[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).

[abs0Lut]

Incredibly annoying, I'm going to cancel my sub soon if it isn't fixed. Trying to listen to music at the gym and it keeps switching to my laptop at home? wth is that

[missbanjo]

Well now I know that Spotify will not fix this issue. My issue is similar but the opposite as OP. I'll start up my car thinking it'll play through bluetooth on the car and instead it starts playing on my PC in the house. Cats & hubby LOVE it, not.  Yes it also randomly plays on the phone as well. Quit trying to make it 'seamless' we want better control than that. 

[ImChuco]

Its a beautiful feature! I love going to work and open up spotify and start playing and then 2 minutes later it switches to the pc that i left on. And there is no way to stop it as it keeps switching no matter what. How hard can it be to just add a switch to turn it off and on if they feel the feature is so great that they need to keep it 

[Rendo84]

This just started happening for me. 
Was out for a run listening on headphones and about 10 mins into it suddenly my running playlist stopped. So, whilst running, I got out my phone and it was saying it was now playing something on my daughters Echo Dot at home. 
My Spotify account isn’t even linked to the Echo, it’s not linked to anything besides my phone and I had that with me so why was the app saying it’s playing music from a different device?

I was able to switch back to my headphones but a few seconds later it switched back to the Echo. Had to do this a few times before I opened settings. Even weirder was the fact within the Spotify app Settings > Devices the Echo was showing as connected, so I removed it. About 5 mins later it switched back to the Echo Dot so I had to repeat the step of removing the device. Bear in mind too I’m doing all this whilst still running. 

Question for Spotify -

1) How is this even possible when I’ve never connected/paired my Spotify account to the Echo?

2) Why, after I removed a phantom connection to it, was it able to reconnect to the Echo when I was away from home?

This is a terrible user experience. 
Please resolve. 

[CamerDavis]

I read through the whole list so far and I'd like to add my own problem with this feature. So far nobody's mentioned this, but on Samsung Galaxy devices, your earbuds have the ability to switch back and forth between devices depending on what media is playing. This is great if you're listening to music on your phone and want to watch a video on your tablet, for instance. Your earbuds will switch to the tablet, and then when you push play on your phone, it switches back to your music. 

 The problem with this behavior is that, for some reason, Spotify will have your headphones switch when the app is opened, not when the play button is pushed. So, let's say you're listening to music on your phone and decide to use the connected devices feature to change your music while working on something on your tablet. You used to be able to open the spotify app and change your music using your tablet, and your phone would change which music it was playing. Now when you open the spotify app, it switches your earbuds to your tablet, pauses your music, and, in what I can only describe as a fight between the two spotify apps, your earbuds rapidly switch back and forth between the two devices until one gives up. Music will then resume on one of the devices randomly, with or without earbuds connected. So, you can no longer use your tablet to control music on your phone, or your phone to control music on your tablet. You can only have the app open on one device at a time. This defeats one of the main purposes of the connected devices feature.

This is a Spotify issue, not a hardware issue. Youtube, for example, only switches your headphones when you push play on a video with the app open on both devices. It waits for you to directly tell the app that you want to start watching a video on a different device. It also tells the previous device to pause, which is nice. It's what the auto-switching is intended for. Spotify, however, assumes opening the app isn't to browse, read lyrics, or change playlists without pulling my phone out of my pocket. It assumes I want to switch which device is listening to music.

The annoying thing is this could be solved with a simple prompt when opening the app. Imagine a pop-up when you open the app on your tablet while listening on your phone:

"You're currently listening on xxx's phone, would you like to switch to this device?"

"Switch to xxx's tablet"

"Not now"

Just like the pop-up for car mode. Easy fix, and then wait to switch the headphones until you hit switch to this device, otherwise, keep them connected to the current device.

And if your earbuds are connected to your tablet without Spotify open or playing, and then you open it on your phone, wait until you start playing a song to switch the earbuds over to your phone. That way if I'm watching a youtube video and want to finish it before starting a song, I can open Spotify and pick my song without switching my headphones to my phone and stopping my video. Thanks!

[HidalgoF]

Thank you everyone for your support. I can see that Spotify hasn't solved the problem.

I will tell you the way that I have sorted it:

• I installed Deezer
• Paid for a subscription
• Access the website TuneMyMusic.com
• Moved all my content from Spotify to Deezer
• I said good bye to Spotify
• Now I am not annoyed anymore but undesired changes in playing device.

I hope it helps.

[Chef312]

I am actively searching for an alternative to Spotify as we speak, because Spotify won't address this simple problem. I am also liquidating my Spotify stock. I'm embarrassed to have been such a Spotify supporter all these years.

[thisserviceislousy]

Yea this answer sucks. It is a spotify behavior. I have had enough of this **bleep** too

[joshhayes747]

Spotify is a greedy audio sink. Connecting/disconnecting headphones or Bluetooth peripherals from a device that has Spotify installed, but is not the primary output device, thrashes playback. Playback via another device or a WiFi speaker should be independent of Bluetooth connectivity.

[jasondebruler]

It's quite shocking to read about how long this issue has been plaguing users and it has only gotten worse within the last week or two.  First off, I cannot think of a single person who would take the "automatic switching for seamless play" feature over an uninterrupted experience on the current device.  It seriously feels like the devs at Spotify don't even use the app.

I'm using the app in the most basic way I can imagine.  I have the latest iPhone running the latest OS and Spotify app.  I'm wearing the latest Airpod Pros.  I'll be listening to a podcast and without any action from me, it will switch the output device to my Mac Studio!  Why would it do that???  How is that even a "feature"?  If I want to switch devices....I'll click the devices icon and switch it myself!  This is the most absurd bug I can imagine and so easily fixed but you just don't seem willing to listen to people who actually use your app.

Worse yet, I then have to manually switch back to "this phone" and then roughly half the time the app forgets my progress!  So I have to spend a few minutes figuring out where I was.  Over the course of a 3 hour episode, it can take 5+ minutes just to figure out where I was.  

Isn't there an extremely simple solution to this?  Just add a toggle in the settings that says "do not automatically switch devices" and let the user decide if they want it on or off?

[jasondebruler]

Vasil, please reread your message here.  Does this sound like a reasonable request?  You're saying this is expected?  So the Spotify product team thinks it makes sense to tell users to force quit the app simply to make phone calls?

[jasondebruler]

I quite simply do not understand how anyone could disagree with what you stated here and yet two years later, Spotify won't fix this?

[manolson]

SPOTIFY PLEASE FIX THIS ALREADY.

The community here has already spec'ed out solutions for you

 -  A CUSTOMER AND A SHAREHOLDER

(btw: for the small group who has been vocal about this bug that millions of people certainly experience,  perhaps if we all bring this up with investor relations we can get a little more attention ?? ) 

[Jato4x4]

Has there been a fix for this yet?

[Colinjay39]

Going to add my two cents worth so that maybe one of these comments will be the final straw and Spotify will do something about it. I use Spotify at work but also have it connected to my echo dot at home. Instead of just preventing anyone at home from listening while I use the app it automatically switches to the echo dot. Having recently come from apple music I am not impressed with this "seamless switching" or the inability to turn it off. If this isn't rectified soon (and we all know it probably won't) I will be cancelling my Spotify and moving back to apple music.

[mk3subzero]

I would also like to see the ability to disable device switching. I never have the need for Spotify's device switching, but there are plenty of times where disturb someone in my household because I think I'm about to play music on my phone or laptop, and instead it plays on another device.

[AndiK91]

Yeah please do something about it Spotify! 

Had people in my house and music playing on my Sonos system, wanted to take a call and suddenly the whole house was silent when I took the call, realized it after i was finished. So my guests had to wait for me in silence for 30 minutes. That was really your intent in that feature? I really don't think so...

[bassitic_grunge]

It's as simple as allowing us to disable autoswitching. Good thing people don't pay for this service.

[Ggcoopie]

I have the same issue, my wife and kids will be listening to music on our Alexa device at home and as soon as I hop into my car Spotify will play the music in my car instead. It's a really annoying user unfriendly experience.

[djqwantim]

Here's a new one to add to the list of why this feature sucks. I am at home, playing Spotify via Macbook on my home speakers via Bluetooth. I just got a new Samsung S23 Ultra and plugged in a USB C to headphone jack dongle and my Square card reader to configure it & Spotify seemed to think headphones were connected to my phone and auto switched the music over, despite the fact that it couldn't be heard anywhere as there was no headphones connected, just the card reader. As a Mobile DJ this would be disastrous behavior if I had found out about this during someone's wedding ceremony and killed the music playing. I like being able to skip songs from my phone but I want to have the music playing on the main speakers I have chosen to play them on!