Android Auto: Sound stops playing after awhile

[mkygod]

Device:

Nexus 6P and 2016 Volkswagen GTI

Operating System Version:

Android 6.0.1 and Android Auto 1.5.100945

Spotify Version:

 v4.7.0.878  (Paid subscription)

Description:

During some song skips or when the next song starts, there is no sound despite the player saying that it is playing and the progress bar is moving. 

To reproduce:

1. Plug phone into the car via USB to start Android Auto automatically.
2. Play a Radio channel or play from a playlist
3. You can either the let the songs play on its own or keep skipping songs. Eventually, you will reach a track where there is no sound, despite it showing that it is playing. This is random. Sometimes it could happen on the 2nd song; sometimes it could be the 10th song.
4. From here on out, any song that you skip to or skip back to will have no sound despite it showing that it is playing.
5. If left playing this way on its own, Android Auto will eventually disconnect or the infotainment system will restart. This will usually happen by the time the song ends.

Workaround:

 1. Unplug the phone and then plug back in to restart Android Auto.

2. Previously, i was able to switch to a different app like Google play music, play a song, and then skip back to Spotify and it would bring back the sound. This worked about 1-2 months ago, but no longer works now.

Additional information:

 This issue does not happen with any other music app that i've ised, including Google Play Music and Amazon Prime music which leads me to believe that it is the Spotify app. This happen not only for streamed songs, but it also happens with songs that are cached/available offline.

[glennsb100]

Exact same problem ie no audio at typically each track change, yet the scroll and graphics update to the next track/ normal. It seems like the audio just 'dies' between tracks, necessitating a manual pause and resume reboot each time.........RIDICULOUS!!!!!! Dear Spotify....fix this darn problem, now!!!

[mkygod]

Problem still persists for me. There has been several Spotify and Android Auto app updates since I've posted this issue, none of which have improved this issue.  Not sure why this is taking so long to fix. No other Android Auto audio app i've used has had any similar issues. I've never had Google Play music or Amazon Prime music just suddenly stop playing for no apparent reason. 

I should also note that i've never had an audio problem with the Spotify app OUTSIDE of Android Auto.

[Boris999]

well, it is "under investigation" for nearly 2 months now. It is 100% reproducible bug. Why it takes so long ? Can you at very least give us ETA for fix ? 

[Steph_B]

Hey guys!

Is this issue still going on for you?

Keep us posted. 

[mkygod]

Yes, the issue is still ongoing even the latest update. I've experienced it several times this week almost everytime i've tried to use it.

Because of this, I've been mostly using the Spotify app via bluetooth audio in my car instead of using it through Android Auto. It works perfectly fine this way, but I would really prefer using Android Auto.

[Boris999]

yes, issue still persists. 

[SergioDavid]

Thanks for letting us know.

We've passed this on to our tech folks so they can get a look. 

[Steph_B]

Hey guys!

Can you let us know if this is still going on?

Keep us posted.

[mkygod]

Yes, this issue is still going on but I haven't tried the new update which just came out today.

[Steph_B]

@mkygod Hey!

Let us know if updating the app makes any difference.