Buffering while playing podcasts (my internet speed is not the problem)

[Lorentari]

Plan

Premium

Country

Denmark

Device

Desktop

Operating System

Windows 10

My Question or Issue

I'm having an issue with playing podcasts that took me back to the early 2000's - buffering... About every 30-60 seconds the audio will stop, buffer for 5-10 seconds and then continue for 30-60 seconds and... you get the idea.

Before you ask... my internet connection is definitely not the problem. I live in Denmark, so my internet is stable at 460/60 Mbit (enough to download GTA V in 20 minutes) connection; I'm running on Ethernet/LAN. Nor is my RAM the culprit as I still have about 8 GBs free

Please help me. Buffering only happens on podcasts, not on music (or Netflix and YouTube)

[WorleyG]

Disappointed to see no response to this as its happening to me too and its really starting to irritate me. I'm checking to see if Apple music have the same content and will make the switch if need be. Literally nothing else 'buffers' except podcasts. 

[Felipemedlev]

Same thing happening to me and my brother.
Music and Apple podcasts don't buffer.

[Justinalexb]

Same issue here. Terrible lag as compared to streaming the same content from YouTube. Disappointed

[BrazyB]

Same happening for me. Never used the Podcast option of spotify but since JRE moved there I had no other option. I am hugely disappointed how slow the system is running. The Video seems not synchronized from time to time and the lags are absolutely annoying. I love the music option spotify has and I am a premium user since multiple years so I never thought that they would have such problems with offering podcast.

[Ver]

Hey everyone,

Thanks for reaching out to us. This sounds odd and we'll do our best to help you out.

We'd suggest you start off by restarting the device. Then you can log out and log back in to the account. It's also a good idea to give these steps a go and run a clean reinstall. That way you can make sure the cache is not leading to this issue.

If that doesn't do the trick, you can try playing a podcast on another device. By doing that we can check if it is a device or account-related issue.

Keep us in the loop! If you have questions, you know where to find us.

[Felipemedlev]

Hi!

The problem was not of my device. The podcast host mentioned that many people had the problem and it was because of the servers in which they uploaded the podcast.

After changing servers, it all worked fine.

[fors82zy]

Complete uninstall/reinstall, clearing cache, etc. does absolutely nothing to stop the constant buffering of *only* the podcasts on Spotify Premium for Windows 10 app. Music? Works perfectly. Podcasts are the only issue. And podcasts are working on every other streaming platform I've tried except Spotify. It's a Spotify issue and I hope you folks can fix this soon, as it's apparent it's an issue for many here. 

[Mario]

Hey @fors82zy ,

Thank you for reaching out and for letting us know the troubleshooting steps you've completed.

Can you sign into Spotify with another account? For example a friend or family members account on the device it occurs on to see if the issue persists? 

It would also be great if you could let us know what version of Spotify you have on the device. 

Let us know how everything goes. We're looking forward to your reply.

[fors82zy]

Thank you for your response Mario. I can't sign in with another account; I only have the one. I am running Spotify version 1.1.41.634.gc2c73ca7 (Microsoft Store version). Also, I noticed that the podcasts work fine if I cast to an external device such as an Echo Dot. The problem occurs only when I use the Spotify app on the device it resides on; in this case, a PC laptop.

[Mickeyrad]

Same issue here, but on a Macbook Pro running 10.15.7

Spotify ver: 1.1.43.700.g20acee0f

[Xenia]

Hey all,

Thanks for keeping us in the loop and sending over these details!

Do you mind trying the web player on the affected device to see if that makes a difference?

Let us know how it goes! We’ll be right here if you still need help.

[fors82zy]

Hello,

The web player does not work either. Still constant buffering to the point where the podcast is completely unlistenable.

[Elena]

Sorry to hear this @fors82zy!

Is this happening to all podcasts that you try streaming or just one/a few? If it's the latter, can you send us the URI's so that we'd be able to take a closer look?

In the meantime, we'd recommend checking your firewall settings and turning off your VPN if you're using one since that can affect the playback.

We'll be on the lookout for your reply!

[fors82zy]

Hello Elena,

No VPN, firewall settings are not set in such a way as to contribute to any sort of buffering. Joe Rogan Experience Podcast is the main issue. Listening to it on YouTube on the exact same device works perfectly; no issues whatsoever.

Thank you,

Todd

[Mihail]

Hey @fors82zy,

Thanks for getting back to us with this additional info.

Could you let us know whether or not the buffering issue occurs when you log in to another device? It would be great if you could also test it with a friend or family members account. This would help us determine if the root cause of the problem account or device related.

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

[fors82zy]

Hello,

Podcasts are buffering on iOS as well; I have spoken with friends who have tried it on Android and it’s the same issue.

[Mihail]

Hey @fors82zy,

Thanks for the additional Info you've provided.

Could you also share the make, model and OS version of the devices you've tried it with? If it's an option we'd also appreciate it if you could test if the issue comes up with a different network, like a mobile hotspot.

Keep us posted. We're looking forward to your reply.

[fors82zy]

iPhone 8 Plus running iOS 14.0.1.

The main issue is running it on Spotify Premium app for Windows 10.

I have no way of testing the issue any further.

Thank you,

Todd

[Elena]

Hey @fors82zy,

Thank you for getting back to us with this information. 

Are you able to create a new account that you can log in to and see if the issue persists? This will help us make sure that your main account isn't causing the issue since this occurs on different devices.

You mention that you've tried a reinstall, but we recommend that you to perform a clean reinstall on your iPhone. This will ensure that any old cached files are not causing this.

Can you also let us know how much free space you're having on the devices this occurs on?

We'll have an eye out for your reply.

Cheers!