When switching apps while a group session is playing, Spotify pauses playback

[user-removed]

Plan

Premium

Country

Australia 

Device

iPhone 11 Pro

Operating System

iOS 14.3

My Question or Issue

Repro steps:

• Join a group session
• Switch apps (so that Spotify is playing in the background)
• Switch back (so that Spotify is now back in the foreground)
• Spotify instantly pauses playback (which is highly annoying if you’re simply opening the app to browse the playlist or queue and you inadvertently kill the music at the party!)

Note: the above only happens intermittently (i.e. not every time), but it has occurred to me dozens of times over the last couple of months, and obviously across dozens of different group sessions.

Note: my finger is not accidentally hitting the pause button on the Spotify player 🙂

Note: a clean reinstall doesn’t solve the issue

[CarlosE]

Hey @user-removed,

Thanks for reaching out to the Community.

Can you let us know if this only happens to you or if it also happens to the other people within the group session? We'd also like to know if it happens on any other device or only on your iPhone.

Also, could you try logging in to a different account, like a friend's or relative's, and let us know if this behavior persists?

Lastly, we'd like to know the Spotify version you're running.

Keep us posted. We'll be looking out for your reply.

[user-removed]

Hi Carlos,

This same issue is affecting multiple people and devices (although admittedly, the iPad we’re connecting to was the same each time — although the Spotify app on here is updated to the latest version.

Speaking of which, my iPhone is also using the latest version (8.6.0.904).

[CarlosE]

Hey @user-removed,

Thanks for getting back in touch and for that info.

To narrow down the possible cause of this issue, could you let us know if this behavior persists when the group session is started from a different device and using a different Internet connection?

Also, make sure that the account starting the group session is different than the one that has been doing so.

Keep us in the loop.

[user-removed]

Hi CarlosE,

I can’t easily test that unfortunately, as the iPad I’m connecting in this instance to is bolted to a wall in my office (therefore I can’t use the camera to scan the join code on my device), plus it’s locked to prevent txt messages from being sent/received (so I can’t invite other devices that way, either).

[Alex]

Hi there @user-removed,

Thanks for the reply.

We tried recreating this on our end, but didn't get the same result.

So it must be connected to the iPad in a way. Here are some troubleshooting steps you can try:

• Connect the iPad and the other devices to another network like a mobile Hotspot created from a phone.
• Log in with a different account on the iPad. You can ask a colleague /friend to log in with theirs or create a free test account.

Let us know how you get on with this.

Cheers.

[user-removed]

I don’t have control over the iPad (it’s bolted to a wall in my office and locked), so I unfortunately can’t test the scenarios you mentioned.

I did want to however, show you this issue in action... In the video below, the music was playing though the connected device fine (i.e. I was connected to a group session with the iPad, then I browsed for a playlist, then I played a song, then swiped back to my iOS Home Screen — so far so good), but then when I reopen the Spotify app, you’ll notice that after 1 second the music suddenly pauses (notice the bottom part of the player flash briefly). When I then tap “play” to resume the song, I’m booted from the group session.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/03jG95NsjnOGd2XkZAquwVRWw

PS: I don’t expect there to be a fix for this, but wanted to make the issue known, to hopefully resolve before it comes out of beta.

[CarlosE]

Hi again @user-removed,

Thanks for keeping in touch.

Since the iPad you're using has some limitations to troubleshoot, we recommend trying with a different device. We appreciate the video you've shared with us and we'll make sure to pass all this info on to the right folks to be looked into while this feature is still in Beta.

If you need a hand with anything else, we're just a post away.

Cheers!

[jikbag]

If both devices are paired to the same Bluetooth speaker, turn off Bluetooth on the device that is joining the group session.