How do I get Spotify only pause if a message comes through

[Willyjean91]

Whenever I get a message from Facebook messenger the music doesn't just pause, it stops playing completely and I have to open the app to press play to continue.
All permissions are allowed via my phone settings for the Spotify app.

[Bittencourt]

Hey there, 

Welcome to the Community and thanks for reaching out about this. 

First up, it's well worth running a clean reinstall to get rid of any cached files that might be causing trouble. This one is more thorough than the usual one. 

If the clean reinstall didn't do the trick, there's also a few other things we can try. Could you make sure that Spotify has all necessary permissions enabled?

1. Open your Settings menu.

2. Scroll to the bottom to find Spotify and open the app settings.

3. Enable everything you see.

It's also a good idea to exclude the app from any Battery optimization software that might be active on your smartphone, as well as turning off the Facebook camera access.

Let me know how it goes!

[loftybloke]

Plan

Free/Premium

Country

Device

Pixel 8

Operating System

Android

My Question or Issue

I'd like the playback to fully pause when I get a notification (specifically my nest doorbell, all other notifications are OFF pretty much per app settings) but the music doesn't even dim, so when I'm waiting for a parcel and the doorbell is rung all I have to go off is the screen displayed notification for the doorbell, can anyone help me get Spotify to behave in this way please?

[#4]

device notifications pause the spotify app

[Bittencourt]

Hi there, thanks for reaching out.

If device notifications are pausing your Spotify playback, that’s usually due to how your operating system and apps handle audio focus.

I guess you're on Android, since this issue is more common with that OS. In this case, turn off “Pause for Notifications” (if available). Some Android versions have a setting under Sound > Do Not Disturb or Apps > Spotify > Notifications that may allow you to disable interruption behavior. You can also try Settings > Sound > Advanced > Do Not Disturb > Exceptions.

Let me know if it helps, or if you're using an Apple device!

[JasonP1969]

I am having a similar issue . I am on android and when using pixel buds notifications stop Spotify completely . I was hoping this fix would work but I can't see the settings you suggest . Is there an updated fix for this for Android 16 ?

Thanks in advance

[Bittencourt]

Hey @JasonP1969,

In this case, please try going to Settings -> Do not disturb -> Apps -> Add apps.

If you're still unable to find it, then open Settings and just search for 'Do not disturb' directly in the search bar. 

Also, keep in mind that you can go in the respective apps' settings and adjust the notification settings from there - Facebook, Instagram, or whatever's causing this.

Let me know if it helps!

[Bittencourt]

Oh and there's something else you can try: set Spotify in the list of Never auto-sleeping apps under Settings > Battery > Limit Background Usage. 

You can also check the bluetooth or the headphones' settings to see if everything is ok.