topic Re: Sleep Timer interrupted by podcast ads in Other (Podcasts, Partners, etc.)

Sleep Timer interrupted by podcast ads

Top_Hat_Peezy — Wed, 03 Sep 2025 16:16:01 GMT

.Plan

Premium

Country

Device

(OnePlus 6T)

Operating System

(Android)

My Question or Issue

Adjacent to this issue is the fact that still getting ads on a premium subscription is an absolute scam (but many limp stock answers to this exist on the 'help' centre and there seems to be no movement by Spotify on this)...

BUT the main issue is that when getting Spotify ads (not embedded ads) while listening to a podcast with a Sleep Timer set, the playback simply stops as the ad comes on. If I'm trying to drift off or nap I don't want to be picking up my phone constantly to restart the playback. Surely this is a straightforward coding fix for better QOL and if it's not maybe there needs to be a rethink on these automated ads, like removing them.

Re: Sleep Timer interrupted by podcast ads

AlejaR — Wed, 03 Sep 2025 17:19:23 GMT

Hey there @Top_Hat_Peezy,

Thanks for posting in the Community and welcome.

We'd recommend you start by clean reinstalling the app on the affected device. By doing that, the app can be up-to-date, and you can make sure the stored cache is not leading to this behavior.

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

The exact OS version of the affected device.
The exact Spotify version you're running.
Does the ads interrupt the podcast playback when the sleep timer is off?
Does this happen when playing a specific show? If yes, please share with us the link to it.

Keep us in the loop!

Re: Sleep Timer interrupted by podcast ads

Top_Hat_Peezy — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 07:25:13 GMT

Hi, yes this is still happening. I will work on what you've asked for later today

Re: Sleep Timer interrupted by podcast ads

Ed_AP — Thu, 02 Oct 2025 07:24:24 GMT

Was it resolved? I'm also experiencing this issue when listening to podcasts, even after reinstalling the app.

Re: Sleep Timer interrupted by podcast ads

Vasil — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 13:40:38 GMT

Hey @Ed_AP,

Thanks for letting us know 🙂
We attempted to reproduce the issue but on our ends the podcast continues after the ads without any issues when the sleep timer is on and the screen itself is off.

With this in mind, I'd like to ask if you've noticed the issue only occurring with your screen off. If this is the case, there could me some battery optimization settings in the way of the app functionality. Depending on your device, I'd suggest checking this page's contents and taking a look at what settings may be affecting the Spotify app.

In case the issue remains, let us know what your device is, as well as its OS version and your Spotify app version.

Much appreciated! We'll be on the lookout for your reply.

Re: Sleep Timer interrupted by podcast ads

Ed_AP — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 05:49:37 GMT

It's happening both when the screen is off and when it's on and opened on the app. If I start a podcast episode and set the sleep timer to pause at the end of the episode, a third-party ad could pop up 10 seconds into the episode and literally pause before playing the ad. This also happens too when I manually skip into a set ad break into the episode. And then when I press play to run through the ads, it would return back to where the episode left off and continue, but now with no sleep timer set up/ reset.

My current phone is an Infinix Hot 50 Pro 4G (X6881), running an Android 14 with my Spotify version 9.0.88.1403. However, this issue is also happening on my Samsung A12, running an Android 12 with the same Spotify version.

Re: Sleep Timer interrupted by podcast ads

Vasil — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 13:47:39 GMT

Hey again @Ed_AP,

Thank you for the additional details!

Version 9.0.88. is currently the Beta version of the app and not the official one. We thank you for the shared feedback and we'll make sure to pass it on to the right folks, so that this can get addressed before the version becomes available for everyone 🙂

In the meantime, if there's anything else - don't hesitate to reach back to us. We'd be happy to help 🙌🏼

Re: Sleep Timer interrupted by podcast ads

fabiofidanza — Sun, 02 Nov 2025 19:03:07 GMT

Same here, pixel 8 pro,version 9.0.90.1229

Totally ruined my podcast listening before sleep.

Re: Sleep Timer interrupted by podcast ads

emers93 — Sat, 03 Jan 2026 17:55:15 GMT

I'll add my info to this. Been having the same problem for a few months now on my premium plan.

Device: Samsung Galaxy s24+
Android 16
Spotify version: 9.1.6.1145

Y'know, a simple solution would be Spotify just removing these interrupting podcast ads on premium plans 😅

Re: Sleep Timer interrupted by podcast ads

fabiofidanza — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 09:17:55 GMT

Same here, reported weeks ago.
Pixel 8 pro.

When the app switches to an ad (again, SCAM as I'm paying) the app stops.

This is a **bleep** clear bug on Spotify for Android, and it drives me crazy that it hasn't been solved yet.

Re: Sleep Timer interrupted by podcast ads

Dessi — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 11:08:33 GMT

Hi folks,

Thanks for all the reports!

We've forwarded them to our tech folks so they can have a closer look and investigate, but we're unable to provide an ETA for a fix at this time. Rest assured this will remain on our internal teams' radar and we'll let you know if there are any news. In the meantime, make sure you're always running the latest version of Spotify so you don't miss out on any updates.

The Community is always here if something else comes up.

Re: Sleep Timer interrupted by podcast ads

Jadaju — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 08:55:27 GMT

Still happing BTW. Clearly the app thinks it has reached the end of the podcast when an ad comes up and pauses playback. If im awake i will manually resume and skip the ads, whereas the ads would play if I'm asleep or if it didn't pause before playing them so you guys are actually losing quite a bit of ad time on this bug.

Re: Sleep Timer interrupted by podcast ads

fabiofidanza — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 20:58:35 GMT

Holy poo this si getting me crazy.

It's been reported months ago and still not fixed.

If it wasn't for my favorite podcaster being only on Spotify I'd had stopped my subscription long ago.

Incredible how a trivial bug can't get fixed.