Shuffle/Playlist problems with the mobile app udpate

[PeteyPlane]

As of the most recent update, Spotify will no longer shuffle-play. I have the free version, so usually shuffle is that all that's available. Now, however, all of my playlists play by artist or in random clusters of specific songs that repeat over and over. Every time I try to play a playlist, it always starts with the same songs. Since there's still a limited number of skips, having no shuffle is actually MUCH worse.

I have tried everything I can think of to figure out how to turn on shuffle, but haven't had any luck. My playlists even say that they can *only* play on shuffle, but instead they now do this weird thing. The app also keeps telling me I can rearrange or edit my playlists, seemingly as an alternative to a functional shuffle, but has not provided any information on how to do this.

I don't like anything about this new update. It's extremely hard to navigate, and I feel like all of my previous options have been taken away from me, with no benefits in exhange. Is there any way at all to either a) fix my shuffle/navigation problem, or b) just go back to the older version of the mobile app? I am very frustrated! Thank you. 

[feelikeastrangr]

Hi there @PeteyPlane, first thing to try is a reinstall, which fixes most problems. Try that and let us know how it goes? Additionally I wanted to share a link to how to turn ON shuffle, but only because maybe you just need to see how to turn the shuffle icon on/off? Hope this helps!

[PeteyPlane]

Thank you for the advice. Unfortunately, it hasn't worked. Reinstalling has made the app less slow, but it hasn't fixed my shuffle problem. The instructions for turning on shuffle would have worked for the old interface, but don't tell me anything about the new one. Even though the only button for playing any playlist or album says "Shuffle Play," clicking on it still plays the songs in clusters by artist. There is no place on the "currently playing song" page to turn shuffle on or off, even in the settings. The only options available are the like or dislike buttons. There's no option to turn it on in the album or playlist page. There's no option to turn it on in the home page or main settings. I am losing my mind!

[jeffhpc1]

Unfortunately, many users (myself included) have been experiencing similar problems with shuffle on the Android app, especially since the November update. (That's when I started having a problem, and it affects all of my playlists.) So far, the folks at Spotify seem unwilling to acknowledge that this is even an issue. If this thread goes on long enough, expect a moderator to refer you here:
https://community.spotify.com/t5/Implemented-Ideas/Implement-an-actual-shuffle-function/idc-p/128618...
But if you look at the most recent posts in that thread, you'll see that a lot of other users have been dumped there, and that it isn't a solution at all. It's very frustrating.

[rlabadorf]

Having the same issue.  The app is useless if it is only going to play the first 30 songs of my playlists.  How can Spotify not have a fix for this.  Completely assinine!!

[RustyFlakez]

I got the same problem. It sucks but here is how i do it. First press shuffle on the playlist you want to listen to. Then u pause it & press shuffle on a different playlist. After you choose the 2nd playlist go back to the playlist you wanted to listen to & press shuffle then skip the first song & a random song will now start. 

[rlabadorf]

Thanks RustyFlakez! This issue drives me crazy. I appreciate you sharing
your work-around.

[yi3sy_m-g40ji]

Thank you very much! This worked for me and I can now enjoy my playlists again! (Wish Spotify would work on this issue still)

[Razorbladekiss5]

I have premium and this is happening to me as well. It will play the same artist back to back and never stays on shuffle. If I select a specific song within my playlist the shuffle function will automatically shut off and play the next song in line. I use Spotify too much to have to constantly stop and hit shuffle.