Shuffle is not random??

[jake-c]

Surely shuffle is supposed to be random? Mine definitely is not. It plays the same songs over and over, and the more I listen to one artist, the more it seems to play that artist. I have so many songs in my library that never get a listen.

Is there a fix to this? I'm seriously considering cancelling my premium and going elsewhere.

[Ivan]

Hey @jake-c,

Thanks for posting on the Community about this. 
 

First thing you can try is running a clean reinstall of the Spotify app on the affected device. This ensures you get a fresh version of the latest app with all features updated.  

Tip: Once you’ve performed the clean reinstall you'll need to re-download your offline music and podcasts. 

If the issue persists, try logging in with a different Spotify account on your device to check if it's an account-related issue. If you don't experience this with another account, you can follow the steps in this Spotify Answer next.  

Keep us posted! We'll be here if you have any questions. 

[ItsMe420]

These steps don't work at all, just fix the shuffle alogrithm and that's it.

[Ivan]

Hey @ItsMe420, 

Thanks for posting - we’re here to help!        
 

If the steps suggested so far didn't help, could you provide us with the make and model of the device on which you experience the issue? It'd be great if you can send us the exact OS version of the device, as well as the exact Spotify version. 

We'll look out for your reply. 

[ItsMe420]

I use Windows 10 version 2004 (OS Build 19041.867)

[Ivan]

Hey @ItsMe420, 

Thanks for getting back to us with the requested details. 

Could you also confirm the exact Spotify version installed on your PC?

This will helps us take a closer look and assist you further. 

Cheers! 

[ItsMe420]

Sorry forgot about that one, it's 1.1.56.595.g2d2da0de-a

[Ivan]

Hey @ItsMe420, 

Thanks for sending us the exact app version. 

It seems you're on the latest app version and in such a case next thing worth trying is to check the hosts file on your PC.

Make sure to delete all entries that need to be removed from the text file and check if you still experience the shuffle issue. Follow the steps described here on how to clean up the file.  

Let us know how it goes. 

[ItsMe420]

Doesn't work

[Ivan]

Hey @ItsMe420, 

Thanks for keeping us in the loop. 

Could you provide us with more details on what exactly you've noticed about the Shuffle feature not playing randomly? We'll then try reproducing the issue and investigate further. 

Also, let us know if you see that when on Shuffle, the app plays initially only the first 10 songs in the playlists created by Spotify. This will help us take a closer look and advise. 

Looking forward to your reply. Enjoy your day!  

[ItsMe420]

Let's say there are 4 different songs: song1, song2, song3, and song4.

If shuffle isn't on, it will play song1, song2, song3, and then song4.

But, if shuffle is on, it plays song2 song1 song4, and then song3.

As soon as it finished the whole songs in the playlist, it plays song2, song1, song4, and then song3 again like it was, this is the problem here. Hope I was understood. 

[Ivan]

Hey @ItsMe420, 

Thanks for providing us with an example. 

Could you also confirm, does this happen only after continuously playing that same playlist, or you observe it even after playing something else meanwhile? 

We need to confirm this since if you have Shuffle and Repeat All switched on, the shuffling order will be the same when the playlist starts repeating itself. This behavior is expected because Shuffle creates a pre-shuffled play queue every time the playback is started and that's then played.

Hope this helps. We'll look out for your reply. 

[ItsMe420]

It happens when I listen to songs that are on my own playlist

[Ivan]

Hey @ItsMe420, 

Thanks for getting back to us. 

Since we want to investigate this further, we'll need you to confirm exactly when you observe this happening. Let us know if this happens only when continuously playing the same playlist, or you also observe it even after playing something else in the meantime.

Let us also know whether you have Shuffle and Repeat All switched on and we'll be happy to assist further.

Keep us in the loop here. 

[ItsMe420]

It just happens on playlists, no matter which playlist

[Eni]

Hey @ItsMe420, 

Thanks for your reply. 

Just to confirm, do you have the Shuffle and Repeat All options switched on? This would help us narrow down the possible root cause of the issue.

For more info, we suggest that you check this article.

We'll be on the lookout. 

[ItsMe420]

Yep, both of them are on

[Elena]

Got it @ItsMe420!

Before we continue with more troubleshooting and investigation we wanted to mention that currently Shuffle is not completely random, so it's possible you notice some songs get played a bit more often than others.

If that's not the case for you, could you send us screenshots of the songs as arranged in your playlist and a screenshot of your Up Next queue that shows the shuffled songs that will follow so that we'd be able to confirm if you're app is not behaving as intended.

We'll be on the lookout for your reply.

[ItsMe420]

It is the case for me. Will it ever be fixed?

[Soma]

Does Spotify use bots for support? Because the initial answers from support completely ignore the reported issue. In any case, this is the most annoying feature of Spotify. Just make it possible to have a random play order of a playlist. It makes no sense that it should be the same each time.