Automatically switches device but only when I'm listening podcast

[brunoleal]

I have spotify on my work laptop which I listen to music while working.
If I leave spotify on (in laptop) and then go to my car and start listening to Joe Rogan podcast from mobile phone, Spotify constantly switches to the laptop device and stops playing it. I can keep manually switching to mobile phone device, but it will after a few seconds or minutes stop and switch to laptop again.
Strange thing is that if I play music in my mobile it doesn't switch back to laptop. I'm really losing my patience with Spotify as the only solution is to remember to turn off Spotify on my laptop before going to the car...

[Kasakuba]

Same issue with me too. Its ridiculous enough that you pay to listen to podcasts with commercials. How is having a setting to disable automatic device switching not a thing?!

[88qag_-sa1h5p]

I'm having the  same exact issue. The other issue which is frustrating is that sometimes when it switches in between my phone and computer it will start the Joe Rogan episode over and I lose my spot. It will happen several times over the course of the episode. Is this issue not being resolved because you guys hate the content and don't care to fix it? I'm so surprised this hasn't been addressed correctly, all just horrible troubleshooting by the Spotify team. 

[bubble_bobble]

Plan

Premium

Country

USA

Device

(iPhone 13, Dell Precision 5560)

Operating System

(iOS 16.1, Windows 10 Enterprise)

My Question or Issue

I listen to spotify everyday on my work machine (Dell Precision 5560). When I leave my work machine I start to listen to spotify on my iPhone. For the past 6 months, whenever I am listening to something on my phone it will randomly start playing on my work machine. If I go to device list and change it back to my iPhone it will play on my iPhone for a few minutes only to be stolen again. This can happen anywhere from 2 to 10+ times. To make matters worse, when I change the device back to my iPhone there is a 50% chance it has lost my place on what I was currently listening to. This wouldn’t be a big deal but 90% of the time on my phone I’m listening to very long podcasts. Finding my spot can sometimes take a few minutes. I’ve waited and waited for this to finally get resolved in an update, but the problem won’t go away.

I’ve been a premium subscriber for over 10 years. I’ve never once wanted to use this device list feature, I hate it. It’s only caused me problems. If spotify won’t get rid of it at least let me turn it off.

[PSUHammer]

I don't have the time or energy to perform troubleshooting but I will say this did not used to happen.  I have Windows 11 (fully patched) along with the MS Store Spotify app (up to date) running in the background on my desktop PC on my home network.  That PC is always on (runs my plex server).  If I jump in my car using my Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra running the latest Android OS update and latest version of Android Spotify, the phone will play a podcast or music for a short period of time then just stop.  When I check, it's as if my home PC steals it back.  Keeps happening no matter how many times I restart.   I would LOVE to disable my desktop client from automatically stealing any remote playing devices.

The only way I have solved this is making sure to close Spotify on my desktop (kill it from the Task Manager).

[#6]

When attempting to play podcasts on my phone, I am both unable to watch the video, and it will periodically switch to my desktop computer instead of my phone.

[morgzord]

For the last month or so often when I start a track on my iPhone, it will immediately switch to a desktop player even though i am not at my desktop and it may even be in sleep mode. I do not think I should have to quit all other running Spotify applications to play on my iPhone.

[Geeza]

Same problem, keeps switching devices.

I don't even have spotify installed on a desktop and it keeps switching randomly to "desktop device".

How this is still a thing lol

[edflyerssn007]

Running into this issue still. Started after I started using android auto. Anytime my phone loses internet connectivity it defaults back to a computer and away from my phone. Everything is updated. 

[cassiechaos]

Hello, I am running into this issue ever since I set up sonos speakers in my house. I'll be driving (car connected to spotify) playing music and all of a sudden hit a playback error in the app. My husband will tell me my music starts playing randomly in our house. 

This also happens when I am listening to the spotify app on my phone at the gym, my music will start playing on the Sonos speakers at home and I have to keep reattaching my headphones to spotify to play it again. 

I have no idea what to do next. I can reinstall the app on my phone, but that doesn't solve the issue with the sonos device.

[spud09]

Having this exact problem. Based on web searches this has been an issue for a long time. Can Spotify please acknowledge and look into this bug?

I never had this problem with Amazon Echos but since upgrading to Sonos equipment it happens daily

[Lottar]

Plan

Premium

Operating System

Android

My Question or Issue

In the past week my Spotify has been randomly changing device to my work PC, which is not on the same network nor active.

When the device switch happens, whatever is playing is stopped.

I will usually need to switch back to my phone manually, though sometimes it switches back on its own - though whatever I was listening to has now stopped and lost its timestamp.

I have all related settings turned off.

Why would Spotify even change device on its own accord?

How do I fix this? It's driving me up the walls.

[kaiweb]

When I listen to Spotify on my android device, it unexpectedly changes to other devices, usually my desktop device which is locked. If I switch back to my phone, it usually switches to my desktop in a few seconds. I basically can't listen on my phone.

[kaiweb]

This has been plaguing me for months now, and I finally had some free time to investigate. I think I have discovered the problem, and I've now reproduced this consistently. I hope Spotify will rethink how they have coded this feature.

Basically, what's happening is that every time a bluetooth device connects or disconnects from another device, that becomes the device. Yes, that includes disconnecting. I've reproduced this easily. I listen on my computer, then I disconnect my bluetooth earbuds from my phone--and suddenly spotify has switched to playing on my phone. 

In another scenario, I have a computer with a bluetooth keyboard. Sometimes I forget to turn the keyboard off, and so then it's constantly connecting/disconnecting for whatever reason and triggering this problem. If I turn the keyboard off, and then go mobile--the problem goes away.  I hope Spotify will rethink how they coded this, because I'm pretty sure no one wants to switch to the device that just disconnected a bluetooth device--let alone switch to a device that connected a bluetooth keyboard when no one is actually sitting at that device. Even if I was sitting at that device, that's not a reason to switch to it. 

I hope this helps folks here who are blocked by this problem. 

[kaiweb]

Joan, this happens for me when a device connects or disconnects a bluetooth device. Yes that's right, when it disconnects a bluetooth device. I doubt anyone wants that. If I disable bluetooth on that device, it stops switching to that device. I have a device with a bluetooth keyboard, and it will constantly become the main device no matter where else I listen. When I turn off the keyboard, the problem stops happening. 

[andrewvan]

This started happening to me with music too.   I switched phones last week from a Samsung Galaxy to a Google Pixel.  With that change came lots of other changes, new ear buds, Android Auto setup again, etc..    This morning during my commute to the office (subway not car), the app kept shifting playback to my home PC and I think once it shifted to a Sonos speaker at home.   I'm uncertain if the changes were tied to unlocking my phone, changing networks, or events on my Bluetooth connected earbuds.    I never had these problems with my Samsung Galaxy and Spotify.

[IvarAndreassen]

Not fixed!! Auto switch from Android to Fiio...

[FixTheDeviceSwitchin]

How is this still not fixed?  Fix it

[kaiweb]

This was happening all day. I was riding in two different cars, listening to music. The player was constantly switching to a different device at home, making listening a terrible experience. I've attached two screen captures of the bug. 

[andrewvan]

It seems to be tied to anything that uses the radio stack.   I've experienced a shift when using NFC payments as well as stopping playback via my Bluetooth earbuds 

[12137194843]

I've had the exact same problem. It started a few months ago. I have an iPhone 12 Pro with Spotify version 8.9.19.571 and a Macbook Pro with Spotify for macOS (Intel) 1.2.33.1039.g8ddb5918. I would be driving listening to Joe Rogan or another podcast and it would switch to my laptop & continue "playing" but no sound would come out of the speakers. My wife would be at home & look at my laptop and Spotify was not playing, as a matter of fact, it wasn't even open. The only way I fixed it was to delete Spotify off my laptop. I've had zero issues since.