topic Re: Google Assistant will refuse to play a song or podcast about 50% of the time. in Android

Google Assistant not able to control Spotify?

nick_2k — Wed, 08 Feb 2023 08:57:50 GMT

I recently Switched from Samsung Devices (S10 and S21 FE) to a Pixel 7 Pro and Spotify is kinda driving me crazy on this device.

- I used to be able to stop/close spotify by just swiping away the tile in the drop down menu. Now spotify just keeps playing in the background

- Same goes for closing Spotif in the App oberview. When i close Spotify it just keeps playing and i have to force close Spotify

- Google Assistant not working with Spotify: all i can do is sas "Play xxx on Spotify". all the other commands that worked on my previous devices like "rewind by x minutes", pause, play, stop , etc... they all dont work anymore.

Device and Apps are up to date (8th Feb 2023)

Re: Google Assistant not able to control Spotify?

Lyubka — Sat, 25 Feb 2023 11:58:42 GMT

Hey there,

Thanks for reaching out about this here in the Community.

First off, we'd suggest that you check if Spotify has the permissions to run in the background. In case it does - make sure to turn this option off so that the app won't play in the background.

It's also worth checking if the same happens while using a different account. If a family member has a Spotify account, could you try connecting it to Google home speaker to see if you'll be able to control the app?

On another note, we understand your frustration when the app fails to work with external speakers, however the reasons for this happening is due to a number of factors such as the OS, factory settings and limitations from certain devices. With that being said, we'd recommend that you check if the firmware of your Google assistant is up to date. Firmware updates on receivers/speakers and app updates from Spotify's end sometimes get out of tune which might cause issues like this.

Let us know how it goes. We'll be on the lookout for your reply.

Re: Google Assistant not able to control Spotify?

TXmanRX — Sun, 26 Feb 2023 22:58:43 GMT

I see that this is a community forum, so I'll try not to shoot the messenger. For anyone reading this, know this: Google Assistants (I have 4 of them) never--and I mean never, ever (EVER) work correctly with Spotify. It's been so for at least the last couple years, persisting well into 2023. Whether we're talking about:

- Selecting the wrong song from your repeated voice commands

- Randomly skipping 10 seconds into one song to another, all unsolicited with unpredictable selections

- Failing to kill the above bat5#$% loop, using pause commands from confirmed authorized devices

- Simply refusing to play certain songs and then randomly doing it ...and then reverting again.

As far as I'm concerned, Spotify on Google Assistant is a complete train wreck and looks like a relationship purpose built to annoy.

Google Assistant will refuse to play a song or podcast about 50% of the time.

omaha353 — Mon, 01 Jan 2024 18:25:21 GMT

Plan

Premium

Country

Ireland

Device

Pixel 7 Pro

Operating System

Android (up to date)

My Question or Issue

Google assistant will not play a requested song, album or podcast upon voice request around 50% of the time. If Spotify is open it is more likely to play the requested item, but even then it is variable.

Routines are affected also.

Such basic funtionality that just doesn't work.

Anyone else in a similar boat?

Thanks for any help.

Re: Google Assistant will refuse to play a song or podcast about 50% of the time.

Vasil — Thu, 04 Jan 2024 10:28:03 GMT

Hey @omaha353,

Thanks for reaching out!

This may or may not be cache-related, but it's worth giving it a shot!
Follow the steps from this article to remove your cached data and let us know how things go 🙂

If this doesn't resolve the issue, we'd like to ask you if this behaviour is consistently observed with the same songs / podcasts or if it's random. If it can be consistently reproduced, please send us links to the affected songs/ podcasts as well.

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

Re: Google Assistant will refuse to play a song or podcast about 50% of the time.

Utah353 — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 10:29:24 GMT

I'm the op replying from a new account using a different email. The account above is now a Spotify free account. I'm using a Pixel 7 Pro.

My new account is **bleep** and is Premium. I deleted cache but the problems still persist.

Google Assistant use with Spotify is broken. I cannot reliably ask it to play songs or albums or podcasts and it do so. I've also tried routines and no luck. It will sometimes but more often than not it won't. It will not play my custom playlists either regardless what I call them. It will just play a similar sounding playlist. Again, routines don't help. GA always hears what I'm saying correctly. The most consistent issue is GA opening Spotify and choosing the right album (the media bar at the bottom is showing the right content), song or podcast but refusing to actually play it. It is an exhaustingly bad experience if I'm honest.

Spotify is the chosen music and podcast service in GA settings. I've unlinked and linked the accounts multiple times. I've restarted my phone multiple times, uninstalled and reinstalled Spotify multiple times.

Android is up to date and Spotify is version 8.8.96.364.

Apple Music, Pocket Casts and Youtube Music work flawlessly on my phone with GA and are ready to go if these issues persist.

Re: Google Assistant will refuse to play a song or podcast about 50% of the time.

Utah353 — Sat, 06 Jan 2024 11:44:22 GMT

I've replied below with some screenshots of the playlist issue. I've tried using different phrases such as "play my playlist called master on Spotify", "play my Spotify playlist called master". All to no avail.

Ive attached to this reply the issue I have with GA recognising the prompt, opening Spotify and just refusing to play. In the below example the previously played song is present in the media bar. It will sometimes show the right song, album or podcast but just won't play.

Re: Google Assistant will refuse to play a song or podcast about 50% of the time.

Ivelina — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 12:42:06 GMT

Thanks for the cooperation and detailed info, @Utah353! We'll investigate further and try some more troubleshooting steps together.

Could you also make sure to follow the steps from this article? Even if you've already tried some or all, it's worth going over them just to be sure.

Let us know if anything changes and we'll see what to suggest next.

Re: Google Assistant will refuse to play a song or podcast about 50% of the time.

Utah353 — Wed, 10 Jan 2024 11:48:21 GMT

Hi,

Unfortunately none of the above has worked. Playlists are unplayable via
Google Assistant as it chooses a similar sounding playlist instead.

It also just refused to play an album via voice aswell. It recognises the
prompt and brought up the Spotify logo with the correct album but nothing.

Rory

Re: Google Assistant will refuse to play a song or podcast about 50% of the time.

Lyubka — Thu, 11 Jan 2024 12:13:48 GMT

Hey @Utah353,

Thanks for getting back to us.

We'd suggest restarting your router and your devices one more time to make sure everything is synced up.

It's also a good idea to check if there is a new firmware update available for your speaker and let it run. Firmware updates on receivers/speakers and app updates from Spotify's end sometimes get out of tune which might cause issues like this.

In case you're still experiencing this - make sure to check this article out as you'll find further troubleshooting there as well.

Hope this helps. If you need anything else, the Community is here for you 🙂

Re: Google Assistant will refuse to play a song or podcast about 50% of the time.

Utah353 — Thu, 11 Jan 2024 12:17:21 GMT

Hello,

I'm not trying to use it on a Google speaker. I'm using Google Assistant on
my Pixel 7 Pro.

Re: Google Assistant will refuse to play a song or podcast about 50% of the time.

Lyubka — Fri, 12 Jan 2024 15:58:04 GMT

Hey @Utah353,

Thank you for keeping in touch and apologies for any confusion created on our end.

If you can't get a specific playlist to be played - we'd suggest that you try giving this playlist a more unique name.

It's also a good idea to try enabling permissions on the device or on your google account as that might be required for the app to work as intended.

If the issue persists - we'd recommend that you reach out to Google since this involves a partner feature that we have no control over.

Hope this helps. Take care 🙂

Re: Google Assistant will refuse to play a song or podcast about 50% of the time.

Utah353 — Mon, 15 Jan 2024 10:25:21 GMT

I've followed every step advised and any piece of advice I could find on
the web. I've also consulted with Google and no issues have been found on
their end.

No other app has the issues Spotify has on my flagship phone. All
permissions granted, cache cleared, account unlinked and relinked, phone
reset, multiple accounts used and tested, random names used for playlists,
all apps up to date. Despite all of the above, Spotify is ridiculously
inconsistent with its integration with GA.

Before I move on to a direct competitor (Apple Music, Youtube Music,
PocketCasts, Google Podcasts), who have none of these issues on my Pixel
based on my experience, is there anything else you advise?

Poor google assistant functionality on Android

omaha353 — Thu, 18 Jan 2024 12:06:05 GMT

Plan

Premium

Country

Ireland

Device

Pixel 7 Pro

Operating System

Android 14

My Question or Issue

When I ask Google Assistant to play an album or song it will open Spotify (Premium) and do nothing. If I repeat the query it will work. However, if I was to close the app or wait an hour or so the same issue will arise.

I have spoken with Spotify previously and no suggestions have worked.

I have an up to date Pixel 7 Pro, Android 14 and the latest Spotify. I have unlinked and linked accounts multiple times. I have deleted cache and storage, re-downloaded the App, ensured all other Spotify devices are logged out, deleted cache of the Google App, restarted my phone, done a hard uninstall of Spotify (and downloaded again), given Spotify all permissions, turned off battery optimisation and allowed it all the data it needs, used routines, tried multiple wifi routers and tested on mobile data.

Nothing has fixed it. It has been a painful experience. Anyone else have any ideas?

Re: Google Assistant will refuse to play a song or podcast about 50% of the time.

strawberryrubar — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 03:35:37 GMT

I am having this same issue. Nothing seems to fix it and it's very frustrating.

Re: [Web Player] Discover Weekly playlist spam

Nikki_727 — Wed, 01 May 2024 16:18:01 GMT

It's May 1st, 2024 and I'm having this exact problem. I'm so frustrated!

Re: Google Assistant will refuse to play a song or podcast about 50% of the time.

gingerpauls — Sat, 04 May 2024 21:41:23 GMT

I also have this issue and it is incredibly frustrating. On Samsung Galaxy S22.

Re: Google Assistant not able to control Spotify?

Naganoble — Sun, 05 Jan 2025 15:54:58 GMT

There is no fix. These replies are a fools attempt to understand ai and algorithm. Google will not recognize songs that are outside of the normal range of radio songs. Sadly the Spotify assistant is gone so we don't have a solution.