Android Auto displaying wrong podcast length

[CursedGungan]

Plan

Premium

Country

UK

Device

Pixel 9 Pro & BMW

Operating System

Android 16

iDrive 7

Spotify version 9.0.78.1116

My Question or Issue

When listening to podcasts in android auto, the wrong podcast length is displayed. Displaying something like 32:00/30:00

The total length displayed is shorter than the actual length, meaning that when you get towards the end of the podcast the bar is full but there is still a few minutes of podcast left. 

[Eni]

Hey there @CursedGungan, 

Thanks for getting in touch about this and welcome to the Community! 

Just to confirm, is this only happening on Android Auto or did you notice this behavior on other devices as well? We'd also like to know if this started happening after a specific event such as an update. 

Additionally, are you having this issue with all podcasts or only with one in particular? It'd be helpful, if you could check. If it's only happening with one specific podcast, make sure to send us its URI so we can take a closer look. 

We'll be on the lookout for your reply. 

[CursedGungan]

Hi Eni, thanks for your reply! 

I don't use other devices to play podcasts so unfortunately I can't say if it's just android auto, or if it's a more widespread issue across other Bluetooth devices. 

I have noticed it on multiple podcasts, so it seems to be a generic podcast issue. 

Of note I have also performed a full factory reset but this hasn't fixed the issue...

[Eni]

Hi there @CursedGungan, 

Thanks for getting back to us and for the extra details!

Since you've noticed this behavior with multiple podcasts and the factory reset didn't do the trick, we can try some other troubleshooting steps to narrow down what might be causing this. 

Could you try playing the same podcasts directly on your phone to check if the podcast length displays as expected? Also, if your car supports wired Android Auto, could you try using a USB cable instead of Bluetooth to see if the same happens? 

Lastly, it's well worth running a clean reinstall of the app on your phone to get rid of any cached files that might be causing trouble. 

Keep us posted on how it goes. 

[CursedGungan]

Hi Eni,

I've tried a clean install and that doesn't seem to have helped, but I've done a bit more testing and come up with some strange results...

My car is only wireless Android auto so I haven't been able to test if that makes a difference. 

I've summarised what I've seen below and attached some photos that should help. 

Case 1.

See 'No Such Thing As A Fish' podcast photo.

The total time displayed on the car screen matches what is displayed on the phone.

However, the current time does exceed the total time displayed towards the end of the podcast, showing 1:05:06/1:03:25

Case 2. 

See 'Today In Focus' podcast photo. 

The total time on the car screen does not match the phone display.

The car screen is a lower number - 34:04 on the car, 37:30 on the phone. Podcast runs to 37:30.

I might be wrong, but perhaps it could be something to do with dynamic advertising being added to the podcast, therefore changing the length of the podcast?

[AlejaR]

Hey there @CursedGungan,

Thanks for keeping us in the loop and for the info shared. 

In order for us to continue narrowing down this behavior, we'd like to gather some additional info. Please send us:

• Does this happen if you open your account on a different mobile device? You can ask for the mobile device of a relative or a friend, to open your account there, connect it to your car and check.
• Has the app always behaved like that or if this behavior started after a specific event/update? 
• Does the playback continues after an episode ends despite the total time displayed?
• Does this happen if the playback comes directly from your phone? We'd like to double-check if this is something you only notice when the phone is connected to Android Auto. 
• Have you noticed if this is happening when the episode doesn't contain ads? 

We'll be around!

[CursedGungan]

Hi there, apologies for the late reply as it's been a busy week! 

I've tried to do a little more testing and here's what I've found.

1. I've tested this on Spotify on my android tablet, and seen the same behaviour where some episodes have the wrong total time.

I haven't even able to connect it to my car yet but I'll try to take a look at that and get back to you. 

2. I think it did work as expected originally, but then I noticed a change. It was probably a few months ago but I imagine it was after a certain update. I should have mentioned it earlier to help narrow down the update that changed this. 

3. Yeah the podcast continues playing, despite already having reached the total time. Leading to the playback saying the podcast is 1:36:30 out of a total 1:33:00 for example, whilst still playing audio until the podcast does reach the actual end of the podcast. 

4. Yes this does happen when just playing audio from the phone. However sometimes some podcasts will have different total times displayed on the phone and android auto at the same time, so I imagine this may be two separate issues. 

5. It's hard to tell, as lots of podcasts have ads within the podcast itself, that would be the same wherever you listen to it, rather than being added in within Spotify itself. 

But it seems that if a podcast has adds added in on Spotify specifically, then the total time displayed on the phone/tablet doesn't account for these adds, which is why the total time displayed is less than the actual runtime of the podcast, leading to the issue seen above in point 3.

I think there may be a couple of different issues here, one where the total time doesn't account for adds being added in on Spotify, and another where the wrong total time is displayed on android auto.

I hope that helps 😊

[Vasil]

Hey @CursedGungan,

Thank you for the additional details 🙂 
This has now been reported backstage and, although we can't provide you with an exact ETA for a fix, it is on our radar.

We're here for you if there's anything else in the meantime. Cheers! 

[CursedGungan]

Hey Vasil, 

Thanks very much, I appreciate it's not a very big issue but hopefully it's something that can be fixed at some point 😊

Let me know if you need any other information!