[Bug] [New UI] Volume Slider Jumps Around

[kaworu_bloodpaw]

Plan

Free

Country

USA

Device

Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620

Operating System

Edition Windows 11 Pro
Version 22H2
Installed on ‎10/‎6/‎2022
OS build 22621.1702
Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.22641.1000.0

Spotify Version

Spotify for Windows
1.2.11.916.geb595a67

My Question or Issue

I usually use the scroll wheel on my mouse to adjust the volume of my Spotify. However, with the new UI, the volume slider likes to jump around when scrolling with my mouse or my touchpad. Please see the attached videos.

This jumpiness is not just visual. The volume level also jumps with it.

I am on the newest version of Spotify and I reinstalled my app yesterday afternoon.

UPDATE:

Months later, this issue is still occurring. I am on the newest Spotify and Windows 11 versions as of February 17th, 2024.

[Alex]

Hey there @kaworu_bloodpaw,

Thanks for the post and for flagging this. 

We tested it on our end on two different PCs running the same app version, but scrolling works OK with both a mouse and the touchpad. 

Can you let us know if this is happening for both songs and podcasts and if it changes if you play music directly from your laptop speakers and when you play music from another audio device, like a Bluetooth speaker or headphones.

Cheers.

[kaworu_bloodpaw]

Hey @Alex, sorry for the late reply,

Yes, it happens no matter my audio output settings.

[Yordan]

Hi @kaworu_bloodpaw!

Could you try disabling/enabling Hardware acceleration from the app's Settings to see if that does the trick?

Keep us posted!

[kaworu_bloodpaw]

Hey @Yordan!

Disabling hardware acceleration does not help.

[Alex]

Hi there @kaworu_bloodpaw,

Thanks for the reply.

If your monitor is running a high refresh rate, like 165 Hz/ 120 Hz/ 70 Hz, try switching to a refresh rate of 60 Hz and check if the volume slider stops jumping. 

Another thing you can try is to download the app from the MS store, if you're using the one from our website and vice-versa. On some systems one always runs better than the others. 

We've passed on your feedback about the volume slider on to the developer folks at Spotify, but we haven't received other reports about such behavior recently, so it's very likely that this is caused by some system settings on your end.

Keep us posted on how you get on.

[kaworu_bloodpaw]

Hey Alex,

I changed my monitor's refresh rate to 60 Hz and the problem was still there. My friend can verify that he has the problem as well.

[AlejaR]

Hey @kaworu_bloodpaw,

Thanks for your reply and for the info shared. 

Would you mind checking if you have some updates pending for the app? You can do this by going to the three-dot menu that you can find in the left-top of your screen in the desktop app. There, select Help> About Spotify. If there’s a new version available, you’ll see a button “restart to install”. Would you mind checking the Spotify version you're running there?
 

On another note, would you mind running the app as an administrator to check if you notice any difference? Give it a try and let us know how it goes.

Lastly, can you please try running the app in Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking to rule out any issues with your default Windows settings and basic device drivers?

Keep us in the loop!

[kaworu_bloodpaw]

I'm on Spotify for Windows (32 bit) 1.2.13.661.ga588f749 from the MS Store. I tried the x64 version from the Spotify website and had the same issue.

I've also noticed this issue on a Mid-2015 MacBook Pro.

Running Spotify as an admin has not helped. I do not believe this problem is related to my computer or Spotify install.

[Eni]

Hey @kaworu_bloodpaw, 

Thanks for your reply. 

Could you let us know if this only happens when you place the cursor on the slider? Keep in mind that when the cursor is on the slider it becomes green (active) so the scrolling affects the slider and if it stays there it's expected behavior that the scroll on mouse or touchpad acts this way. 

We'll be on the lookout.

[kaworu_bloodpaw]

Hey @Eni

Sorry for the SUPER late response lol (busy with college).

I'm not sure what you mean, but here's my interpretation:

The slider has to be active in order for me to change the volume with the scroll wheel. However, if I quickly scroll and move my mouse off the slider, the volume and slider still jump around for a moment while the slider is not active (white).

Here's a screen capture that I just made, showing this behavior.

It's a GIF, so it's not very clear. Here's a link to an mp4 version.

https://i.gyazo.com/652e1c458b347471f13d5e1cc7a8019d.mp4

This is still occurring all these months later, on a different machine than when I first made the post. I am on the newest version of Spotify available to me through the MS Store.

Spotify for Windows (64 bit)
1.2.25.1011.g0348b2ea

[kaworu_bloodpaw]

I forgot I can just attach videos. Here's the same video I linked above.

[Elena]

Thanks for getting back to us with those details, @kaworu_bloodpaw!

Would you be able to check if the same thing happens when you're logged into a different Spotify account? It'd be great if you could try on the same devices maybe with a friend's or a family member's account.

Keep us posted.

[kaworu_bloodpaw]

Hey @Elena

I logged into my boyfriend's account. It seems worse now. I'm about to try it on my laptop.

Here's a screen recording from my desktop.

[kaworu_bloodpaw]

@Elena

Here's a recording I made of my laptop, with arguably worse behavior. This is also signed into my boyfriend's account.

The file is too big to upload here.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RWk2yOQmFYGL9ipu87j0G0r9D0Ti9FWo/view?usp=sharing

[MihailY]

Hey @kaworu_bloodpaw,

Thanks for the videos.

Me and the other mods tested this, but I was the only one able to successfully reproduce the issue both in the app and the web player. 

I'll speak to our tech team about this, however, I don't see it being prioritized any time soon given the current workload and the fact that we're the only users affected (I've checked the Community and ran a quick Google search for similar posts on other forums but couldn't find any).

In any case, thanks for your detailed report and don't let this discourage you from sharing new ones!

[kaworu_bloodpaw]

Okay, thanks @MihailY

For curiosity's sake, what size, resolution, and refresh rate monitor did you see this behavior on?

[MihailY]

Hey @kaworu_bloodpaw,

It's a 14-inch Full HD (1920x1080) 60 Hz laptop display. Happens as well on a 17-inch HD display (same refresh rate).

Let me know if you find any pattern to this behavior.

[kaworu_bloodpaw]

Thanks for the info @MihailY,

There doesn't seem to be a pattern. My desktop has two 27-inch displays, one at 2560x1440 165Hz, and another at 1920x1080 144Hz, both with GSYNC enabled. I've also tried it on my laptop which is 3840x2160 at 60Hz, without GSYNC.

I set my desktop monitors to 60 Hz in my previous tests, and the same behavior occurred. There seems to be no correlation between this behavior and monitor resolution, size, or refresh rate.

[vomaufgang]

This is broken for me as well, on all computers and Notebooks I've used the last four years. Between them I've also gone through multiple monitors, from 60 Hz zu 144 Hz, with Freesync and without.

I concur that this has can't have anything to do with the PC hardware or monitor refresh rate.

This is most likely a race condition between the display logic and the app layer that stores and applies the volume change.

When the user scrolls the volume slider, a new value get's sent to the service handling the volume change. During scrolling the UI, due to databinding, tries to get and confirm the value that *should* be displayed, but the volume service isn't finished applying and storing the new value, so the UI jumps back to the old value because that's what the service still believes is the correct one.

Depending on how crass the change, the UI and the service then "argue" about the old and new values a while before settling.

If the volume slider was not scrolled, but clicked, the "settled" value is one of the two the two argued over.

If the volume slider was scrolled, the "settled" value may be any value breakpoint that was hit from the beginning to the end of the scroll.

This would also explain why the jumping around is much more intense during scrolling. There's simple more values the UI and the service "argue" between.

Sadly the debug functionality of the electron app that runs the UI is disabled or I would've debugged this already. Finding and fixing stuff like this is what I make a living on.

I'd be willing to bet a good old german "Kasten Bier" on this.

Edit: I just noticed that when grapping the volume bar "dot" and moving the slider left to right like this, the volume change isn't applied instantly. There's a noticable delay. This makes me even more certain that my theory is correct and whatever is introducing this delay is also causing the volume bar to jump around, or at least affects it.