Repeat button missing from Discover Weekly

[Gabbro]

Plan

Premium (Family)

Country

Philippines

Device

Google Pixel 5

Operating System

Android

My Question or Issue

I can no longer find the repeat button when playing my Discover Weekly playlist (it's not in the now playing screen, nor when I press the three dots in the top right of the screen). The button appears fine when I play an album. I am a premium user, so it is not because I am using the free version. I have the latest version of Spotify (updated 12 April), and I didn't notice this problem in previous versions.

Is it really too muc to ask to let me control how playlists play? Just make the shuffle and repeat buttons obvious, and don't keep switching them on without my input. You used to keep putting shuffle on, you may have stopped that, but you now keep switching repeat on whenever I play a new playlist. There is a reason I keep switching it off… Just respect my choice, please?

[Lyubka]

Hey @Gabbro,

Thank you for reaching out here in the Community.
 

We're always testing new things in order to improve the user experience and gather feedback on different features, that's why you may have something in the app that other users don't or vice versa, or have a feature to try temporarily. You can learn more about that here. 

In this case, we suggest to keep the app always updated so you don't miss out on any new features and improvements.

We appreciate you taking the time to report this and share your feedback with us.
 

If you have any questions or need anything else, the Community is here for you.

[Gabbro]

Are you telling me that you have deliberately put playlists on repeat, then removed the repeat button so I can't switch it off? Apparently this is true for all "made for you" playlists. If you are looking for feedback on this "feature", here's mine: I hate it. The main reason I pay for Spotify is so that I have control over the music that I play. Just give me easy-to-use controls, and stop trying to force me to listen to Spotify the way you think I should.

[Gabbro]

There is now no way to turn off repeat on 'made for you' playlists on Android. I used to be able to do this, but a recent update has removed this function, or buried it so deeply I cannot find it. It is not next to the pause/play and skip controls like on other playlists or albums, it is not in the menu you get when you press the three little dots.

What I want to be able to do is play a playlist (or album), and when it finishes have the chance to think about what I want to play next. Is that so difficult to understand?

[Beater]

Same. There is no shuffle and repeat buttons anywhere when I play daily mixes. Not even under the three dots. So I literally have to go back to the daily mix and press the shuffle there to play the mix with or without shuffle. And I can't put a song on repeat if I feel like listening to a song on repeat suddenly.

[shiro_chan]

This is an issue for me as well. Easy access to already familiar control should be a priority.

[Brabbit97]

Personally I like the repeat on for my Discover Weekly but now that it isn't there the playlist doesn't repeat. It hits the last song and stops.

[zman200]

Earlier in 2023 there was an update that completely removed the "Repeat" button from all screens/menus when playing a "Made For You" playlist, like Discover Weekly, on mobile apps. I have seen this fact acknowledged in a few help tickets and one even gave the explanation that "the made for you playlists are meant to help you discover new music and suggestions", implying that the UX team has unilaterally decided that no user should ever listen to a playlist made SPECIFICALLY FOR THEM on repeat.

I, for one, find this absurd and insulting, especially as a paying user. For one thing, I would like to remind the developers that the "keep playing automatic suggestions" feature is optional in the settings, so removing the repeat button means that people, like me, who have turned that feature off for as long as it's existed now have to manually restart these Made For You playlists every. single. time.

For another, this button was already out of the way of the main user experience to make room for the "hide this song" button, so it truly does appear that there was a conscious decision made to REMOVE A BASIC FUNCTION of the the app all in the name of dictating to the user how they are _supposed_ to listen to their own library. The fact that this even got considered is dumbfounding, and the fact that it wasn't at least just turned into a premium feature is infuriating.

I understand wanting to innovate the best ways for your users to listen to music, but this was a very, very bad attempt at innovating. You know what was a good innovation? Moving the repeat button to the 3-dot menu so we had easier access to the "hide button" on playlists meant to bring us songs we may or may not like. That was a totally acceptable trade-off. Removing the repeat button altogether? Well, I've already described what I think of that "innovation"... 

[Xacua]

This is ridiculous. Repeat button, the most functional and necessary button for a music player is gone. Because of you, everyday I have to interrupt my exercise, go to my phone and restart the playlist. So innovative, thank you very much. 

[shavipowell]

I hate this too. Just let users control how they listen to their own playlists. Why can't I loop a single song on a Daily Mix, or turn shuffle and repeat on or off at will? There's a huge blank space at the top of the three-dot menu... you guys, I think I found a place where you can put those buttons to innovate some new features!

[PKraszewski]

This starts to be a dealbreaker for me, as it stops playback even on Android Auto. I have to divert my eyes from road to player to restart it.

"the made for you playlists are meant to help you discover new music and suggestions"

My wallet says "nobody asked you for your opinion",**bleep** loop/repeat is most basic functionality since, IDK, 50s? 60s? I give Spotify another month and then simply cancel plan and move somewhere else, where UI developers aren't high or intoxicated.

SideNote: How can you fu*k up as simple thing as forum editor captcha? It keeps popping and interrupting every minute, along with "Did you find this article helpful" pop-up. Drugs really should be banned from @Spotify offices...

[PKraszewski]

Your answer is of the kind "I pay you money and you spit me in the face". 

The problem with your "keep the app always updated" is that you remove important functionalities. We are afraid to update app. What will be next? User would have to advance playlist manually? App will shutdown every 3 songs? 

[PKraszewski]

Amazing, how quickly works a little threat. Magically both shuffle and repeat buttons came back to all my personal ”auto” lists.

They even managed to fit both like/hide and shuffle/repeat button sets on a single screen, without resorting to [...] menu.