Android Notifications Interrupt Music

[andynov123]

Plan

Premium

Country

USA

Device

Samsung S10E

Operating System

Android 10

My Question or Issue

I'm unable to get spotify to ignore android notifications. When a notification happens, the music pauses for the notification sound. I've tried Do Not Disturb and turning Sound to Mute, but it keeps happening. How can I fix this issue?

[KieranRC]

Hi,

I'm hoping to reignite this thread and raise it to the attention of Spotify developers again as this issue is also present and still persisting on my Samsung S10+, all messages (Messenger, WhatsApp, SMS etc.) interrupt my Spotify audio for 2/3 seconds, which is incredibly frustrating when listening to podcasts, as the audio does not pause, so I'm essentially missing some speech. 

I'm using the Samsung S10+ (SM-G975F/DS) in the UK with One UI V3.1, running Android 11. Spotify is version 8.6.30.889 (25 May 2021).

I've tested this with the screen off, lockscreen on,  the device unlocked and the spotify app open and playing audio, the issue happens in all views. 

I agree with other users, we shouldn't be logging this as an "idea" as it's not a feature request, it's a bug that is creating a negative listening experience for all users, including premium subscribers. 

Please can some developers please investigate, as others have said, putting the phone into do not disturb is not a reasonable solution.

Thankyou.

[CarlosE]

Hey there @KieranRC,

Thanks for posting on this thread and welcome to the Community.

Keep in mind that many Android devices prioritize notifications over audio playback and this is not something we can change on our end as we cannot program Spotify to overrule system sounds or to take exclusive audio control of the device from other apps. This is dependent on the specific device firmware. The only option to change this would be to change how notification sound priority is configured system-wise via the manufacturer firmware and this won't be something we can influence.

For the time being, a workaround to have uninterrupted music playback on such devices would be to set the phone to vibration or do not disturb mode so that notifications don't overrule audio playback.

Hope this sheds some light on the matter. We'll be right here in case you need anything else.

Cheers!

[Smee8576]

This happens to me as well and it is a Spotify specific issue. I have other apps such as Pocket Casts which do not exhibit this behavior.  It is called audio ducking and has to be programmed in by Spotify's developers.  I can't believe that something this simple, yet annoying, can't be taken seriously by Spotify considering this is a premier streaming application, especially with something so simple to integrate.  Please take this seriously and pass this on to your developers and resolve this issue once and for all.  It has been an annoyance for years.

[mcolson1590]

I'm even seeing this issue when i'm casting to a Nest Mini.  When I get a notification on my Galaxy S21, music stops and doesn't start back up on the mini.

[wilhuijskens]

This is so intensly frustrating... can't believe Spotify does not offer a solution to this. I have a work around for people with a family account and a second android phone. Yes.. that's what I use only to fix this shitty problem. Audio ducking drives me crazy.

[nns6c0mb_-pfl]

This happens on ALL Android devices. I am no longer using Spotify when i have navigation (Waze) on. It would be so nice to have an option under settings to stop audio ducking, but this has been suggested dozens of times in the past ten years and clearly Spotify has no interest in listening to its users.

[nns6c0mb_-pfl]

Fully agree, it would be great, other music apps have this feature, but as you said, this has been requested many times and the Spotify developers do not listen.

[skrmae]

I've had the same issue, but on Xiaomi's MIUI there is a feature called Sound Assistant that actually allows you to control audio ducking 

[el_rico]

Same here: every notification just stops the music (if it matters, over bluetooth, Realme X2 Pro, up-to-date). It seems to be recent for me (I would say 1 or 2 days max, I think I would have noticed!). And I confirm other media apps are not affected. No recent system update or change in the settings too. So...

[el_rico]

I do agree that this is a bug.  Each time the app is updated, I'm scared of a regression somewhere. And this is often, because continuous deployment without proper QA tends to be continuous beta testing... Also, I would find correct to consider core features that must be rock-solid and other features that may be more fragile/experimental. And, well, playing the music without being stopped ny a notification is a core feature I think. Not even needed to raise the point that this is what we're subscribing for...

[Marki]

I am having the same problem. The music volume reduces 50% after a notification and I have to restart Spotify. Please fix this! 

[melaw]

https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/media-apps/audio-focus

Ducking is a core android feature and cannot easily be overwritten by apps.

Spotify probably would need to play all music disguised as speech, which probably causes problems elsewhere

[Robinws_]

Hello, my issue is similar to this thread but much weirder! So I listen to spotify via my Alexa Echo Dot. Any time my phone gets a notification the music stutters on my Echo Dot! How is this possible? Bluetooth is off on my phone and spotify app is not even open on my phone! Why is there a link between my android phone notifications and spotify on a totally separate device? Crazy! Spotify needs to step up. 

[Novy]

Hi @Robinws_,

Thanks for posting on the community.

If the issue you're having is different than the one being discussed in this thread, we recommend that you post it again on a new thread in the relevant Help Board. 

We'll be looking into it. 

[Crystalisamazing]

I have this issue with my s21 plus and it recently started, it wasn't always like this. 

[yelrahdi]

Same started for me recently on S21 Ultra.  Pretty much makes the service useless for me now. Ugh

[Phatlady03]

Same issue on vibrate with S22 Ultra.  Just started in the last few weeks.  I HAVE it on VIBRATE for goodness sake.  I DON'T want interruptions, but I DON'T want to be in do not distrub mode or silent either.

[Tombstonetaz]

So the best solution I found (I'm using a Note 10 plus - running Android 12), is to go into do not disturb, under notifications, turn it on, then under exceptions, select sounds and hit the toggle for media..  That has worked perfectly for me.. Just remember to turn DND off when you're finished with it, or you can set it to come back on after so many hours. 

[Mayflowerman]

Thanks for the tips. If I need to go back each time then my issue is not
solved.

Google fix this please.

[sOfekS]

I have also started experiencing this issue a few weeks ago, also using S22 Ultra and it also happens when phone is on vibrate. Turning on Do not Disturb is not a viable solution.

It worked great until some time ago, now it's just unusable