Local File Playback Choppy on Android

[saucyross]

Plan

Premium

Country

United States of America

Device

Kindle Fire Tablet (KFFOWI)

Operating System

Android 5.1.1

My Question or Issue

When I download local files on my Kindle Fire Tablet, which downloads them to the SD card, the playback is extremely choppy. It is as-if they were being played from a scratched disk. I am certain there is no issue with the SD card, because I previously had it installed in my LG G7 and was able to playback local files completely fine. I am also certain there is no issue with the local files themselves, as I am able to listen to them on my OnePlus 8 Pro without a problem at all. I have uninstalled, cleared cache, re-installed, signed out, signed in several times. No matter what, the playback is extremely choppy. I am essentially unable to listen to my own music that I own.

[Eni]

Hi @saucyross!

Thanks for reaching out about this.

You mentioned that you've already reinstalled the app, but would you mind going through the steps of a clean reinstall, as it's more thorough than a normal one?

If this doesn't do the trick, we suggest that you make sure your local files meet these requirements. 

Also, take a look at the steps and recommendations you'll find in this Spotify Answer about Local Files.  

Lastly, could you let us know what happens if you remove your SD card and restart your device?

Cheers - Keep us in the loop!

[saucyross]

Hello,

The steps on the "Android - versions before 6.0" don't exactly make sense, because after following steps 1 thru 7:

1. Go to your phone’s Settings.
2. Select Apps or Applications, then Manage applications.
3. Find Spotify in your list of apps, tap it.
4. Tap Clear Data.
5. Go to Storage > Android > Data and delete a folder called com.spotify.music. If your device doesn't have a default file manager in order to locate that file, we'd recommend taking a look online for more help from your device's manufacturer on using one. If you're using an external SD card to store your downloaded music from Spotify, you can still double check if that file is removed.
6. Switch your device off and wait a couple minutes.
7. Switch your device back on.

The application is still installed, so attempting to proceed to Step 8:

   8. Open Google Play and install the Spotify Music app.

Does not allow me to install the application, since it is already installed. I went ahead and uninstalled the application after Step 7 and re-installed on Step 8, but unfortunately the issue with the playback persisted.

My local files meet the requirements, and I do not have any issue playing these same exact files downloaded on either my OnePlus 8 Pro or LG G7. The G7 even had the same exact microSD card that is in my tablet now, so I know there is no issue with the SD card.

I removed the SD card and rebooted the device and downloaded a playlist. The songs from Spotify have no issue at all with playback. However, the local files continue to have the issue even when being played directly from the internal storage.

[Ver]

Hey @saucyross,

Thanks for getting back to us.

In this case, we'd suggest you head here and contact our support team. The folks there can investigate this further and can give you more information about the issue.

If you have questions, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We'll be happy to help. 
 

[saucyross]

For anyone also experiencing this problem, I contacted Spotify support today and was unfortunately told that this is a problem with the device and they are unable to help me.

I thought this was odd, since offline playback for songs available through Spotify that are downloaded to my SD card is completely normal. But my local files, when downloaded to the same SD card on the same device, have the choppy playback issue.

They informed me that the files that Spotify downloads to the device are somehow in a different format than the files that are downloaded when your local files are downloaded. This surely seems like a limitation of Spotify (which is downloading files differently based on the source of the file) and not my device, but they disagree. So basically, I am completely unable to listen to my local files on this device.

I went ahead and tried to use the same SD card (which has no issues when playing the local files) in an Alcatel Android phone, and of course, this phone has the same exact problem as the Kindle tablet. I am not even going to waste the time of contacting Spotify Support again, as they will just dismiss this as another "device issue".

At some point, Spotify will have to take some responsibility for these issues and stop blaming the device manufacturers. These files are able to be played by old iPods and MP3 players, so the fact that they are unable to be played on an Android device is extremely disappointing and unfortunate that I am actively paying money for a subscription to Spotify even though it doesn't allow me to listen to songs which I have purchased before.