Free features are now premium only

[Elxtrick]

Every time I cook I open up Spotify change the devices an listen on my google nest and even before that I would use my google home. today when I open the app these devices are all greyed out excluding my Sonos soundbar (i don't know why) saying premium only next to it. not to mention google still says I should be able to do this with a free account and if I open Spotify play music then open google and select the devices I would have selected through the Spotify app it still works as it used to along with telling google what to say or do on Spotify.

Plan

Free

Country

USA

Device

iPhone 8 plus

Operating System

iOS 13

My Question or Issue

Why add a paywall like this to the app? but leave it free for other platforms (going through the google home app). Am I the only one that feels this is cash grab to force-free users that don't mind the huge increase in ads since they joined? I know I'm not the only one that got the "thanks for listening to Spotify you could have listened to the radio but you use Spotify thank you" this doesn't feel like thank you this feels like a smack in the face and no one seems to have answers about it other than go buy premium if your gonna force premium then don't even have a free option make it premium only and be done with it

[SierraSkye]

I was also shocked to find this when I logged onto spotify today!!! Normally I always play music while I study and whatnot through my google home but now I am forced to listen to spotify on my crappy laptop speaker since they made listening to spotify on other devices premium!!! I am so mad! Pretty soon there will be no spotify free and you will have to pay for the app period. It really does feel like a smack in the face and I wish it could go back to the way it was. Now I feel like my only option is to buy premium *sigh*

[Elxtrick]

All hope is not lost, you can still open spotify app play your song then open google home app select play music on the devices that you use and then when you go back to the spotify app it works thats whats so confusing it still works so is the all google devices being premium only a bug or is google home the bug i dont know but it still works

[Mihail]

Hey everyone,

Thanks for reaching out to the Community.

Free users should still have the option to connect to their Google Home speakers in the US, UK, Germany, France and Japan. If you're currently in one of those regions, make sure that your account has the right country settings.

If that's the case and you're still experiencing difficulties, it's a good idea unlink your Spotify account from the Google Home app and run a clean reinstall of both services. You can find the steps for Spotify here. You can then establish the link anew using these instructions.

Let us know if that helped. We're here if you have any questions.

[Elxtrick]

While it is refreshing to hear that this isn’t intended this is still the case i did support chat for a hour we unlinked my account multiple times redownload the app restarted my phone but the results where the same all google speakers where premium only the support agent temporary gave me premium and it instantly worked as it normally did prior to the update. He said i would have to upgrade to premium as it appears its not longer a free thing based on all are troubleshooting. But then i look on hear and the issue is almost unheard of and others are having the same problem this was a free feature and no longer is but some are saying that this isnt intended 

[Mihail]

Hey @Elxtrick,

Thanks for keeping us in the loop.

Could you borrow a friend or family members free account and see if you're able to use it with your Google Home devices? Alternatively you can create a new one with a different email here. 

Keep us posted, we'd love to investigate this further. 

[Elxtrick]

My fiances account behaves the same way and when i was on the support call they had me use a free test account with the same premium only for my devices the only way i found around this is doing what i said previous by going through the google home app 

[Novy]

Hi @Elxtrick, 

Thanks for getting back to us with this info. 

If possible, could you log into the desktop app to see if the issue persists?

Also, let us know the exact Spotify version you're currently running along with the model and firmware version of your Google Home devices. 

We'll keep an eye out for your reply. 

[Elxtrick]

I never use my ipad so i intially never tried it till now.

Pc firmware 1.1.53.608.g7ed9c03a can stream to any devices as normal

Iphone 8 plus spotify version 8.6.2.1041 premium only.. cant stream to any google speaker but does still work with my sonos sound beam< my iPhone is ios 13 and my fiances is ios 14 

Ipad air spotify 8.6.2.1041 can stream to any device as normal

Google home system firmware229149 cast firmware 1.50.229149

Google nest system firmware 241809 cast firmware 152.241809

Google home mini system firmware 229149 cast firmware 1.50.229149

this is what I could find under device info for these hope this is what you met

[Elxtrick]

Well i wanna thank all of you for your trouble shooting but the newest update that came out today 8.6.4.1247 fix this issue i can stream to my google devices once again 

[Mihail]

Hey @Elxtrick,

Thanks for letting us know about the latest developments.

We're happy to hear that the latest updated set things straight. Do let us know if this behavior comes up again or there's something else we can help out with.

Cheers!