[Android, clock app] alarm throws NullPointerException

[AdelarLerigon]

Plan

Premium

Country

Germany

Device

Galaxy S4 GT-I9505

Operating System

Android

My Question or Issue

Since a few updates ago, the Spotify integration for the clock app ceased working for me. Now everytime an alarm goes off, it displays "java.lang.NullPointerException" (see screenshot) and plays the fallback beep sound like if you have no internet connection. Also, in the screen where you select which playlist should be played by an alarm, there is no sound after selecting one. However, the playlists are correctly listed.

I have already tried reinstalling Spotify (clean reinstall) and the clock app, as well as un-linking the clock app from my Spotify account and re-linking it.

This bug happens 100% of the time.

[CarlosE]

Hey there @AdelarLerigon,

Thanks for reaching out to the Community and welcome!

Just to confirm, did you make sure to follow these specific steps for a clean reinstall?

If you did and the issue persists, could you try while using a different Internet connection, such as another WiFi network or mobile data, and let us know if that makes any difference?

We'd also like to know the Spotify version you're running, as well as the Android version of your phone.

Keep us posted. We'll be on the lookout.

[AdelarLerigon]

Yes, I followed those steps.

I tried it using my WiFi and mobile data and in both cases it resulted in the same.

Spotify version: 8.5.89.901

Android version: 5.0.1

[Mihail]

Hey @AdelarLerigon,

Thanks for getting back to us with that info.

It would be great if you could borrow a friend or family members account and see if the error comes up there as well. You can also try and log in with your google and Spotify accounts on another phone, if that's an option, and see if it works properly there. 

That way we can narrow down the root cause of the behavior to either the device or your account and troubleshoot accordingly.

We'd love to investigate this further! We'll be here if you have any other questions.

[AdelarLerigon]

(Sorry for the late answer, the last few weeks have been very busy for me.)
So, in the meantime I have updated to the now latest Spotify version (8.5.98.984) and the issue still persists.

I tried using another account on my phone (a free one though). Before switching accounts, I did a clean reinstall. However, it did not change anything.

Using my account on my sister's phone (a Huawei with Android 10.0.0.181) worked, though.

So apparently, the issue has to do something with my device.

As I was testing around with my phone, I accidentally had Spotify open on my PC with the same account. As the alarm got triggered by the clock app, Spotify stopped playing on my PC, switched to my phone and started playing as an Alarm. So strangely, it worked as it should in this constellation.

[Novy]

Hi @AdelarLerigon, 

Thanks for getting back to us. 

Keep in mind that older Android versions can cause the app to malfunction and might not work properly with certain features. This might be the reason why it works fine on your sister's phone.

In this case, we'd recommend using this feature with a device that has a newer Android version.

If anything else comes up, we're always a message away. 

Cheers!

[puddleduck]

Hi, 

This is also happening to me- did it ever get sorted? I've just got a new phone and wanted to set a spotify song as the alarm and i'm having the identical issue to adelar! 

[Novy]

Hi @puddleduck,

Thank you for posting to the Community, and welcome.

Could you list us any troubleshooting steps you've already tried? This way, we can investigate further and help you better.

Also, please share with us the make, model and operating system of your phone, as well as your Spotify's app version.

We'll keep an eye out for your reply!

[puddleduck]

Hi Novy,

Spotify version is 8.6.42.671 (with auto-update switched on)

Phone is a google pixel 4a with android version 11

I tried a clean reinstall as per the instructions in the FAQs

I can select a spotify playlist as an alarm through the clock but no sample plays when it's selected, and the alarm itself is just bleeping with the above error code. I can search for specific songs but am unable to select them as the alarm. 

Obviously not the end of the world but would be awesome to have this feature 🙂 Thank you for your help! 

[CarlosE]

Hey there @puddleduck,

Thanks for your reply and the extra info.

Could you let us know if this worked before or if you run into this issue the first time you tried?

Additionally, could you try logging in to a different account, like a friend's or relative's, on your phone and let us know if this persists? Also, try logging in to your account on a different Android device to see if you can replicate this issue. This would help us understand if this is a device or account related issue.

Keep us in the loop.

[curiousess]

I've got this same issue on Android 10, running on a Nokia 6.2. I've tried reinstalling the Spotify app and unlinking the clock from permitted apps and reauthorizing. These steps did not resolve the issue.

Every time I set an alarm as a playlist I get a null pointer exception.

[MafeG]

Hi @curiousess,

Thank you for posting on this thread!

Throughout this thread other mods have shared some troubleshooting steps that are worth checking such as using a different internet connection or logging with another account to check if the same happens.

If the issue persists, please make sure both apps have all permissions enabled in the phone's settings.

Let us know how this goes.