Now Playing bar suddenly stops

[stupidmaninthewindow]

Plan

Premium

Country

UK

Device

Samsung S24+

Operating System

Android 14

My Question or Issue

For the last few days the Now Playing bar in the Android pulldown menu suddenly stops progressing (not sure how to describe this so here's a picture)

To fix it I have to reopen the Spotify app which sorts it but then it happens again a short time later.

I'm on the latest version (8.9.98.488). It may have started happening after this latest update but I'm not certain.

[Ivelina]

Hey there @stupidmaninthewindow,

Thanks for posting this thread in the Community and for the attached screenshot!

Could you let us know if the music continues to play when the progress bar stops working?

If this gets fixed when you open the app, it's a good idea to give it a clean reinstall with these steps if you haven't already. This could be related to some damaged cache and the clean reinstall helps with different performance issues.

On another note, if you're using an SD-card it's also worth removing it before the clean reinstall and then testing if the same behavior would continue without it.

Keep us posted 🙂

[stupidmaninthewindow]

Hi, thanks for the reply.

Yes, the music does continue playing. I probably should've mentioned that this is happening while I am casting the music to a Google Nest speaker. I guess the problem could lie with Google then? Still, it's never happened before now - been reliable for many months.

[stupidmaninthewindow]

Update - I can confirm this fault is also happening when using a different speaker, one that utilises Spotify Connect (not Google Cast). This suggests that Spotify itself is the culprit.

[Joan]

Hi there @stupidmaninthewindow,

Thanks for the reply. 

Good to know about the different speakers, but does this happen only on your Samsung phone? Is only the progress bar in the notifications affected or does the regular one within the app itself have this issue too? If so, consider following the troubleshooting steps provided by @Ivelina, especially the reinstall as that is known to resolve many issues. 

Let us know how it goes.

[stupidmaninthewindow]

I finally got around to reinstalling the app, but unfortunately this issue is still happening. Sometimes it can go entire albums without a problem, sometimes it happens repeatedly.

Not sure what else to try.

[stupidmaninthewindow]

In case it helps anyone who finds this thread, I fixed this problem by downgrading to the previous version of the app (8.9.96.476) , which confirms that the issue lies with version 8.9.98.488 onwards.

[stupidmaninthewindow]

This is happening all over again. A newer update seemed to fix it and now after the latest update it is broken once again. Very frustrating.

[Ivelina]

Hey again @stupidmaninthewindow,

Thank you for keeping us posted and apologies for the radio silence here.

You mentioned that you fixed the behavior for a moment by downgrading to a previous version, however, keep in mind that we advise against using older app versions. 

As it's been some time since you mentioned reinstalling the app, it would be great if you could give it another clean reinstall with these steps, just to be on the safe side.

Additionally, let us know the following details so we can get a better understanding of the situation:

• Does this only happen on your Samsung phone and is only the progress bar in the notifications affected or also the regular one within the app?
• Does it only happen when you're streaming music to external speakers or also directly via the phone?
• Are you using some sort of a third party app on your phone which may be interfering with Spotify? For example a type of launcher?

Don't hesitate to let us know if anything else comes up in the meantime.

[stupidmaninthewindow]

Hi @Ivelina thanks for the reply.

It only happens in the notifications I believe, though it's hard to tell as I spend most of the time 'outside' the app while music is playing.

It only ever happens when listening via speakers - in my case, a Sony soundbar with Spotify Connect, and a Google Nest Mini with Google Cast.

I'm not using any third party apps or launchers.

I guess the best way to explain it is that the notification is 'forgetting' that music is playing and I have to reopen the app to 'remind' it.

[Dessi]

Hey @stupidmaninthewindow,

Thanks for all the info!

We're unable to provide an ETA for a fix at the moment, but we’re regularly looking for opportunities to enhance the user experience for everyone, so your feedback on this is greatly appreciated. In the meantime, make sure you're always running the latest version of Spotify so you don't miss out on any updates.

The Community is here if there's anything else you need assistance with.

[stupidmaninthewindow]

There have been at least 2 updates since my last post and sadly the problem has worsened. It happened 3 times tonight during the same album. I really hope this gets fixed soon.