topic Re: Autoplay activated for Apple TV. Spotify Connect problematic functioning. in Other (Podcasts, Partners, etc.)

Autoplay activated for Apple TV. Spotify Connect problematic functioning.

Hawk9999 — Sat, 08 Nov 2025 15:35:11 GMT

Plan

Premium

Country

the Netherlands

My Question or Issue

The way Spotify Connect ‘works’ with Apple TV has changed, and it is not an improvement.

Previous, when I entered the Apple TV app, that was enough to activate Apple TV Spotify Connect link on my iPhone.

Then I could choose the artist, album or song *on my phone* or *tablet* and play it on the Apple TV through Spotify Connect.

This has changed with the latest update.

Now, entering the Apple TV Spotify app is not enough to make the Apple TV Spotify Connect option visible and thus available

I must now play a song from within the Apple TV Spotify app, to ensure that my Apple TV becomes visible as a Spotify Connect endpoint.

Only then can I connect to my Apple TV and use my phone or tablet as a Spotify Connect remote.

Another thing that is bothering me is that 'Autoplay' is automatically selected and active, when the album I am listening to via the Apple TV has ended.

And there seems to be no way to turn it off. When Apple TV is selected as Spotify Connect endpoint, the option to turn 'Autoplay' off is greyed out.

Please fix this.

Smart Shuffle automatically enabled on TV

-Karma- — Sat, 08 Nov 2025 15:21:23 GMT

Why is Smart Shuffle automatically enabled with the latest tvOS app update and can’t be disabled? I don’t want Smart Shuffle (this is where they showed when playing an item from search)

Re: Smart Shuffle automatically enabled on TV

Dessi — Sat, 08 Nov 2025 15:21:23 GMT

Hi there @-Karma-,

Thanks for reaching out!

We just wanted to shed some light on how Smart Shuffle works - in this case it seems like this isn't actually related to it, since Smart Shuffle doesn't really work this way when you search and play a song, it's only available on your playlists. What might be the cause here is the Autoplay feature on the other devices you might be using, so we recommend checking if it's enabled and turning it off to see if that makes a difference. The change should be on an account level and it should take effect on the TV as well.

Hope this helps.

Re: Spotify Connect problematic functioning on Apple TV. Autoplay activated without choice.

Ivelina — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 09:47:01 GMT

Hey @Hawk9999,

Thank you for creating this thread in the Community!

The update on Apple TV brought some changes to the design of the Spotify app, however, the functions should work as before.

Using the Connect feature you should still be able to start playback from your mobile device/tablet and then continue by connecting to the Apple TV. With this said it's worth performing some troubleshooting and if you've not done this already I recommend a clean reinstall of Spotify across your devices to ensure the app is up-to-date, as well as to remove corrupted cache which may cause different performance issues. Additionally, make sure that you've updated the operating systems of the devices and restart your router then re-connect the devices. Let us know if these steps make a difference.

When it comes to Autoplay, we're currently looking into the function on the back end, but when you disable it on one device - this should be synced across devices. Before connecting to the TV, make sure that you've disabled Autoplay on the phone and tablet, but if the function is greyed out, it's worth testing to disable it on desktop - let us know how things look like there.

Appreciate your cooperation and we'll be on the lookout for your response.

Re: Spotify Connect problematic functioning on Apple TV. Autoplay activated without choice.

Hawk9999 — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 12:14:28 GMT

"When it comes to Autoplay, we're currently looking into the function on the back end, but when you disable it on one device - this should be synced across devices."

Thanks for answering and for that info.

What I meant was that if I go to the Apple TV connect link and go to 'options' the options to change 'Autoplay' is greyed out.

But that might be completely irrelevant is it is synchronized across devices. I suspect my Apple TV Spotify app is corrupted. Also because I don't see anyone else reporting these problems.

I reinstall, and report back; both if the problems are still there and/or if this solves the problems.

Re: Spotify Connect problematic functioning on Apple TV. Autoplay activated without choice.

Hawk9999 — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 12:31:31 GMT

I tried deleting the Apple TV app four times, I logged out four times.

Everything stayed the same. I starting to think it works as designed. Which is not good news for me.

With all due respect, but have you checked how exactly it is intended to work?

Re: Spotify Connect problematic functioning on Apple TV. Autoplay activated without choice.

Ivelina — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 15:19:25 GMT

Thank you for the quick response and troubleshooting @Hawk9999. We appreciate you testing.

Just to clarify, are you now able to start and stream music from the phone/tablet on to the Apple TV without first starting playback from the app on the TV itself?

As I mentioned that we're looking into the Autoplay feature it would be very helpful if you could share the following:

Is the Autoplay feature greyed out in the Spotify app on your Apple TV?
Does Autoplay appear greyed out on your phone/tablet when streaming on to the Apple TV?
If it's possible, test with streaming from a desktop device on to the TV and let us know if you're able to toggle off Autoplay in the Settings.
What happens and if the app on the Apple TV continues playback if you've previously toggled off Autoplay on the phone and tablet?

Additionally, send us your devices' makes, models and operating systems, as well as the Spotify-version you're currently using.

Thank you once again and don't hesitate to let us know if anything else comes up in the meantime.

Re: Spotify Connect problematic functioning on Apple TV. Autoplay activated without choice.

Hawk9999 — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 15:50:52 GMT

"Just to clarify, are you now able to start and stream music from the phone/tablet on to the Apple TV without first starting playback from the app on the TV itself? "

No. Unfortunately not.

"Is the Autoplay feature greyed out in the Spotify app on your Apple TV?"

There is not a setting available on the Apple TV to control this.

"Does Autoplay appear greyed out on your phone/tablet when streaming on to the Apple TV?"

Yes. That is the problem.

"If it's possible, test with streaming from a desktop device on to the TV and let us know if you're able to toggle off Autoplay in the Settings"

It is not possible, the only devices where that option is available are my iPhone 15 Pro and my iPad Air.

"What happens and if the app on the Apple TV continues playback if you've previously toggled off Autoplay on the phone and tablet?"

The Spotify app on my Apple TV engages in Autoplay at the end of the queue I started.

iPhone 15 Pro with IOS 26 Spotify v 9.0.91.2131
iPad Air with iPadOS 26. Spotify v. 9.0.91.1231
AppleTV 4K with tvOS 26. Spotify v. 9.0.94
iMac M4 with macOS 26. Spotify v. 1.275.510

Re: Spotify Connect problematic functioning on Apple TV. Autoplay activated without choice.

OscarDC — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 17:05:41 GMT

Hey @Hawk9999,

Thank you for keeping in contact and for the info shared.

We've tested this with different devices and the "Autoplay" option is always greyed out when the Connect feature is active since the playback is not coming from that specific device. However, turning the option to OFF on the mobile/desktop app before activating the Connect feature worked, so we'd recommend giving it a try to see if it changes the behavior on your Apple TV as well. Also make sure to have the Repeat and Smart Shuffle options turned off.

For the Connect issue, since you mentioned that you've deleted the Apple TV app some times and logged back in, would you mind confirming if you've followed the process mentioned here to remove the Spotify app from your Apple TV and redownload it? This is just to make sure we're on the same page.

Lastly, as the issue with Connect could be related to the network connection, would you mind trying to connect your devices to a different Wi-Fi to see if it makes any difference? If you don't have another one, you can use a mobile data hotspot to test it.

Hope this helps. Let us know how it goes.

Re: Spotify Connect problematic functioning on Apple TV. Autoplay activated without choice.

Hawk9999 — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 18:03:22 GMT

"However, turning the option to OFF on the mobile/desktop app before activating the Connect feature worked.."

Worked with what, exactly? An Apple TV 4K?

Because on my Apple TV 4K it keeps activating 'Autoplay' after the last track of the album I have chosen. And I have turned OFF autoplay on all my devices. All of them, my iPhone, my iPad and on my desktop. On ALL of them. BEFORE I startup playing the track on my Apple TV.

"would you mind confirming if you've followed the process mentioned here to remove the Spotify app from your Apple TV and redownload it? This is just to make sure we're on the same page."

Sure, that is exactly how I did it. No change.

"Lastly, as the issue with Connect could be related to the network connection, would you mind trying to connect your devices to a different Wi-Fi to see if it makes any difference? "

I changed from a Wired Connection on my Apple TV to Wi-Fi, same results, same 'problem'.

I changed on my desktop iMac M4 from Wired to Wife, same results, same problem.

Used mobile data hotspot for iPhone and iPad with the same results and the same problems.

Can you answer a question I have? Can you reproduce the behaviour? Both the behaviour with Connect and with Autoplay?

And question two: can you please confirm that this is NOT how it supposed to work?

Thanks in advance.

H.

Re: Smart Shuffle automatically enabled on TV

-Karma- — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 22:15:17 GMT

I just checked. Autoplay is disabled on my iPhone. So why is Smart Shuffle even a thing on the Apple TV app? Please add a setting to disable it directly on the Apple TV app

Re: Spotify Connect problematic functioning on Apple TV. Autoplay activated without choice.

Ivelina — Sat, 08 Nov 2025 15:37:58 GMT

Hey @Hawk9999 and @-Karma-,

Thank you for the cooperation.

We've forwarded this info to the relevant team, so that they can have a further look and as soon as we have any updates on the matter, we'll let you know here.

In the meantime, don't hesitate to let us know if you need assistance with anything else.

Re: Spotify Connect problematic functioning on Apple TV. Autoplay activated without choice.

Hawk9999 — Sat, 08 Nov 2025 20:48:35 GMT

Thanks Ivelina.

Re: Smart Shuffle automatically enabled on TV

-Karma- — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 20:50:00 GMT

@Ivelina What is my post about Smart Shuffle doing in this thread? It has nothing to do with autoplay, Spotify connect or whatever you’re discussing here.

Re: Autoplay activated for Apple TV. Spotify Connect problematic functioning.

Ivelina — Thu, 20 Nov 2025 10:44:26 GMT

Hey folks,

We appreciate your patience while the team looked into this.

The Apple TV app doesn't have a lot of settings at the moment and they're limited, but as we're always looking for ways to improve and offer better functions, there's a possibility that more will be added in the future, so that you'll be able to change the settings directly from there. We really appreciate your feedback on the matter and we've made sure to pass your comments on to the relevant team.

@-Karma- the songs that you see happen to be recommended tracks from Spotify which share the same icon as Smart Shuffle recommendations, and this is causing a bit of a confusion since Smart Shuffle is not yet supported on Apple TV. We wanted to share this detail to hopefully clear things up a bit.

Once again, thank you both for posting in the forum and should you need help with anything else, we're just a post away.

Cheers!

Re: Autoplay activated for Apple TV. Spotify Connect problematic functioning.

Hawk9999 — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 09:50:49 GMT

The Apple TV app was updated a few days ago. Nothing with related to these 'problems' has changed.
The issue persists.

Re: Autoplay activated for Apple TV. Spotify Connect problematic functioning.

Reznik2 — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 16:00:10 GMT

As nobody seems to have this problem (or doesn't reply to it) I can confirm this is a mayor issue in my household as well. I can only connect to spotify connect on the apple tv when I first start to play a song on the apple tv FROM THE CORRECT ACCOUNT. So when my wife wants to play music I even have to change the spotify login. All this would be mildly annoying if I wasn't using the apple tv as a headless music player which makes it totally unusable now since I don't have a screen to every time start spotify and connect to the right account.

Re: Autoplay activated for Apple TV. Spotify Connect problematic functioning.

Hawk9999 — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 21:18:38 GMT

I am happy to report that one of the problems is solved with the latest updates to the IOS and Apple TV apps:

"Now, entering the Apple TV Spotify app is not enough to make the Apple TV Spotify Connect option visible and thus available.

I must now play a song from within the Apple TV Spotify app, to ensure that my Apple TV becomes visible as a Spotify Connect endpoint."

Entering the Spotify Apple TV app is now enough to make it available as a Spotify Connect endpoint.

Thanks! Really happy with that.

However, the dysfunctional 'Autoplay' problem at the end of my chose queue is still there.

Even if the Autoplay function is not active and/or selected, I still get my queu filled with recommended songs *when I use the Apple TV app*.

With all other Spotify apps this problem is non-existent.

I am looking forward to a swift resolution of this problem as well.

Re: Autoplay activated for Apple TV. Spotify Connect problematic functioning.

ericnichols — Sat, 29 Nov 2025 18:44:34 GMT

I'm also experiencing the problem with tracks autoplaying on Apple TV 4K. Please fix this ASAP.

Re: Autoplay activated for Apple TV. Spotify Connect problematic functioning.

Reznik2 — Sat, 29 Nov 2025 18:50:31 GMT

I still can only control the apple tv as spotify speaker only when I'm logged into my own account and my wife can't control it with her account without changing the login on the apple tv. The spotify connect function on the apple tv used to work with us both but not anymore....