Stream Keeps Cutting Out

[seaneclark]

I had been using the free version of Spotify and noticed that the stream kept getting interrupted (pausing). At first you'd assume a bandwidth issue my end. Unlikely as I am in a City and have a consistent 10mb connection.

Anyway to be sure I tried a well known UK competitor beginning with D and there was no issue streaming from them.

Must be the free service? So I upgraded to unlimited, still getting an interrupted stream!

I followed the uninstall and cache clearing procedure, the reinstalled and still no joy.

Currently I have a Spotify account that is unlistenable (if that is such a word) and I am having to use D(UK) in the meantime.

Suggestions?

[David]

I saw this DNS thing mentioned elsewhere - rather interesting. Although it working for some and not for others means this sadly isn't a guaranteed fix yet, although it appears to be working for a number of people.

I must state that we're not blaming either one party or another here - that's far from the case. We're working toward a solution together, and in doing so, we must try a number of different troubleshooting options that could be configured either end.

Sir_Lurchalot - Are you still trying this on your Windows boot too? If so, you might want to try unchecking the "Enable Hardware Acceleration" section in the Preferences menu. Although sadly, there's no similar option on a Mac.

[RM12]

This sounds really promising. I have to say Sonos Support have come back to me and are troubleshooting this. They asked for the speedtest and ping results so I'll wait to hear back from them. 

I love the Virgin DNS setting information. Only, I'm so afraid that I will mess anything else up. We have 5 macs at home and they are all backing up wirelessly.  If I change the DNS setting, will this affect anyting else?

Thanks. 

[user-removed]

Hi all

Well, I know its still only morning, and I may be tempting fate, but Spotify has not cut out once so far this morning. I suppose the big test will be later on.

One thing I did last night was to check my Windows Firewall (I am using Windows 7 on Acer laptop) and noted that in the Inbound rules list Spotify was blocked in the Action column. I altered that to "allow" for all mentions of Spotify. I'm sorry I am not fantastically computer literate but do not know if that could have been the problem. Surely if it said "block" it would not work at all.

When I initially did this last night it did not seem to make any difference, but today so far no problem. Maybe I needed to switch computer off for it to take effect.

Will keep you posted.

Best

Clive (b8sso)

[user-removed]

Hi all

yes it was a false dawn.

Its now 4pm and cutting out every few seconds as per usual.

So that was not a fix.

Come on Spotify/Virgin sort this out. Please!!!!!

Clive

(b8sso)

[seaneclark]

I'm afraid that's it, I've cancelled my subscription and will go with an alternate.

Spotify if you find the root of the problem and fix it I will be back but until then can't do this sorry.

Regards

Sean

[AnthonyKinson]

To be honest i've not tried any of the suggested methods as i know they will prove nothing. The lag freqency is not consistent enough for any methods to be considered as a fix.

One thing i have found consistent is that when lag does occur, it seems to be around about the same times each day, with the occasional margin of error. Today for example, this occuring at 4pm, around about the time all the kids get home from school. Lunch time, when everyone is on a dinner break and in the morning when everybody is getting ready for work / school. One thing that is obvious to me is that all this lag is occuring during peak times, and to me, this seems to point to an issue with Spotify handling the amount of traffic.

I mean this doesnt just happen with playback, syncing songs for offline play is exteremly slow, sometimes the "whats new" page wont load. This has all the characteristics of servers not being able to transmit data fast enough and clogged data pipes. Unfortunately no amount of Mr Muscle Sink & Plughole Unblocker will fix this.

[jonnyp42]

Well I'm glad it's not just me! My streams are choppy... via the PC and via SONOS... it was fine but this past few weeks it's been unusuable. As I sit here the MAC client wont even load 'Whats New'...

It's surely not a connectivty issue... I've got a 30 meg connection...

traceroute to 78.31.8.14 (78.31.8.14), 64 hops max, 52 byte packets
 1  10.242.48.1 (10.242.48.1)  26.836 ms  18.346 ms  14.867 ms
 2  bmly-core-2b-ae4-947.network.virginmedia.net (213.105.193.97)  17.109 ms  9.658 ms  9.635 ms
 3  brnt-bb-1b-ae6-0.network.virginmedia.net (213.105.159.229)  33.471 ms  33.094 ms  10.138 ms
 4  brnt-tmr-1-ae5-0.network.virginmedia.net (213.105.159.50)  20.263 ms  19.360 ms  25.878 ms
 5  telc-ic-1-as0-0.network.virginmedia.net (62.253.185.74)  12.272 ms  14.285 ms  29.287 ms
 6  xe-0-0-3.border-1.thn.lon.uk.as29017.net (195.66.236.141)  18.190 ms  11.101 ms  11.959 ms
 7  xe-1-2-2.core-3.centro.hml.uk.as29017.net (89.145.125.34)  26.718 ms  29.014 ms  16.130 ms
 8  grace.lon.spotify.com (78.31.8.14)  13.463 ms  19.853 ms  13.876 ms

[Chukky]

I too am sure, that the lag issue has something to do with the time of day. hasn't been able to play streaming music since approximately 6 pm today. Paused and hasn't started again. Been that way for almost 4 hours now.

[Skelp]

The DNS fix seems to be working for me - was unable to play a track for more than 10 seconds without pausing, changed the DNS settings on my Macbook, restarted Spotify and the first track started immediately, now on track 6 with no pauses - this hasn't happened for a couple of weeks...

[markthedrummer0]

Hi

For me the DNS fix is, so far, working in both OSX and Windows 7. I used the followng insructions to alter DNS in windows 7 

(far easier in OSX of course ;0) )

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Change-TCP-IP-settings

ATB Mark 

[RM12]

I changed my DNS settings (I'm a Mac User) and so far,I'm on the 3rd song on my Spotify playlist and it has worked! Fingers Crossed. Though the Sonos Support person has kindly set up an appointment with me tomorrow to test things further. 

Thank you, mark0301.  Hope this works from now on. 

[Chukky]

Changed DNS settings (on my Mac), and so far I have had 3 drop outs. This doesn't work for me. Those of you who changed DNS settings and it helped: which settings are you using?

[Sir_Lurchalot]

@David - I have tried the Windows partition and have toggled the Hardware Acceleration.  No luck I'm afraid.

Have been using my iPad version of Spotify and am having the same problem there.  From reading all the posts, this problem is looking more and more like a server load issueas it seems to be happening during certain times of the day.

[RM12]

Hi Chukky,

I have a Mac and just followed the instructiosn on going into Preferences - Wifi settings and Advanced, and entered the two DNS sets of numbers. It didn't work at first, so I shut down Sonos and Restarted my Mac. It seemed fine, though, haven't put it to the test last night or today. 

Sonos Support is going to call me this afternoon so let's see if the problem is resolved. 

Good luck.

[SpiderByte]

I just wonder what Spotify is doing to modify the client so that it can support more ports and router and modem settings? Spotify is the only software I have that struggles with the online experience. It would be nice to know what is being done to fix this, and when we can expect a fix to be done so that more people can enjoy streaming music without stuttering. 

[RM12]

Agent_Mulder, I'm at a loss, having tried DNS setting change and even had Sonos on my laptop taking control and doing some magic. 

If you put a playlist 'off line' in Spotify, can I use it in Sonos? You mentioned you did this and it worked? My playlists are 'off line' I wonder if I should disable that. 

[mark0301]

At the risk of irritating everyone who is having problems with the DNS fix I cross-posted from Virgin's community pages, it continues to work perfectly for me. I'm experiencing no problems streaming at any time of day - in fact, I'm streaming an album right now (6.20pm) when traffic shaping or server load might be expected to be an issue. Spotify Support told me they were looking into the whole question of DNS fixing a few days ago.

Can we do a totally non-scientific and probably wholly-inconclusive hardware straw poll?

Of those on Virgin Media who have tried the DNS fix (with or without success), are you using a Hub or a Superhub? If you have a Superhub, are you using it in modem mode?

Personally, I'm still on the old Hub (from late 2010). And I don't have a Sonos system - I simply connect my MacBook Pro to my hi-fi via a USB DAC - so I can't comment on Sonos performance.

[Chukky]

mark0301.
I'm very happy on Your behalf. Great that it works for someone. Unfortunately my ISP isn't Virgin Media. I live in Denmark, my ISP is SydEnergi and they have done a lot to help me, but nothing worked. For a brief period I thought their effort did work, but no. Lag after lag, cutting outs and sometimes extreme slow download and loading of What's New. If I make a search, it often is possible for me to make a cup of coffee and drink it too, before the search result is shown. I do not have problems with any other streaming service from the internet. Has anyone experienced success by changing DNS server?

[Sasmir]

Cannot believe spotify has no response whatsoever to the numerous complaints on this community!!!!

[SpiderByte]

I'm sure they're working on a solution. Surely they can't ignore the community that makes music move forward! How much money do Spotify earn annually on millions of users contributing with €9.99 a month? I bet its enough to hire an engineer or two to fix this 😛