[Web Player] Timeline 10 Seconds Ahead when Using Connect

[kaworu_bloodpaw]

Plan

Free

Country

USA

Device

Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620

M1 iMac

Operating System

Windows 11

macOS

My Question or Issue

Whenever I'm listening to the Spotify app, and I open the Web Player, the song's timeline is usually 10 seconds ahead. Sometimes if I click pause or somewhere on the timeline in the Web Player it'll fix itself, but sometimes it doesn't.

I've been noticing this issue over the past year. I used to think it was a clock sync issue (I couldn't sync the clock on my school's iMac), but even when both the app and the Web Player are open on the same computer, there's a difference in time.

On top is my Spotify app. Beneath is the Web Player from Chrome.

I've cleared cache and cookies, synced my system clock, and Chrome is up to date.

This isn't a huge problem as the Web Player works fine when not using Connect, just a little annoyance.

Also, the community needs a section for the Web Player.

[Eni]

Hey there @kaworu_bloodpaw, 

Thanks for getting in touch about this here in the Community. 

Would you mind giving a different internet connection a go to see if that makes the difference? You can try creating a hotspot on your phone and using that to test this. 

On another note, could you check if the same happens using different browsers as well?

Lastly, thanks for you feedback about the web player section! We will make sure to pass it onto the right team, as we always strive to improve your experience.

We'll be waiting for your reply. 

[kaworu_bloodpaw]

@Eni

I can't test another connection now, but in April of last year at my high school, I had the same problem, which was in a completely different location, using different devices.

A different browser doesn't fix the problem. Still ~10 secs ahead.

[Eni]

Hey @kaworu_bloodpaw, 

Thanks for your quick reply. 

In this case, we suggest that you check your firewall and make sure Spotify is set as an exception.

On another note, it's worth removing your hosts file. Head here to find out how.

Keep us posted.

[castdrian]

probably system clock desync

https://community.spotify.com/t5/Desktop-Windows/consistent-delay-desync-between-devices/m-p/5256531...

[kaworu_bloodpaw]

@castdrian

I tried that. It's still off-sync on the Web Player.

I'm unsure why, since it's running on the same machine.

[kaworu_bloodpaw]

@Eni

My host file is cleared and my firewall is set to allow Spotify.

[Eni]

Hey @kaworu_bloodpaw, 

Thanks for your reply.

We've forwarded this issue to the relevant team for further review, however we can't confirm when or if it will be addressed. In the meanwhile. we suggest that you keep your browser's version up to date.

Thanks for your understanding. If you need a hand with anything else, just let us know. 

[kaworu_bloodpaw]

Thanks, @Eni, I appreciate it.

It's not a big problem, just kinda weird that I can't seem to fix it and it happens across multiple devices and connections.

I figured it would be best to report it and see if there's a fix or if anyone else experiencing it.

Thanks again.

[bobby37]

I have a similar problem. Web player controlling Spotify Connect on another device is out of sync. In my case, the Connect device is an Amazon Echo Show. If using the web player I set the current song to 0s (zero seconds) on the seek bar, then let go, the Echo immediately seeks to 0s and plays the song from the beginning, as expected, but the web player immediately jumps to 34s. No matter what position I seek to on the web player, the seek bar on the web interface immediately adds ~34s upon starting playback. Disconnecting Connect to allow playback in the browser works normally. Interestingly, if I use the seek bar on the Echo show itself, the web player syncs up its seek bar properly.

Using Spotify Connect with other devices in the Amazon Echo family cause the web player's seek bar to misbehave in the same way; these devices all play songs normally but the seek bar in the browser is ahead by ~34s. This has been happening to me for countless months, more than a year.

Like the OP, it's not a big problem for me but I wanted to confirm similar symptoms with Connect and Web Player.

Also like the OP, I agree that Web Player needs its own support forum section.

Cheers.

[Eni]

Hey there @bobby37, 

Thanks for getting in touch about this here in the Community. 

Just to confirm, does this only happen on the web player or on the desktop and mobile apps as well? We'd also like to know if you can replicate this behavior using the web player in an incognito window or in a different browser. 

On another note, could you try with a different internet connection to see if the same happens? 

We'll be on the lookout for your reply.