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Ads in Unlimited (after years without ads)

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Ads in Unlimited (after years without ads)

Hi, For quite a long time I have an unlimited account, without ads. But since a few days I get ads, both visual in the player and in audio.

I followed the tips I found on this forum, such as log out and in again. I even fully uninstalled the application and installed a newly downloaded app. But the the ads are still there. Anybody help?

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No, they did advetise unlimited on mobile devices as having no ads.  It was the same as the free subscription, but with no ads.  Premium would allow you to create playlists, play playlists and play individual songs on mobile.  The free and unlimited subscription allowed you to listen to the radio and that was basically it.  Unlimited just allowed you to have unlimited skips and no ads while listening to the radio, but they have completly gotten rid of that now and there is no unlimited mobile version.  

See here.  If you go to the unsubscribe page they give you the list of features that you lose when you don't have unlimited.  One of the things they say is "Spotify Unlimited means no adverts, EVER."  They don't specify whether its for the pc or mobile version.  They just say you won't have adverts ever.  It could be a possiblity that they just haven't updated this page yet but it is still very misleading.

Untitled.png

It looks like that page just needs updating @Ormaga , since free time limits have also been removed in the majority of markets. 

I will escalate that as an open issue now. 

Peter
Spotify Community Mentor and Troubleshooter

Spotify Last.FM Twitter LinkedIn Meet Peter Rock Star Jam 2014


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Hi Peter, I'm hoping you can help me-- I have Spotify Unlimited but I'm getting ads when I play Spotify on my iPhone. My payments are current.


Can you help me figure this out?

Hey @sambennett -- sorry to be the bearer of bad news but Unlimited only removes ads from the desktop versions of Spotify. On mobile, you'll have the same experience as free users (with ads).

--------------------------------------------------------------

For common support questions, see support.spotify.com.
To judge my musical taste, check out my last.fm.

I encourage others to report spotify to the Better Business Bureau for this bait and switch. https://www.bbb.org/consumer-complaints/file-a-complaint/get-started

 

Business Information
Spotify
45 West 18th Street, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10011
 
Complaint Summary
Complaint Type: Consumer to Business Complaint
Nature of complaint: A bait & switch advertisement
Problem description:
Spotify previously had three types of services. Free, Unlimited and Premium. Under their payed Unlimited service they promised no ads ever. An actual quote from their account page: "Spotify Unlimited means no adverts, EVER." Now that they are trying to get rid of Unlimited they have added ads to their mobile app. Saying that we have to pay for premium to remove ads for mobile.
Desired Settlement: Change the Store Policy
Desired Outcome:
Would like them to restore their previous promise.

Was having a dig into this earlier, it is interesting that on the Terms and Conditions page (link) under section 2, Unlimited is not described there as an ad-free service. 

 

Which got me thinking, so I went back and checked the "old" terms (link) from 9th November 2012 and even back they unlimited in the terms was not classed as an ad-free service. 

 

I'm not a legal expert, but is that a legal get out?

Peter
Spotify Community Mentor and Troubleshooter

Spotify Last.FM Twitter LinkedIn Meet Peter Rock Star Jam 2014


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Maybe but I'l be heading to Pandora. They have no ads for $3 a month, even on mobile if you pay $36 for the year.

this is kinda upsetting.. like paying for hulu plus and watching commercials. we don't like PAYING to hear or see advertisements!! cmon, seriously, your gonna lose customers this way, just saying.
-Jay

Unlike many others on this thread I do mind that my money isn't going as far as I was led to believe. Why are spotify discriminating against iPad users? No ads for PC, but otherwise for iPad. Does it cost spot iffy more to stream to Tablets? Are iPad users perceived to be more affluent and therefore will not be adverse to upgrading to Premium? The fact that something is omitted in the T&Cs means that a service advertised as ad-free forever means that Spotify can renege on its promise. That seems to smell a bit funny to me. Don't get me wrong I love Spotify, but this seems shoddy.
Putting up with inane adverts does nothing positive for me. I have never clicked on an ad or rushed to find out something from an ad on Spotify, so I fail to see what Spotify could gain from throwing these at me. Oh yes, more money in the form of an upgrade. Not going to happen. So stuck with it I suppose. A very unfortunate decision by the powers that be.

But if you look at it the other way, you used to need Premium to even log into a mobile or a tablet device. Now both are available on Spotify free, with restrictions of course.

I don't see it as discrimination against tablet users, since back in the old days just using Spotify on a tablet required Premium, so technically when the free change over happened, things actually got better for unlimited customers since they can now use Spotify on their iPads without premium, even if it is the same as free.

The fact of the matter really is Spotify don't even advertise unlimited anymore on their website which speaks volumes to me.

Peter
Spotify Community Mentor and Troubleshooter

Spotify Last.FM Twitter LinkedIn Meet Peter Rock Star Jam 2014


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That's as may be Peter and thanks for the info btw, but if I pay for a service that promises to be adfree I don't see why it should make a difference on which device I use it. I never use mobile so I can't comment on that. There just seems to be a lack of parity = unfair. Is there some technological reason why iPads can't use unlimited? What's the reason?

I'm not sure, in fact it was one thing I queried several times when the changes came into effect since it seems logical to me that Unlimited would be ad-free on all platforms.

However, since Unlimited as a package before the changes was only applicable on the desktop and web players (and for US customers, ad-free mobile radio which has now been removed) Spotify appear to have left the package exactly how it was. Effectively in my eyes it lives on now as a "legacy" tier only their for people who want to continue using it in the same was as before.

Peter
Spotify Community Mentor and Troubleshooter

Spotify Last.FM Twitter LinkedIn Meet Peter Rock Star Jam 2014


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Thanks. I still can't get my head around different prices for different devices as it's the service (streaming music ad-free) that I'm paying for - or I thought I was. Okay, there may be some outlay on developing and maintaining a native app, but ...

 

I'm just naging the same drum. I'll leave it there. 🙂

I have subscribed to Spotify unlimited after trialling premium for 30 days however I am getting adverts in between songs.i thought once you paid for a subscription the adverts disappeared? Any help please?

@Mark_hogg I moved your post to this thread regarding ads in unlimited. What device are you trying to listen on? Unlimited is only ad free on a desktop computer; you'll still hear ads on phones and tablets. To remove ads from all devices, you would need a premium subscription.

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I am using my iphone.i didn't realise that was the case though saying that I am still on getting the free player privileges.i.e I can't pick what songs I want to listen to on a playlist,I have to listen to it in shuffle mode which is the same as the free version but I'm a paying customer.
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@Mark_hogg - Are you using Unlimited or Premium? On an iPhone, unlimited is identical to free. If you want the full experience on mobile that requires a Premium subscription.

For some more information, there is a table comparing subscription plans here:
http://community.spotify.com/t5/Newcomers-and-Contribution/Subscription-Comparison-Chart/td-p/666916

Also, if you wish to upgrade to Premium, just follow the steps here:
https://support.spotify.com/learn-more/faq/#!/article/Unlimited-to-Premium

Peter
Spotify Community Mentor and Troubleshooter

Spotify Last.FM Twitter LinkedIn Meet Peter Rock Star Jam 2014


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But you are charged £4.99 for unlimited? So whats the point? I have a receipt on my account saying I have been charged £4.99 but then again money hasn't left my account.Yet anyway!

I changed from Premium to Unlimited recently, and now I'm hearing ads, totally ruining my Spotify experience. What's up, Spotify? I have checked my Profile > Overview, everything looks fine ("Your Spotify Unlimited subscription will be automatically renewed the 2014-04-18 and charged kr 49,00 every 1 month, unless you cancel your subscription before that time."). I have not changed credit card recently, so no problem there either. Please please please help 🙂

Kind regards, Mikael

 

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