NOT SOLVED: Glitching / skipping / stuttering / popping when connected to bluetooth

[neuracnu]

Hi folks,

I'm running into a painfully frustrating problem.

I'm using the Spotify app on my Android Pixel 5 phone (running Android 11, latest updates) and connecting the phone via Bluetooth (aptx) to an Aluratek ABCD54F bluetooth receiver (within a foot or two of one another, no obstructions).

Spotify audio playback, when pushed through the Aluratek ABCD54F, has started generating sporadic glitching, skipping, stuttering, popping and micro-pauses in the resulting audio. The frequency of these errors varies, sometimes as frequently as one or two per second, sometimes one every few seconds, and sometimes only one error every 30-45 seconds. It makes the service basically impossible to listen to. I've been using this hardware setup for over a year and it seems like this only started happening in the last few months.

Listen to the attached audio file for an example of what this sounds like.

None of the other media applications on my phone have this problem when playing back audio through the Aluratek ABCD54F. Local media played back with VLC, YouTube, Bandcamp, SoundCloud, web browsers, locally-recorded video playback: these all sound fine. Spotify is the only app that's giving me this trouble. I am solidly connected to my home wifi at the time with no connection problems.

The phone's bluetooth connection to other devices works just fine (Shure bluetooth earphones and my car's bluetooth audio adapter). 

Things I've tried that DO NOT FIX THE PROBLEM:

• placing the phone next to the bluetooth receiver (they literally sit a foot apart from one another, but moving it closer does not help)
• playback from the phone via the battery
• playback from the phone plugged into power
• clearing the Spotify app cache
• reinstalling the Spotify app
• reinstalling the Spotify app (after removing cache and all local settings manually)
• turning on data-saver options
• turning off data-saver options
• turning on auto-quality-adjustments
• turning off auto-quality-adjustments
• NEW: removing the saved bluetooth connection to the Aluratek ABCD54F and re-adding it
• NEW: using a different phone to connect to the same Bluetooth receiver and speaker (on the same paid Spotify account)
• NEW: using the phone's "Reset Wi-Fi, mobile and Bluetooth" option to wipe all existing network settings
• NEW: trying a different speaker (a JBL Boombox 2)

Things that seem to work just fine:

• Connecting to the Aluratek ABCD54F and speaker and playing audio from apps besides Spotify.
• Connecting to the Aluratek ABCD54F and speaker and playing audio from other devices (laptops).
• Connecting to the Aluratec ABCD54F and speaker from a different phone, using a new (unpaid) Spotify account, but using all the same Spotify and Bluetooth configuration options as the phones that did not work (which were using paid Spotify accounts).

I've also asked Aluratek if this is a problem they've heard of, and they've said no; the bluetooth receiver is a pretty simple device, and one they rarely see problems with, and have heard no iss

Plan: Premium

Country: United States

Device: Pixel 5

Operating System: Android 11

[AndreasSandberg]

The issue remains regardless of network and is also reproduceable on another phone (Samsung S20, same android version).

Have tried to log out and login again without any change.

[Thetstaller]

Yes sorry to take so long, I'll give a whole summary. I am using a Soundcore Life Q35 Bluetooth headphones and Gear IconX 2018 Bluetooth earbuds with my Samsung Galaxy S20FE, Android Version 12. I have a problem where the song would glitch/cutoff/skip a sec (hard to describe without listening to it) frequently when listening through any of these two headphones when Wi-Fi is enabled, and the problem is fixed as soon as I disable Wi-Fi. This problem could occur every 10 seconds or as short as every second if it gets bad and no pattern that I've recognized so far. I have tried both headphones with other devices, two Windows 10 computers, with Spotify and they have no problems at all. I haven't been able to try with other phones. Also, the headphones with the S20FE have no problem at all playing audio from any other source other than Spotify, streaming audio is completely normal with Youtube, Instagram, etc. The glitchy audio happens exclusively with the Spotify android app on Wi-Fi.

Things I have tried so far in both headphones and have not worked:

-Changing my account to another (free version) account

-In this order and testing if it was solved in each step: clearing the cache, trying with "Offline mode" activated since they don't have to buffer or be streamed, trying with songs I have not downloaded, deleting the data, and all the downloaded songs (though it may have been a corrupt file with the songs at first), and uninstalling the app and redownloading.

-Applied @tkil's solution with the AVRCP version which is 1.5 by default on my phone (sadly my phone does not have a "MAP version" option so I only changed the AVRCP to 1.6)

-Trying different Wi-Fi networks both private and public

Things that "work":

-Disable Wi-Fi

-Playing through the speakers of my phone with Wi-Fi on and Bluetooth on but without connecting to anything AND while connected to my headphones but choosing the option of audio output to be through the speakers.

As said before no real solution that allows me to listen through headphones (any of them) has worked and this appears to be a specific problem of Spotify. This did not happen before with the same headphones and phone, I would dare to say that this started happening somewhere this year, 2022, seemingly out of nowhere.

Considering that this doesn't seem to be a problem with a specific phone model, Bluetooth device, not streaming (since offline mode should have worked if that were the case).  It doesn't seem to be a problem with the Wi-Fi network in specific. It seems to be a problem with how Spotify sends the actual data to the headphones. It doesn't seem to be a specific problem with the android version nor Spotify version since I had the problem later than the first post and it worked well before (although maybe I just did not update it for a while so I can't be sure).

[Thetstaller]

Update: I managed to get it fixed for a moment and then it stopped working again. The Bluetooth codex I was using is LDAC by default for my headphones (Soundcore Q35s), changed it to SBC and I was able to listen to at least 3 to 4 songs perfectly before it stopped working again, but afterwards it went completely nuts and would cut off around every second without a fail (different to how it normally does which is rather randomly)

[Thetstaller]

Update 2: AAC codec seems to work fine. Tried it for a few hours now and no problem.

To change the Bluetooth codec you need to activate developer options, go to the network section and it should be there.

I hope it eventually gets fixed so I can use Spotify with the LDAC codec for better quality.

[CarlosDiaz]

Spotify, why have you marked this as solved? This is clearly a major problem for a lot of users still. 

[neuracnu]

I edited the thread topic to reflect that this issue is NOT SOLVED.

[dragonfire144]

Same issue, just got Bose Tempo Sunglasses, playing through YouTube, no problem, any other source, no problem. I go to use Spotify. bam every once in a while weird crackling sound. Why is this issue specific to Spotify?

Is it something Spotify has to fix on their end? And if so, why arn't they able to if YouTube, Facebook, litterly any other app doesn't have this issue. Is it bad enough that I would switch to apple music.....probably not lol.

But I really would like this fixed. I see a lot of people have the same problem. Assuming the higher ups at Spotify know about it?

[CarlP85]

I've the Google Pixel 5A and I'm also experiencing skipping and scratching sounds through the phone while using my bluetooth headphones (Bluedio T3+). I don't experience this issue when I've the same headphones connected to either my desktop or my laptop. However, here's the weird thing...when I go off my wifi, I don't experience the problem! If I'm walking around the neighborhood or wherever and it's streaming, it's all good. When I come back in the house and it connects to my wifi from my phone, then skipping occurs almost instantly. Sometimes the stream is mostly fine and sometimes it's not.

I tried the developer mode suggestion and: 

1. Set "Bluetooth AVRCP-Version" to 1.6

2. Set "Bluetooth MAP-Version" to 1.4

3. Restarted the phone

No changes after this.

Checked my network and internet settings.

My data saver is off.

Adaptive connectivity was on (managing my network connections) and then I turned it off and I amazingly stopped hearing the skipping and scratching in the past few minutes but I'll have to share an update after moving around the house and let you know if that did the definitive trick.

[CarlP85]

Update after 18 hours:

• Experiencing less skipping after disabling the adaptive connectivity setting, but am still experiencing some, and it's still pretty annoying.
• Some skipping occurs when my PC's bluetooth is on while I'm connected to my phone listening on spotify, as it's trying to connect to my headphones while they're already connected. Turning bluetooth off on the PC helps a bit, but there is still some periodic skipping.
• Adjusting some controls like volume or going to other apps and using them will periodically trigger more skipping
• There are huuge skips or pauses that are occurring now after not having them earlier 

Not sure what else to do but will have to keep troubleshooting. If you have any additional insights, I'd love to hear them.

[Obsidian73]

I am having pretty much the same issue. When listening to pretty much anything through Spotify it will cause the ff button to randomly activate. For instance, I am listening to a a podcast on my S10 Note Plus and randomly it will start to just jumping ahead. It does not seem to matter what Bluetooth device it is just that it is there. One of the most noticeable is that I have a DOSS Bluetooth speaker and when it starts skipping/fast forwarding is that the ff button will start to flash as if it it is being pressed manually. If I listen to the same podcast via web on the Ipod site it works perfectly fine with no issues. 

It really seems that there are tons of reports out there on this issue for a very long time, and that Spotify is doing virtually nothing to resolve the issue. Just makes me glad I have not paid for their service. They should at least compensate some of those who have worked so hard at trying to help them fix and issue that they don't seem to care to much about fixing. 

[maolli]

Hi. I hade exact same issue. But my solution was to only use the 5 GHz wifi connection here at home, and delete the "normal" wifi connection. Then this problem is gone. Not a solution, but a good enough workaround for me.

[jarednlivingston]

I have a Pixel 4 XL and this has been a persistent issue for me. I've tried with two different Bluetooth devices (Jabra Elite 85t from 2021 and Marshall Major II from ~2016), and the same problem persists on both devices. I've tried everything mentioned here, and the only successful workarounds are disabling wifi or using a 5 GHz wifi connection.

[Awall1]

So there mention this thread is specifically for Spotify skipping issues while on Wifi but that is not called out in the title.  Is there another thread for these issues when on Cellular?

I am asking because I am experiencing the same issues with my Bluetooth connection to VW infotainment system in my car with a new Pixel 7 Pro.  Since I am driving WIFI is on but not connected, instead I am on 5G cell service having the same skipping stuttering issue and only does it on Spotify app, other apps, even streaming video on Chrome work fine.

I also don't have any issue with other Bluetooth devices in my home while on on Wifi with Spotify app.

Mentioning it in this thread because maybe it's not an issue with Wifi after all, maybe it's isolated to Pixels, although there is a few different models and Samsung phones mentioned. Or maybe it's an issue with the common theme here....Spotify app.

[daveyp]

I can't believe I've been struggling with this issue of stuttering and glitching on bluetooth for 2 years with Pixel 4a and Pixel 5, and all I needed to do was to change wifi!

For me the problem was solved with some AKG N60NC headphones by always switching to AAC in the dev options. A total pain. Then I got a pair of B&W PX5s, and even AAC wouldn't fix the problem. But as soon as I read this, and switched from 2.4g wifi to 5g wifi - no issues whatsoever. Which is really weird considering the tracks I'm listening to are downloaded to the phone, but whatever. 

[#16]

My music is skipping and freezing when playing through Bluetooth its super frequent and its definitely spotify as the progress bar jutters or skips each time it happens and it happens on multiple devices, anyone know of any fixes

[Simon1402]

Dear Spotify people, 

Since:

1. This issue has been running fir more than two years now and remains unresolved
2. It has been clearly established that other apps (and even Spotify on other platforms) do not have this issue and
3. You have, in this thread, a huge amount of diagnostic information

Maybe you should make an exception from your usual try this and try that behaviour and just fix the app that we pay you for. 

[tkil]

@Awall1 Depending on how your phone is connected to your car, there might still be wifi involved!

With "Wireless Android Auto", Bluetooth is only used to set up the initial connection -- the actual data transfer is done via a private wifi link between the car's head unit and the phone.

Do you know if you're playing "bluetooth audio" or "android auto audio" on your head unit? The former would potentially run into the same BT / WiFi switching glitch that I suspect is the underlying problem here. If you're using "Android Auto" directly as the audio source, though, then all the content should be coming through the wifi connection, and there shouldn't be any glitching (since the cellular modem is distinct from the hypothesized combined BT/WiFi module).

(The fact that you can stream video makes me believe that you're using WiFi between the phone and your car -- it'd be surprising to get that kind of bandwidth with Bluetooth, except maybe super recent versions of that protocol.)

[tkil]

Flagging all the Spotify + Moderators that have chimed in previously: @AndresM @Eni @Alex @Kiril @Jeremy @CarlosE

So, it has been over 2 years, and the problem persists. There hasn't been any response from Spotify nor Moderators in 18 months.

Is there any progress on this at all? Is there even an internal bug report? If not, could you please paste a big disclaimer on this thread (and honestly on all your advertising / app description as well):

WILL NOT ALLOW WIFI STREAMING ON PIXELS WITH BLUETOOTH HEADPHONES.

(And it's not only when streaming; I get glitches even with playlists marked "downloaded")

This thread has multiple folks who have gone far beyond "have you tried turning it off and back on again", including some folks that are clearly technical. Speaking at least for myself, I'd be delighted to help out: do you have a debugging / instrumented build that I could try?

Just doing a quick search, this looks like it could be relevant: https://developer.android.com/reference/android/media/AudioAttributes#FLAG_LOW_LATENCY

(I know it says deprecated, but the paragraph below is enlightening.)

Do you test with cheaper headsets? I haven't collated all the responses above, but I feel I've had fewer glitches with my Beats Studio 3 headset than with less expensive brands (e.g., Skullcandy Ink'd Wireless) -- but telling everyone to upgrade to 100USD+ headphones isn't a solution, either.

At this point, I'm planning on leaving Spotify because it fails to handle my core use case: listen to music.

[Simon1402]

In my case, @tkil, this is nothing to do with android auto or a car. I, and I think most contributors to this thread, am using my phone with a bluetooth speaker.

We know that using the android spotify app to play music through bluetooth speakers or headphones, while connected to a 2.4GHz WiFi, causes stuttering and glitches in playback.

We know that this does not happen when using other apps to play music, podcasts etc. and we know that turning the WiFi off or switching to a 5GHz WiFi solves the problem but still Spotify refuse to acknowledge that their app is faulty and do anything about it. 

[SKEEZE]

Hello all,

I've been experiencing these exact issues with my Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G. It only seems to occur when connecting to my UE Boom 3. I'm aware this thread started mostly regarding the Pixel line of phones, but the similarities in both the issue and the workarounds are too much to ignore. Hopefully someone else can vouch for the same issue on my model of phone.

I have only noticed the issue recently, so can't report on how long it's been happening. I have only recently started using my speaker more than my headphones. I can report that this issue only occurs with my UE Boom 3, it doesn't occur with my Apple AirPods that I use with my Samsung, nor does it happen when using Bluetooth for music in my car. (Mazda 3). I've also had my partner test her iPhone on my same speaker and they get no issues whatsoever.

I started looking for a solution last night and found that the skipping stopped immediately upon switching to cellular data. I've not had a chance yet to test changing the Bluetooth codec via developer options, and @Simon1402 I've not had a chance to check if I was on 2.4 or 5GHz WiFi which I will do tonight and update this thread.

I mostly wanted to reply in hopes this thread stays alive. As @tkil says, this thread seems to be full of tech minded people who are all ready to work towards a solution, hopefully someone at Spotify sees this and this issue can get some recognition.

I work in tech support, but I'll admit my knowledge of Android OS and it's troubleshooting / logging features is lacking. However, if there are any tests whatsoever that anyone wants me to try please let me know and I'll do what I can. I'm committed to assisting and working towards a solution.

I hope this post gives the thread some more traction as I was shocked to see we're 10 days away from the 3 year anniversary of a bug that affects the core purpose of this app.

Thanks in advance,

SKEEZE (TheRazzJazzler)