Spotify Connect background volume control

[partyba]

Plan

Premium (Student)

Country

Hungary

Device

Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro

Operating System

Android 10, MIUI 12

My Question or Issue

I could not find a setting for Spotify to control remote device's volume when the app is running in the background. If Spotify is running on my phone and I'm listening to music on another device, I can't adjust my phone's volume, instead, the remote Spotify client's volume is adjusted.

[Mihail]

Hey @partyba,

Thanks for reaching out to the Community.

Currently if you're using the device as a remote for Spotify Connect the volume buttons will be used for the app on the playback device.

You can still adjust the volume on your phone from the menu that can be expanded when pressing the volume buttons. You can use this Google guide on how to reach it. 

Hope this is helpful but don't hesitate to let us know if you have any further questions!

[partyba]

Thanks for replying!

My problem is, during playback (on remote device), when the Spotify app is in the foreground, pressing the volume buttons displays Spotify's volume bar that (in this case) shows the remote client's volume, and Android's system volume controls don't appear. When the app is running in the background or as service (daemon), the system volume controls still won't appear, neither Spotify's, only the remote client's volume changes.

So what I mean, when Spotify is not open on the phone (not in the foreground), but another client is playing remotely and my phone connects to it, I can see literally nothing when I'm pressing the volume buttons.

[Eni]

Hi @partyba, 

Thanks for getting back in touch. 

We can confirm that his is expected. If you're listening to music on a remote device while Spotify is on the foreground on your phone, the changes you make in your phone's volume will affect the remote device's volume. 

Likewise, when your phone connects to the device which is playing remotely. 

In this case, we suggest that you follow the steps @Mihail sent to know how to adjust the volume on your phone independently of the app's playback.

If you have any questions, just let us know 🙂 

[partyba]

Hi!

I'd like to highlight, that my problem is as follows:

Spotify has been given the permission to automatically start and continue running in the background. The problem is, that this way, Spotify still grabs the volume button presses, so even tho I'm looking at any other app (eg. YouTube), the volume buttons still won't adjust the phone's volume, but the client's volume instead. In this case, neither the Android, nor the Spotify volume slider pops up. The only solution is that I select the phone as the playback device while adjusting the phone's volume.

Ps.: I'd also be glad if the remote volume control was an optional feature, since I don't use it even if the app is open in the foreground.

[CarlosE]

Hey @partyba,

Thanks for keeping in touch.

We appreciate the time you've taken to describe this to us. We'll make sure to pass your feedback on to the right team.

Also, we recommend adding your idea to our ideas board. Others can then vote on it or add to the conversation to show their support. You can find the steps to submit a new idea in this Spotify Answer.

You can also read more about how feedback on ideas reaches Spotify here.

If you have any questions or need anything else, give us a shout.

Cheers!

[Caiosouzamd]

1. I have the same annoying problem

[Alex]

Hey @Caiosouzamd,

Thanks for the post.

Please refer to the post from @Mihail for a workaround to this issue.

Cheers.

[Mroczny87]

Every time I'm using Spotify on one of my devices (for example PC) and I use my Android phone, volume buttons are being automatically hijacked by Spotify. So, whenever I press volume up/volume down on Android, my volume on my PC Spotify is changing. The expected result would be to control my phone volume instead. The only solution to stop this is to kill Spotify app on Android, and this makes me very sad, since it is extremely annoying.

Please fix this or add a setting in Spotify to disable this. And no, reinstalling app is not helping. There seems to be no workaround for this issue.

Device: Samsung Galaxy S22+

[MihailY]

Hey @Mroczny87,

Thanks for reaching out and providing this info.

Using the volume keys on your phone to control the playback volume on a different device is expected behavior when the app is in focus/active. Can you please confirm this is also happening when navigating away from the app (minimizing it or switching to another app)? If yes, is it possible to send us a short screen recording of this behavior and let us know your Spotify version?

Looking forward to your reply.

[Mikee442]

I can verify that it is an issue when you navigate away from the app or minimize it. I have found no way of getting my phone volume control back while Spotify is open even in the background.

[Mroczny87]

Hi, I haven't been here for a while. Issue still exists, link to screen recording: https://photos.app.goo.gl/DC9mUALyu2Fsr9mR7 . On the recording I'm using volume buttons on minimized Spotify app. Spotify version 8.8.80.599

[Djslickd]

This issue still exists and is very frustrating. I want to set the volume for Spotify playing on a remote device while in the app, and then navigate away and never touch that volume again. However I do still want to use my phone during this time and adjust volume of the phone. But no matter what, volume buttons control Spotify. Even when I told Android to NOT use volume buttons to control media, it still does. 

[MihailY]

Hey folks,

Apologies for the lack of updates on our end.

For anyone still experiencing this, please provide the model, OS version and exact Spotify version of the affected devices so we can forward them to the relevant team for further investigation.

Cheers,

[zivzvu]

The same annoying problem... If the app on my phone is on background I want to control my phone volume and not the Spotify TV volume 😑.

Miui 14. Spotify version 8.8.96.364