Spotify pauses with every tabata workout app I've downloaded

[Bcrawford22]

Plan

Premium

Country

US

Device

Android, Galaxy s8

My Question or Issue

I've downloaded several different Tabata workout apps and during my "active" work intervals Spotify pauses the music. I initially assumed it was the first Tabata app I downloaded that was the issue, as I typically don't have problems with Spotify. However, after the fourth download and the same exact outcome, I figured it was something weird with Spotify. I'm not sure how widespread this issue is given I don't think Tabata apps are commonly used, but I was hoping some insight otherwise might be found! 

[Fishtaco]

Spontaneously I think it is the tabata apps that pauses the music - probably unintentionally. Do the apps play any sound when the interval changes?

To be able to gain more understanding in why this happens - do you know if this happens with other apps that play music in the background as well - eg. a radio or podcast app other than Spotify?

[Bcrawford22]

That makes sense. Yeah, they make noises to signal when an interval is about to start or end. Spotify pauses at random times, as in it's not usually right when the interval starts, typically around 20 seconds into it and not all intervals get paused.

I haven't used Spotify with any other apps that play music in the background, so I'm not sure about your last question. 

[Fishtaco]

Hmm, that did not really make sense. I thought that it paused right when the sound was made to signal a change. If the pause does not happen instantly, it might be something else. Nevertheless, I’ll try to see if I can help you further!

Sorry if I was a bit unclear in my question. I was thinking if you had used a tabata app with any other source of sound - music/podcast? To see if the pause issue is something that happens with other services and not only Spotify. An easy way to test is to download a podcast app and just start a podcast, and then start a tabata workout and see if the podcast keeps playing or if that pauses as well. 

[Tring90]

Hello All, 

I’m having the same issue. Everything is the same as the Original Poster other than I’m on an IPhone with the most current iOS. I tested it on the poscast app from Apple and it randomly stops as well, although it seems to be more frequently and often on Spotify. Thanks for any updates or help.

[Mihail]

Hey @Tring90 and @Bcrawford22,

Thanks for reaching out! We'll happily help you sort this one out.

@Fishtaco is right in the presumption that the tabata apps probably get recognized as music apps. Keep in mind that if they have built in tunes that go with your workout session, even when muted they won't be able to play in parallel with Spotify. This explains also why @Tring90 could replicate this with a podcast app.

Whats strange in this situation is indeed  that the playback stops seemingly random. It's always a good idea to perform a clean reinstall to make sure that no corrupted files are causing this behavior. You can do this using the steps here. If that doesn't do the trick we'd appreciate a recording of the issue.  You can attach it to your post via the Insert Video option, just make sure to hide any sensitive information.

We'll be keeping an eye out for your reply.

[Tring90]

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the trouble shooting solutions, much appreciated. I reinstalled both the tabada app & Spotify but the problem persists.

Just recently, last week, I believe I’ve found what is causing the pausing. The free version of the tabada app has an ad banner on the top of the screen that pushes ads while using the app. Some ads are just a visual image ad, but some are short video ads. I’ve noticed the pausing of the Spotify music only happens when a video ad finishes playing it’s short clip.

I haven’t paid for the ad free version of the tabada app since I only use it once or twice per week. I’m sure that would stop the seemingly random pausing since it would get rid of the ads. For now I just hope I get more image ads verse video ads when I use the app since the image ads seem to have no effect on the Spotify music.

Hope this info helps anyone else who is wondering and again thanks for everyone else’s time/help 🙂