topic Re: iPad: Currently playing controls disappear and can't be reopened in iOS (iPhone, iPad)

iPad: Currently playing controls disappear and can't be reopened

cadmium-ores — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 21:45:32 GMT

Plan

Premium

Country

United States

Device

iPad Pro 3rd gen

Operating System

iOS 18.5

My Question or Issue

Spotify iPad app running in split-view and landscape mode as of this week keeps losing the "now playing" page/controls -- like where I could pause/play, view the queue or lyrics, click through to the playlist or artist, etc; not sure what it's officially called. They don't come back until I completely quit and reopen the app. Here's a screenshot, including how I have it split-viewed, in case that matters. As you can see, I've got music playing, but can't get to the controls. I accepted an app update yesterday but it didn't fix my problem.

Re: iPad: Currently playing controls disappear and can't be reopened

Joan — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 10:14:13 GMT

Hi there @cadmium-ores,

Thanks for reaching out. We'll be glad to help you get the iPad app in working order again.

Do the controls always disappear when switching to the mentioned view or does it happen sporadically? In any case, consider performing a full clean reinstall if you haven't already. This has been shown to resolve a multitude of issues, so hopefully clearing any damaged cache will fix this too.

Let us know how it goes.

Re: iPad: Currently playing controls disappear and can't be reopened

cadmium-ores — Sun, 27 Jul 2025 01:06:14 GMT

Hi Joan, thanks for your response. I gave this a try, but it didn't resolve the issue. To clarify, it is not when switching to a certain view within the app; it is when switching back to the app (i.e. reopening after it was put in the background, or after the screen was locked). Seems to be every subsequent open after the initial app launch.

I did some testing that suggests it is related to split view as I was not seeing the behavior when the app was open fullscreen/as the only app.

Re: iPad: Currently playing controls disappear and can't be reopened

Dessi — Sun, 27 Jul 2025 12:34:16 GMT

Hey @cadmium-ores,

Thanks for the reply and for checking!

Since you mentioned this only happens when using Split View, we wanted to check if other apps are affected as well or if the issue is only present with Spotify. Does the same thing happen when using Slide Over (hovering a second app over Spotify) instead? Not sure if it's possible, but can you also try switching the apps' places when the screen is split - we just want to check if the issue persists if Spotify's on the left side. It'd also be great if you can share the app version you're currently running.

Keep us posted.

Re: iPad: Currently playing controls disappear and can't be reopened

cadmium-ores — Sun, 27 Jul 2025 16:06:14 GMT

Looks like it happens even when Spotify is on the left in split view, but doesn't happen when using Slide Over. My app version is: 9.0.62.672 (and, if helpful, my iOS version is: 18.5)

Re: iPad: Currently playing controls disappear and can't be reopened

AlejaR — Sun, 27 Jul 2025 20:11:50 GMT

Hey there @cadmium-ores,

Thanks for all the info you've shared with us so far.

I couldn't replicate this behavior on an iPad Air (4th gen) running the same iOS and Spotify versions. Just to confirm, have you allowed Background Refresh for Spotify on your iPad? It might be worth activating this feature for Spotify. To do it, go to Settings> Apps> Spotify> toggle Background App Refresh on.

On another note, we'd like to gather some additional info. Please send us:

A video recording of this behavior. You can attach the video to your next reply in mp4 format, or you can also upload it to YouTube or Google Drive and make it public.
Since you mentioned this started recently, did you notice if this started to happen after a specific event such as an OS update?
Does this happen regardless of the app you split the view with Spotify?

Keep us in the loop!

Re: iPad: Currently playing controls disappear and can't be reopened

cadmium-ores — Mon, 04 Aug 2025 13:45:31 GMT

Yes, Background Refresh is on for Spotify. The behavior presents with any other app in split view. My OS had not been recently updated, as far as I’m aware. Here’s a screen recording of the behavior: https://drive.google.com/file/d/16tAeTw6v99nkOQ9L_cJGeX0tYdNfR5tt/view?usp=sharing

Re: iPad: Currently playing controls disappear and can't be reopened

OscarDC — Mon, 04 Aug 2025 15:28:49 GMT

Hey @cadmium-ores,

Thank you for keeping in contact and for attaching the video.

We have passed this info to internal teams to continue investigating it further, we appreciate your help and cooperation. At the moment, we don't have an estimated date for this to be resolved, but we hope it will be as soon as possible. Any relevant updates about this will be posted here.

Thanks again for sharing all the requested info and for reporting this behavior.

Stay tuned.

Multitask/split screen

Yomna1 — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 11:20:53 GMT

Hello everyone!

I have an iPad Air 4th generation and the multitask feature will not work anymore, I cannot see the now-playing banner when I do multitask/split-screen on my iPad.