Audiobook says time used up when it is not

[bethingbird]

Plan

Premium family

Country

Canada

Device

 Samsung Galaxy s20 fe

Operating System

My Question or Issue

I am trying to listen to audiobooks but it says i havw used the 15 hours which i have not and when i search the time i have used it says the same ( 0 hours used)  why am i not getting my 15 hours.  I am on the right plan and it is imcluded.   I dont see any answers to this or any way to contact spotify for help which is annoying. Honestly im not sure i like this new feature and would rather continue using Audible ot other apps for audiobooks until you sort out all the issues ( ie. Including audiobook as songs in liked songs and limited playback)    I also want to know if audiobooks can be downloaded or only available for streaming.  I want to be able to listen to offline while driving.  

[whiskymick]

Plan

Free/Premium

Country

Device

(iPhone 8, Samsung Galaxy 9, Macbook Pro late 2016)

Operating System

(iOS 10, Android Oreo, Windows 10,etc.)

My Question or Issue

I had enquired last month about not being able to track usage of my audiobook top-up, feeling I had been cut off in March way before 25 hours (15 hrs. premium subscription, 10 hrs. top-up, purchased 2/2025). I was told I had used up my time. I then timed my usage in April, hitting 15 hrs (approx. 12 hrs. to finish Fevre Dream, G.R.R. Martin, and 3 hrs. into Skinny Dip, Carl Hiaasen) today, 4/30/25, I was cut off. I don't want the minimal refund; I want the hours that I've paid for, and a way to track them. You owe me 10 roll-over hours added to my May allowance, so 35 hours and we'll call my unprovable suspicions about my March hours an educational moment.

Mick

[becobot]

Plan

Premium

Country

Australia

Device

iphone13

Operating System

iOS

My Question or Issue

I was just given a notification that my 15hours of listening time are up for the month. I haven't listened to a book in over 4 weeks, and when I click on my profile it says I've used 0h/15h.

So what is this about? 

[RosieTeek]

I too have had the same issue with no way to contact Spotify outside of this forum. There needs to be some sense of accountability for Spotify to track the hours correctly. I have been tracking them myself and adding on (purchasing top up hours) as needed. I had over 7 hours left this month. I listened to 46 minutes and it said I was out of hours. Please send a phone number or way to rectify this issue!!! 

[Maria · Accepted solution]

Hey folks,

Thanks for reaching out on the Community and for posting your questions about audiobooks!

As we're seeing a few different concerns in this thread, we'd like to first clarify that the audiobook listening time used is based on each playback of an audiobook at normal speed. This means that, for example, listening to audiobooks for 5 hours at 2x speed is still 10 hours of listening time, or repeating/rewinding a chapter will still count towards your total listening time.

Tip: if you're often listening to audiobooks while falling asleep, you might find the Sleep timer useful. Feel free to check this reply for more details.

Your current available hours can be checked directly in the app on mobile devices, and on our website on desktops. The exact steps can be found under How do I know how much audiobook listening time I have left? on this page.

If you feel that your listening time wasn’t tracked correctly, you can download your account data/extended streaming history to get a full breakdown of your used Audiobook hours. You can do so by heading over here.

In case you’re getting an error in the app when you try listening to an audiobook while you still have listening hours left, or if the hours didn't renew after the billing date, it's worth performing some troubleshooting steps, such as clearing cache, reinstalling the app, checking on another device, updating the app, etc.

We hope this clears things up!

[cs79]

I am confused by your statement "This means that, for example, listening to 5 hours of content at 2x speed is still 10 hours of listening time..." If I listen to 5 hours of content at 2x speed means I will consume 5 hours of content in 2.5 hours and should only count as 5 hours, NOT 10 hours. I ran out of time in the middle of a book. The total time for the book was 9h44m. I had less than 4 hours left. Paid for a 15 hour top off, and ran out of time before the book was complete. There is something wrong with the way it is calculating time. This is the only book I am listening to, didn't fall asleep, didn't repeat anything, listening straight through, and got a message 2 hours in that I was out of hours. I have requested my data, but it takes 30 days to download it. If Spotify is going to place a listening limit on audiobooks, there should be detail to that specific limit, not just a tracking bar saying how much you have used. 

[Robynfrance]

Yes, this happens to me.

[HeyWendy]

Same!! Two months in a row. I contacted Spotify and they said just because I listened to something at a faster speed doesn’t change the 15 hour limit. And I had to point out that just because you listen to something out of faster speed doesn’t change the fact that the book is not even 10 hours long!!! 

[HeyWendy]

What a load of c*ap! Listening to something at a faster speed change the fact of the time listened!! Your algorithm is 100% off and not in any way, actual math. Double time just means I listen to it faster which means I still listened to the hours of the book whether I did five hours in 2 1/2 time or I did five hours at the regular time it’s still only five hours! And if the book is a 10 hour book and I listen to it in five hours I’m completely aware that I’ve used 10 hours. But Maria 10 hours is not 15 hours no matter how you want to compute your math and skew it so that Spotify can keep screwing people and try to get them to buy this bump up!! It’s a scam! 15 hours is 15 hours. if I listen to 15 hours in 10 hours, it’s still 15 hours of listening. And FYI, I never fall asleep with Spotify and especially not if I’m listening to a book. I only use it when I’m driving and I guarantee I’ve not been on the road for 15 hours! do better, Spotify quit cheating your customers