Playing too fast

[dreaken667]

I'm starting a new post since I don't seem to be able to reply to the others I have found here. This is a long standing issue that I have patiently been awaiting a fix for, and based on numerous other posts on here I'm not alone.

Spotify continues to sporadically begin playing back at what sounds like double the speed it should. Sometimes force stopping the app and reopening it temporarily corrects this behavior. Sometimes restarting the device temporarily corrects this behavior. Sometimes completely removing and reinstalling the app temporarily corrects this behavior. The key word here is "temporarily" because it always returns.

I use Spotify on several devices including Android, iOS, Windows, Linux, and Google Home to name a few. This issue has occurred on all of them several times over the course of my subscription. It occurs both with and without using bluetooth headphones or other peripherals. I have noticed that it does seem to occur only over wireless connections, at least in my case.

My most recent experience with this occurred just a little while ago. I was playing back an episode of a horror podcast that I had previously downloaded when mid-sentence the tone of the story went from creepy to full on Chipmunk extravaganza. At this point, all sound coming from Spotify was being ran through the Chipmunk filter. Other music and sounds coming from the device were fine.

What I did to correct it this time was to remove the downloaded episode, then play the same episode for a moment, after which everything started playing back correctly again. This makes me suspect that the original download was corrupt in some way and caused the issue.

I'm not an expert on the subject, but this would seem to fit with the other "solutions" people have found for this issue. Restarting the app or device could easily be clearing corrupt cached content, and completely reinstalling the app definitely would.

[dreaken667]

This happened to me again today on a Google Pixel plugged in via headphone cable. Force stopping the app did nothing. Restarting the phone did nothing. Clearing the app cache did nothing. Clearing the app data and logging back in has once again temporarily "fixed" the problem. Mind you, the fact that the occurred at 75 mph while surrounded by other vehicles traveling equally fast if not faster makes this "solution" not only impractical but dangerous at best. The next time this occurs I am going to back up the data directory and will compare it to the new, working one that gets created. If Spotify is unwilling to admit that they have a bug that has potentially dangerous consequences, then I am left with no other recourse than to find a solution on my own or to cancel my subscription altogether.

[Peter]

Hey @dreaken667,

Thanks for reaching out to us about this, and apologies for the delay!

You mentioned that this is mainly happening when connected to a wireless network. Would you mind trying out a different wireless network and seeing if this resolves the issue? 

Further, is this happening just with podcasts, or with songs too? If so, are they downloaded for offline listening, or are they being streamed? (To make sure, you can switch Offline mode on in Settings, and that way you will only play whatever has been downloaded for offline listening).

Lastly, if none of this works, could you try creating another (Free) account and using that to listen to a song/podcast and see if it plays at normal speed?

We'll be looking out for your reply! 

[dreaken667]

The wifi network doesn't make a difference, and when I say wireless that includes 4G/5G which I can't exactly change. It occurs with all media types, not just podcasts. I have already identified the cause of the problem by comparing the broken content to a good copy, and have implemented my own fix for it on my main Linux system and the one Windows system I still use. I haven't had the time to develop a solution for my mobile devices yet, however my workaround there is to download via desktop and transfer to my mobile devices from there. It's pretty sad that users have to fix such a long standing issue on their own these days, but such is the world we live in now.

[Jporterjp3]

Were you or anyone in your biological family using any form of speed at the times that this occured?

[xrob]

 Found the solution.

Problem: Podcast speed is too fast when playing via Google Home or Google Mini.

My context:
I have Spotify installed on both Windows and macOS. When I tried playing podcasts on my Google Home using the mobile app, the playback speed was way too fast.

Solution:

1. Close the Spotify app on your mobile device.

2. Open the Spotify desktop app on your PC or Mac.

3. Change the playback speed to 0.9x.

4. Close the desktop app.

5. Now, play a podcast from your mobile device to your Google Home.

6. Force close the mobile app.

7. Clear the app cache.

8. Reopen the desktop app.

9. Change the playback speed back to 1.0x.

10. Close the desktop app again.

11. Reopen the mobile app and check if the problem is fixed.

Note: It seems that the mobile app cannot change playback speed directly, and it "remembers" the last speed set in the desktop app. That's likely why the speed gets stuck on the wrong setting when casting to Google Home.