Plugging headphones in while using the desktop app skips the current song or crashes it

[JustGodlike]

Plan

Free

Country

UK

Operating System

Windows 10

My Question or Issue

For the last couple of weeks every time I have the Spotify desktop app playing a song and I plug in my headphones, one of 3 things happens (ordered them based on the frequency the bugs happen):

A) The next song in the playlist starts playing (as if I pressed the "next" button)

B) The songs start skipping continuously (as if I was spamming the "next" button) and there is no way to stop it unless closing the entire app

C) The app completely crashes and I have to restart it

I am fairly sure that if there is a way to fix issue A it will fix the rest too but I have been unable to find a solution for the good part of a week now. I reckon this is due to a recent update as I did not have these issues at all until about 2 weeks ago as mentioned. I also use the mobile app if this matters at all.

[drwhamp]

I am also experiencing the exact same thing. It’s really annoying. Any help is appreciated 

[swanky-n-spanky]

Me too. What a seriously frustrating bug.

[JustGodlike]

Doesn't seem like there are any solutions and no one from the Spotify team has attempted to resolve this bug after months of it existing so I will share a "feature" this bug introduces.

If you are using the free version, when the ads start playing you can just plug in your headphones and they get skipped immediately 😉

Hopefully now the Spotify team goes "oh no this loses us money!" and they finally have a look at the bug...

[andyattwood1980]

Experiencing points  A) and C) with the web based player. 

However, with C) rather than crashing the browser, it reports an "error with playback" and I have to refresh the tab. 

It also skipped when removing the headphones!

[Alex]

Hi there folks,

Thanks for reaching out about this in the Community!

Apologies for the delayed response, we've just come across this thread.

Could you let us know if this happens with wired or wireless Bluetooth headphones?

Apart from that have you tried running a clean reinstall of the app, which involves, deleting the app cache. Check out this guide, for the relevant steps.

Keep us posted on this. 

[Craigusus]

I had this same issues A & B, luckily didn't have C.

I also had the same issue when switching the audio output device for Spotify in Windows Settings. The constant skipping seemed to happen when Spotify couldn't find an audio output, even though I had manually set one!

This does now seem to have been resolved in the current version (1.1.45.621.gdddebadc).

@Alex - 'Plugging headphones in' would suggest they're NOT Bluetooth.

[Mihail]

Hey @Craigusus,

Thanks for posting.

What  @Alex meant is that if the headphones support both a wired and a Bluetooth connection, it's possible that some of the buttons on them are having a synch issue with the app. Apologies if this caused some confusion. If your headphones indeed support also a Bluetooth, could you let us know if it makes a difference when you unpair them from your device?

It would also help us a lot if you share, whether or not the clean reinstall did the trick and if other apps are able to play on your headphones without any issues. 

Keep us posted. We're always one reply away.

[Craigusus]

@Mihail Thank you for explaining. That was not clear in the post.

My headphones (Logitech G433) and all other audio outputs worked fine in all other applications.

My headphones are USB (well USB to 3.5mm adapter) but that doesn't matter as it was due to the audio output being switched from one device to another. Regardless of it being headphones (3.5mm or USB), onboard audio or PCIe soundcard (Sound Blaster Z).

No, I did not do a clean install as 1) I should not need to 2) the uninstall process never removes all traces of the application 3) I used another piece of software to get around the issue temporarily.

I have only just tested this again on the current version of Spotify as I stumbled across this post looking for something else. But it seems to have been resolved for me.

[andyattwood1980]

My headphones are just plugged in via 3.5mm jack.

They are phone headphones, so do have in-line controls.

Have done some testing with the web player and didn't get any skips, but I did get a crash:

I paused Spotify

Plugged in headphones to join a video meeting (MS Teams if this becomes relevant)

Unplugged after meeting 

Went back to web player and error window saying to reload page

[Ver]

Hey @andyattwood1980,

Thanks for keeping us posted 🙂

Can you try with another browser? If that doesn't help, it's also a good idea to clear the cache and cookies in the browser. 

We'd suggest you also give these steps a go and run a clean reinstall. This one is more thorough than a usual reinstall.

Does the same issue occur when you try with another headphones?

Let us know how it goes. If you have more questions, we are here for you.
 

[Kitse]

I have the same issue (songs are unplayable or skips uncontrollably when headsets are plugged in via minijack).

Reinstallation does not solve the issue.

[Ver]

Hey @Kitse,

Thanks for reaching out to us 🙂

It's a good idea to also try using the headset with another device. Does the issue persist?

If possible, we'd suggest also using another headset for the same device. Are there any changes?

Keep us posted! If you have questions, we are here for you.

[Craigusus]

@ver - It is nothing to do with the headphones it's Spotify. It fails when the audio device is changed (ie from default device to headphones, in this case).

When I had the issue I tried 2 sets of headphones in the 3.5mm jack, 1 set of Bluetooth headphones and 1 set of USB headphones. Also switching from the onboard sound card to a PCIe soundcard. All failed. It is the Spotify software, NOT the hardware.

[Ver]

Hey @Craigusus,

Thanks for getting in touch with us and welcome to the Community 🙂

Just do double-check- Are you still experiencing this issue?

If everything is running smoothly again, could you provide us with the OS version and the Spotify version on your device? We'll investigate this further.

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

[_MadMan_]

I´v experienced the same bug where its skipping the songs continuously. But i noticed that it will only happens when im unsing my Hotkeys on the Keyboard to skip the song. Spotify got probably some issues to translate those commands from the keyboard. 

Make sure that your Spotify and your windows/Mac is up-to-date. I´v also found out that when you have headphones plugged in and unplug them that he will reset the song as you havent even start to hear it. The solution is simple. Make sure that your PC has a Second Sound-Output where he can reach for if your headphones disconnect mid listening. Otherwise he will stop/reset everything because there is no device where he can play the sound.