Desktop Overlay can't be disabled

[okeiducky]

Plan

Premium

Country

Taiwan 

Device

Desktop PC

Operating System

Windows 10

My Question or Issue

Over the past month or so, I have repeatedly tried to disable the desktop overlay that pops up in the top-left corner of my screen when I change songs. Even though in Spotify preferences the option is disabled, it still keeps popping up randomly.

Each time I must go back into Spotify preferences, enable the overlay and disable it again, then it would return to normal and stay disabled. But after a few days it would all of the sudden start to pop up again, even though the option in preferences stays disabled.

I am not sure whether it happens after a software update or not, as I haven't been paying attention to it, but this is extremely annoying.

I've also noticed the tray icon disappearing once or twice. I have my Spotify client close to a tray icon, but every now or then it would close without a tray icon nor a taskbar window, but it would keep functioning and my media keys can still be used to change songs. I would have to launch the program from my Start Screen again to pop up the Spotify client, manually exit the program, and relaunch it again to get the tray icon working.

I'm a relatively new Spotify user, and I would really hope that this can be resolved quickly. As someone working on the desktop PC, sometimes using the PC 10-14 hours a day, with the PC (and Spotify) staying on for weeks at a time, this happens too frequently to ignore.

Lately members of my family have started to ask me why do I suddenly swear out aloud (I never used to do this) so please resolve this bug before I couldn't hold it anymore and smash my keyboard the next time it happens in the middle of my work while trying to meet a deadline for which I'm falling behind because I procrastinate too much (which often involves listening to songs on Spotify) and ending up making my family afraid of me and getting a divorce and becoming a drunk and losing my job and finally couldn't take it anymore and jump off a building somewhere...you get the idea.

Fix this. Pretty please? Or someone give me a hint on what else is needed to make sure the overlay is disabled? Am I having Spotify running for too long at a time and the program just isn't stable enough for this? Is it because I didn't get the Family Plan so Spotify tries to make life difficult for me?

[Mikey_Andolini]

I've been having this issue lately too. Do you have the Facebook Messenger app installed? I found that that is causing the problem for me. If the messenger app is open, even if it's minimized, the overlay comes up no matter what. If I close the messenger app, Spotify works properly with the overlay disabled, and it doesn't pop up anymore.

[user-removed]

the messenger app... on desktop?

[1243515393]

The windows store app? or "messenger for desktop"? I'm having this issue and both are installed. It still happens even when both are closed.

[okeiducky]

Don't have Messenger, although I do use LINE, which is a similar messaging application. Still, it shouldn't be sending overlays if I've turned it off. 😞

[tritanoro]

Same thing has been happening to me. Either it's the Windows 1803 update, or some recent Spotify update I'm not aware of. I wish I had a solution for this.

[1243515393]

I'm running 1709. It's almost certainly the latest spotify update. I'm running Spotify 1.0.82.447.g975ad224

[maxubachs]

I also have this problem again since a few days, was fixed for about a year.

Edit: W10, Netherlands, Premium Family

Edit2: Spotify subreddit offered some temporary workarounds. Simply flipping it every boot works, and the windows store version does not seem to have the same issue.

[rishabco]

I can confirm it has nothing to do with not having the family plan, since I am the principal of my family plan and I am still experiencing your exact same issue. I can also state wth confidence that this has occurred since the last automatic update for Spotify. It's more annoying than anything else, and honestly I'll survive for a bit longer if I have to go to preferences and re-hide the overlay everytime. However Spotify should fix this bug for the next release. 

[Mikey_Andolini]

The facebook messenger app for Windows, yes.

[Mikey_Andolini]

The windows store Facebook messenger app. I haven't used messenger for desktop, so I don't know if that causes any issues.

[Frederic_Mele]

Same issue here. Any fix in sight yet?

Using version 1.0.82.447.g975ad224

Moreover, the info in the overlay isn't even correct. When skipping to the next track it always shows the prevous track info instead of the track I'm listening to...

When returning to previous tracks it always shows the same already played track, no matter how many tracks I go back.

I don't have Facebook messenger installed, so that isn't the cause...

[Addummm]

i dont think it has anything to do with any messaging app. i just started recently having this issue too after it not happening for a couple months and i have no application on my new pc other than a few games. It seems like it is most likely new windows update or new spotify update. reallyyy hope it gets fixed soon though becuase it also drives me crazy too. the disable button is there for a reason, it should work.

[Thoery]

Im having the same issue. Every time i start spotify, the overlay pops up when changing song. 

When i go to settings the option is disabled. Enabling and then disabling the option (Show desktop overlay when using media keys) fixes the problem until i restart, at which point i need to go back into settings an do it again.

Im using windows 10 on both my laptop and desktop and experiencing the same problem on both. 

And since this thread is obsessing over it; no im not using Messenger on these platforms. 

[dionrhys]

This has also been annoying me recently after a recent Spotify update. (I'm on 1.0.82.447.g975ad224 now like many others above)

Every time I start Spotify, play a song, then use the volume keys on my keyboard, the media overlay shows up next to the volume slider. The "Show desktop overlay when using media keys" setting is already set to off in the settings, but it doesn't take effect unless I toggle it on and toggle it back off again!

It will work fine until I close Spotify and open it again, where I have to go back into the settings to toggle it on and toggle it off again.

This is a regression in one of the recent Spotify client updates. It used to remember and apply the setting properly when it started up, but now it doesn't take effect unless you actually flip the setting twice.

Here's a screenshot showing the problem:

Screenshot taken when changing the volume, showing the desktop overlay setting is actually disabled but not taking effect.

[Rebellz]

I have the same issue and it's extremely annoying.

[Sammo346]

Also experiencing this problem

[Scalari]

The "Show desktop overlay when using media keys" setting resets when I restart Spotify. The toggle in the settings screen is off but the actual setting is not. By enabling and re-disabling it the setting takes and works as intended.

This is a silly bug that surfaced in one of the recent updates. Hey, how about a setting to turn off automatic updates? That way my perfectly working software can stay working.

[Mikey_Andolini]

I'm still finding it only is happening with the FB Messenger app running. Otherwise, the overlay stays disabled. With the messenger app running, the overlay will also only show the icon for the messenger, and where the song title would be, it just says messenger. This doesn't happen with the app closed.

[wardbox]

Reporting another instance of this happening.  Enabling and disabling causes it to go away until next time I launch the client

Spotify client: 1.0.82.447.g975ad224

Windows OS: 10 Pro

Windows Version: 1803

OS Build: 17134.112