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Extreme stuttering in Toyota Prius when using bluetooth

Extreme stuttering in Toyota Prius when using bluetooth

Plan

Premium

Country

United States

Device

Moto Z Play

Operating System

Android Oreo

Car

2013 Prius

 

My Question or Issue

For the past couple of months or so (6-11 months) I've been having this absurd issue that only happens when I connect Spotify via Bluetooth to my Prius's audio system. Whatever I'm playing, whether it's downloaded or streamed, inexplicably stutters for a split second and then audio doesn't come out while the track continues to "play." The phone shows that the Bluetooth is connected to the car and Spotify continues to play, but nothing comes out. Sometimes, if I forget the pairing on the car or the phone, I can get it to work, but it will always replicate the same bug every time I restart my car.

 

Here's some of the troubleshooting I've tried, to no avail:

  • Resetting network settings on the phone to default (doesn't help)
  • Unpairing the phone from the car via the phone or the car (has a seemingly random chance of working, but the problem comes back as soon as I shut off the car or the phone moves out of range and reconnects)
  • Deleting and reinstalling Spotify (doesn't help)
  • Pairing another phone to the car with Spotify (I've tried both a Samsung running Pie and an Asus running Nougat, no issues with either phone)
  • Connecting the phone to the car via other apps (calling works fine)
  • Connecting the phone's Bluetooth to other devices to play Spotify (works fine on my JBL speaker, Amazon Alexa, and Google home; I've even gotten it to play on my computer while I skip tracks using my phone)

This was not a problem with the phone, Spotify, or the car until recently. I had issues getting the song display to work properly (I don't think it ever did update the songs reliably) but I didn't make much of it because I didn't really care, so long as the audio worked. Now that this is happening, I'm really frustrated, because 80% of the reason I even pay for a subscription is to listen to Spotify on my commute.

Reply
1 Reply

I have the same problem since late 2019, with Prius+  ("V" in US) 2013 and Android 9.

It's not the phone (Sony XZ1), other apps with music works fine in the car and Spotify works in other bluetooth equipment (for example Marshall Stanmore, Sennheiser headset and so on).

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