Spotify causes significant battery drain on Pixel 8 Pro

[Jimbobler]

Pixel 8 Pro, Android 14, Spotify Premium build 8.8.76.667, Sweden.

Brand new phone and first day of use, and installed the app earlier today.  Spotify has somehow managed to drain 38% (!) of battery with 4 minutes screen time and 4h 44 mins background activity: https://ibb.co/TrG4jW6. I'm unsure about the length of background activity, too, since I've only been listening to podcasts and some music for two hours tops before completely closing the app. No downloads of playlists or music, either. 

The phone was warm to the touch for several hours after installation. The temperature dropped immediately after disabling Spotify from being able to perform background tasks. 

In the "View by systems" tab in Systems > Battery > Battery usage, it's clear that the CPU has drained a majority of the battery (33% vs 13% for screen) since it was fully charged, even though I haven't been doing any CPU intensive tasks for any length of time. 

Super weird, and it's the only time this has happened on any of the smartphones I've had Spotify installed on over the years. 

[Jimbobler]

Hey folks,

Thanks for all your replies and for the info shared.

In this case, in order for us to forward all this important info onto the right team, we'll need to gather some very specific details. That way, they can check in thoroughly what is exactly happening on your side. So, we'll need you to send us:

• The make/model and OS of the affected device
• The exact Spotify version you're running there.
• Some screenshots of this behavior and your device's battery usage analytics.
• If you noticed that this started to happen after some specific event, such as an OS update, please clarify.
• All the troubleshooting steps you've tried so far. Make sure to be as specific as possible.

Be aware that we'll need all this info in order for our tech team to continue investigating further. If you've already sent us some of these details, keep in mind we'll need update info of your devices and Spotify versions you're running as of today.

We understand where you're coming from, so we'll work on this together.

Keep us in the loop!

[ryanadanderson]

version 8.9.48.575

com.spotify.music

Android 14 

pixel 8 

Higher than expected battery usage

I was using podcasts (freakonomics radio) at 1x speed while driving around. The episodes were shown to be down loaded. I had Google maps open primarily. 

  only noticed today - never checked before. No troubleshooting steps have been taken. 

[Joan]

Hi folks,

Thanks for all your replies. We'll continue to look into this based on the info we have. Whatever other device info or attempted troubleshooting you have, please let us know. The more we have, the better it will aid our investigation.

@ryanadanderson could you also try the troubleshooting already suggested in this thread and let us know how it goes. Also consider trying the following:

• Does this only happen when used simultaneously with Google Maps? Does it also happen by itself or while using other apps?
• Are your Google and Spotify accounts linked?
• Are the episodes you played downloaded and do you have the setting enabled to download automatically?
• Do you have the option to download over mobile data enabled?
• Was the app in offline mode?

Let us know how it goes.

[JensDoe]

Hi Joan,
Here is another one. Today I listened to a podcast for about 10 minutes while on my way to work. Maps was not active while listening.
Android 15 Beta 3. Latest Spotify from Play Store (not in beta).

[dslashdx]

Brand new Pixel 8a.

Android 14version 8.9.50.552 com.spotify.music

Similar problems as everyone else, high battery usage for the two days I've owned the phone. I tried the clean install instructions from earlier in the thread with zero improvement. Phone is warm to the touch. Did not experience these issues with my previous Pixel 5a.

This thread is about a year old with people reporting consistently the same issue in the same circumstances. Can Spotify not purchase a new Pixel 8, turn on developer mode and do some diagnostics? Seems like you all are ignoring users which is a great way to get them to switch services, i know i will if this continues.