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[Android 11] Playback keeps pausing/skipping when screen is off on Android 11

Plan

Premium

Country

United States

Device

Google Pixel 4a

Operating System

Android 11

 

My Question or Issue

Since updating to Android 11 yesterday, Spotify audio playback stutters horribly when the device display is locked. Restarts/reinstalls do not fix the issue.

Hey everyone,

 

We appreciate your reporting this and providing us with the relevant info.

 

Based on the reports we have received and the investigation conducted, it seems like this is affecting many other apps besides Spotify. 

 

From the information we were able to gather, since many other apps are not behaving as expected, this is most likely an issue outside of our control. We suggest to install new Android updates as soon as they become available for the newest fixes to your OS.

 

Please note, that this issue is specifically for Android 11 and has been investigated by our teams as such. For anyone experiencing similar symptoms on other OS versions, it's best to post in a separate thread so we can look into what's happening separately. We'd also recommend checking this support site article in case that's what you're experiencing.

 

For more info about what the different Ongoing Issues statuses mean, check this Spotify Answer.

 

Thank you!

Comments
z00nk
I encountered this issue as well, happens to other music app as well. Adding the apps to not optimized list in battery settings does not resolve it.
onek24
Bump
Same issue here aswell
nikuri

I came up with a dumb hack to fix this while on Android 11 -- set up standby wallpaper while charging in system settings so that when you leave your phone plugged in (in the car) it shows a clock screensaver and thus the screen never fully turns off

 

Wasn't a real solution though so I downgraded to Android 10 using https://flash.android.com/ and you can jump directly to the last version of Android 10 using https://flash.android.com/build/6598198?target=sunfish-user&signed. The process will wipe your phone so back things up but this bug drove me so up the walls it was worth it.

Sephirio

Hi,

since I got Android 11 on my Pixel 3a, Spotify tends to interrupt the streaming. As long as the screen is on, it works smoothly. If it is off, it goes on smoothly as long as the buffer is still full (I guess), but then the dropouts come quickly, sometimes several seconds long.

 

It's not the Internet connection, energy saving mode is not on as well. I installed Spotify again, that didn't help. The skipping is almost as bad when the smartphone is connected to power, but a bit better.

 

What could I do?

Sephirio

The problem does not exist when the pixel 3 is connected to my Bluetooth headphones. What can I do?

burnquebec

Same issue on pixel 4a with Android 11

Sephirio

This needs a quick fix. The major use case for my Spotify-Account is not working right now.

Gosling

is it only spotify or other audio playback software?

 

if it's fine with bluetooth headphones it points to a device issue rather than a spotify issue

Sephirio

I just tried it with a different app in lockscreen and it does not skip.

Tarius

Have you received any love with this issue? I'm having the same issues on my Pixel 3a. It has basically made listening to Spotify in useable.