstall of the app by following the steps in this article as it replaces damaged files and ensures you're in the latest app version.

If the issue persists, would you mind connecting a different device to your car (using your own account) to see if it makes any difference? If you don't have another one available, you can borrow one from a friend or family member to test it out.

We'll be on the lookout. 

[DuckThom]

Hey, sorry for the late reply.

I’ve tried rebooting my phone, clearing the cache from the app and reinstalling the app. But unfortunately it did not resolve the issue. My mom also has the same issue in her car on her iPhone 13 Pro.

We’ve tried to find what seems to be causing it, however it feels very random. Sometimes days go by without issues but this morning it happened again. I can then still navigate through the app and select songs, but they just won’t load (progress bar doesn’t show up and nothing starts playing).

[Vasil]

Hey @DuckThom,

Thanks for the update!
If it's not an issue for you, let us know what her iOS version is, as well as her current Spotify app version.
We'll hang on to this info and pass it down backstage. I'm sure this will get looked into in case it becomes a more frequent issue.

In the meantime though, if you spot any certain ways of replicating the issue, we'd happy if you could let us know.
Many thanks & have a good day 🙌🏼

[DuckThom]

We’re both on iOS 17.4.1 and Spotify 8.9.26.509

So far it feels like it’s happening most of the time when CarPlay disconnects on song A, then I continue playing either via headphones or another device. Then, for example the next day, I reconnect to CarPlay again and it seems to try to resume song A while my account last streamed song B.

[Ivelina]

Appreciate you sending over these details, @DuckThom!

Remember to always keep the app updated to the newest version and should you need help with anything else in the meantime, the Community's here for you.

Have a good one 🙂

[Elena1212]

Hello! I have totally new Iphone 15 Pro Max (2 weeks old), can't be problem with cache, app version is updated. The phone is connected properly to the car, as I can use it during calls. Spotify was connected once when I got a new phone and after display shows that the music is playing, but no sound in the car. 

[Nicolas_N]

I have the same issues, also, spotify randomly jumps playlists, or halfway through a pod, jumps to another. It's horribly frustrating.

Same happens when listening on headphones or on Android TV, but not as regularly as the apple CarPlay .

[Eni]

Hey folks, 

Thanks for getting in touch about this. 

@Elena1212, could you let us know which troubleshooting steps you've already tried? That way we can avoid repeating any steps. We suggest that you ask a friend or a relative to log in to their account on your iPhone and check if they can replicate this behavior with their account. 

@Nicolas_N, if this is happening on multiple devices, it's recommended you secure your account by following the steps below:

1. Log in to your account page and scroll all the way to the bottom.
2. Select SIGN OUT EVERYWHERE.
3. Request a password reset by visiting this article.

It's also worth checking the apps that are linked to your Spotify account on your account page under Apps and remove any you don't recognize. You can find out more tips on how to protect your account here.

We'll be on the lookout for your replies.

[BenGreen]

Same issue here. Have to restart the App pretty much every time I get in the car. Sometimes it happens mid song, changes to another song and progress bar disappears and play button does nothing. 
IOS: 17.4.1 IPhone 14 plus
Spotify: 8.9.32.586

[Vasil]

Hey folks!

Could you let us know which of the abovementioned troubleshooting steps by @OscarDC and @Eni you've already tried?
Many thanks!

[AC516]

I have the same issue, I just got a new Acura RDX, and Iphone 15Pro Max and did everything above, removing spotify, clearing cache, have the latest version and I can see it playing but no sound comes out.  

[AlejaR]

Hey @AC516,

Thanks for posting here and welcome.

We understand you've removed the app from your mobile device. Just to confirm, have you performed a clean reinstall? If you haven't, we'd suggest you try it. By doing that, the app can be up-to-date, and you can make sure the cache is not leading to this inconvenience. You can see the steps for a clean reinstall here.

If the above doesn't do the trick, we'd like to gather some additional info:

• The exact OS version of your device.
• The Spotify version you're running there.
• Does this happen if you connect your mobile device to your car via Bluetooth/AUX cable?
• Did you notice if this started to happen after a specific event, such as an OS update?

Keep us in the loop!

[spinosum]

I have also been facing this for a quite a while already. Sad to say, there is zero issue with using Apple Music in my Mini Cooper SE. But when using Spotify in Carplay (my Mini does not have Android Auto), the issue faced by other users here will happen almost on a daily basis.

[AlejaR]

Hey there @spinosum,

Thanks for posting here and welcome.

Have you tried what we suggested here? If you haven't. make sure to perform a clean reinstall of the app on your mobile device as stated there.

But if the above doesn't do the trick, make sure to send us the following:

• The exact OS version of your device.
• The Spotify version you're running there.
• Does this happen if you connect your mobile device to your car via Bluetooth/AUX cable? Try it if possible.
• Did you notice if this started to happen after a specific event, such as an OS update?
• Can you send us more info about you car unit?

Keep us in the loop!

[Esmee3]

I had the same issue, and recently found the problem. I had recently changed my settings to require Face ID to open Spotify, it turns out it keeps the app from CarPlay. I turned off Face ID from Spotify and voila! Working again.

I turned it on again just to test my theory and yep, won’t function.