[Connect] Disable automatic switching between devices

[HidalgoF]

Spotify Connect is great but the automatic switching is not for everyone.

Please allow us to disable automatic switching between devices. I understand Spotify doesn't like user to play in more than one device and I am happy with that, but the application shouldn't switch devices if the user does not want to do this. It clearly creates frustration amongst users.

In my particular case I work from home listening to music on my computer. I find really annoying when I plug my headphones in my phone to take a call and suddenly the music starts playing in my headphones.

This is what happens step by step:

• Spotify is in my mobile running in the back.
• Spotify is playing in my computer.
• My phone rings.
• I take the call at the same time that I get my headphones on me.
• I listed to a combination of my client/colleague and the music that I was playing in my computer, usually very loudly.
• I stop the music.
• I comment with my client/colleague how bad is Spotify.
• I finish my call.
• I go to my computer, change the playing device on Spotify to my computer and play again.
• I do this a couple of times until I get fed up of Spotify and I play music from somewhere else.

This problem has been already described here: LINK  but it has incorrectly tagged as repeated (the problems and solutions suggested are different).

[HidalgoF]

Hey @50lwjk_-htbts!

Thank you for reaching out on the Community and sorry for the delayed reply.

It sounds like the playback of the music is changed back to the device connected to your phone via Bluetooth, which is expected at this point.

We appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback. We recommend leaving a +Vote on this idea if you'd like to see this changed.

If you're interested in how ideas work and how your feedback reaches the right teams here, check this page out.
 
Let us know if there's anything else we can do for you. We'd be happy to help.

[user-removed]

nice job spotify, you just lost a customer! still havent fixed this s*** and its been years. everyone tell your friends to go to apple music. they have hi res lossless audio too at the same price as spotifys s***ty stream quality lol what a f***in' joke

[Meaty1]

Please fix this. I'm like others. I play Spotify on my android display device for kid to sleep. 

Then I connect Bluetooth on my phone. Boom switch. 

Or connect car to android auto in car. Boom switch. 

Wakes up kid! 

Very disruptive. Seems like a simple disable option. 

[Kimberleigh40]

This is a problem that's been occurring for over 2 years. Spotify's responses thanks for the suggestion we're always working to improve... yet two years later there is no solution to this. I find this absolutely beyond frustrating. I suppose it's safe to assume that Spotify has no intent to address this issue that is affecting so many users. It's to the point, that I'm just going cancel our family plan. 

[rickylago2]

Here we are, years later, still no solution to this. I just want my music to play where I've pressed the play button. I would so much rather switch manually the one time per day I want that behavior rather than having to revert the automatic switch 10+ times a day. Ridiculous that this isn't even an option I can disable. 

[Shaikailash]

still no workaround? this is really annoying...any way to force this some way through third part hacks on android phones?

[Maureen2]

Spotify keeps switching to my husband’s hearing aids when he’s in the middle of a meeting with a patient! So so unbelievably frustrating and unacceptable. Can’t believe there isn’t a fix.

[neiker]

My hope for 2024 is Spotify removes this "seamless transition" feature or at least offers a way to switch it on/off. Or even show an alert: "Do you want to switch listening to this device? Yes/No"

[Lemoore]

Here's my scenario:

I play an audiobook on my son's Alexa via my Spotify. 

Later on I'm downstairs and my wife is watching TV, so I decide to watch some YouTube on my headphones. I turn them on and Spotify switches from my son's Alexa to my headphones. When it stops, he shouts downstairs. I have to go in to Spotify and set it back to output to his Alexa.

This is very boring every night.

The intent logic in the code is correct, but it should only apply if Spotify is not outputting to a different device. It's really not an unreasonable ask and any PM and dev should be ashamed of either not thinking about this, or knowing about it and not coding it right in the first place.

So which is it?

[CVanLeer]

Every time I go for a run and I come back near my house Spotify switches to my phone or desktop. If you're going to make a feature automatic you better make sure it functions properly. It is an insanely poor decision not to have an off switch and has made me seriously consider switching all my playlists to Apple Music. Guarantee whatever team at Spotify made this decision has made other poor decisions as well that will come out down the line. 

[7satope3r8cf6tnw2ke7]

DISABLING THE "NEARBY DEVICES" PERMISSION FIXED IT!!!

NO MORE STRESS!

What a ridiculous feature. One of the biggest annoyances I had while enjoying music. I want to answer a call, I turn on my bluetooth, and kill the music playing on my sound system then it starts blasting in my ear as I'm trying to talk to my customer.

[user-removed]

whats the nearby devices permission?

[neiker]

On iOS is: Settings -> Spotify -> Bluetooth. Disabling this permission will "fix" the issue

[user-removed]

oh you mean turning off bluetooth fixes it?

[Lemoore]

This is NOT a "fix".

We should not have to forgo functionality because the Spotify Product Managers and developers are so **bleep** at their jobs.

[Htbean]

Yeah that's not a fix. Turning off a major functionality isn't a fix not to
mention when I go from my PC to my car there's no Bluetooth involved and it
happens. So it's not even a solution anyway.

[neiker]

Is disabling bluetooth permission only for Spotify, not disabling bluetooth globally. And I know it's not a proper fix for the issue; that's why I used quotes on "fix".

But it helps if you don't want to wait until Spotify decides to give a proper solution to this issue.

[Gordon_L]

The app does not close when there is a Spotify widget on the home screen

Currently I have two phones

Both have Spotify, and both have a Spotify widget

If I am using one phone for Spotify, connected by Bluetooth to speakers,

and on the other phone,

I have wired headphones in a phone call, the Spotify/Bluetooth/speakers device keeps switching from “This phone” to the “[no Bluetooth/wired headphones/phone call]” phone

Spotify device:

OnePlus 6T

If I manually switch it back (on the Spotify/Bluetooth/speakers phone) it automatically reverses the Current Device back from “This phone” to the other device (the phone call/no Bluetooth/wired headphones phone)

Required functionality:

If you manually set the Current Device to “This phone” on the current playback device, then Spotify should not change that setting, even if another device, even another phone, has a Spotify widget installed

This is nothing to do with the phone's ROM. This is a Spotify behaviour. If the interactions between devices are hard to manage automatically, then Spotify should allow users to specify that they can use manual switching instead.

Spotify device:

OnePlus 6

Bluetooth speakers: Ford SYNC

Phone call device with Bluetooth switched off, and wired headphones

Google Pixel 8 Pro

[UFNaviGator]

This remains an issue. Woke my daughter 3 times with confusion related to pulling priority from her Google home device while she slept when I put in my earbuds. This feature is nothing but a nuisance.

[mbobasti]

Spotify folks, did you know that besides music, headphones and earphones can also be used for phone calls? I truly cannot understand how this hasn't already occurred to anyone in Spotify. Just add an option to disable this.

This "feature" is very frustrating to users like me who don't use seamless transition. I cast music to a group of speakers at home, and use my phone to control the volume of that group of speakers. Force closing the app is unacceptable, because I will have to open it again, and I have to be careful that my phone is not connected to any bluetooth audio device. This happens with bluetooth speakers too, all because the Spotify app thinks it's a #1 priority app.

People have different different use-cases and lead different lives. You cannot force an intrusive "feature" like this to everyone and not adding an option to disable it. This should be part of the Spotify UI.

[Draycius]

I've been having the same issue here as everyone else and I finally got fed up enough with it that I started looking for a fix.

I play Spotify over Google Cast speakers in my house and anytime I would connect my BT-Headset Spotify would automatically change devices.

What I did to fix it, that appears to be working so far, is disabling "Spotify Connect in background" within the app.

The one caveat to this is that you need to close Spotify on your phone before connecting your BT headset, or it'll still automatically switch over.

I don't appear to have lost any functionality by disabling this and I still have the option of opening Spotify back up after connecting my headset.