Multiple car infotainment systems not loading playlists

[MihailY]

We're getting reports from users that playlists aren’t loading on their car infotainment systems.

[Nebula1701]

GM's "player" is the built in infotainment system... we can't manually update that... that's GM via Dealership or OTA... That has not been updated during this outage. There are no available updates for the built in Spotify App either in GM's App store... The only reason this happened is some backend change on Spotify's side as far as I can reason. GM's newer systems work with Spotify because that app is on a newer Android Automotive OS and got updated to work with what ever change. 

[Dutch-Elvis]

So you are forced to buy a new player, just as you are forced `again and again to buy a new smartphone, tablet, iPad etc. These become outdated and unusable. The demands as well as the number of possibilities become impossible on outdated equipment.

[soonermoose]

I reached out to GM about this issue and the below was their response. Now we just have to hurry up and wait. 

"Thank you for reaching out. We’re aware of the issue with the app and our team is working hard to fix it as quickly as possible. At this time, we don’t have an exact timeline, but please know it’s a top priority. We really appreciate your patience and understanding — and as a thank you for bearing with us, we’ll be offering some compensation once the issue is resolved."

[Nebula1701]

Great, but why reach out to GM about an app they don't own? 

[soonermoose]

@Nebula1701 

Because it makes sense that it's their infotainment that isn't being updated. Also, what does it hurt to check all avenues. If it wasn't their issue, then I'm sure they would have or could have pointed me in the right direction, but instead they sounded like they are owning it and trying for a solution with the response I got. They own the infotainment and maybe they stopped supporting this app, not sure but as they say the squeaky wheel gets the grease. 

[jbird_justin]

I have an issue with the iOS Spotify app when connected to bluetooth on my 2016 Toyota Corolla. It will occasionally stop playing music briefly, then speed up to catch up to where it is supposed to be at. I have an iPhone SE 3. I had another iPhone SE 3 which had the same issue, I bought a new iPhone SE 3 and it still has the same issue. When I use a different app to play music such as YouTube, the issue does not happen. When I connect my phone to the car via USB and use the Spotify app, the issue does not happen. I am on iOS version 18.7.2, which is the latest version for iOS 18. I have also tried clearing the cache within the Spotify app. It used to work fine, only started happening a year or 2 ago but I still had an iPhone SE 3 before that and it was working fine. I had someone connect their iPhone 16 to my car via bluetooth and use Spotify and this issue did not happen.

[losthighway1]

Plan

Premium

Country

United States

Device

iPhone 17 Pro

Operating System

iOS 26.1

Car

2022 Honda Accord Sport

My Question or Issue

When I play music via my car's Bluetooth through the Spotify app (different songs from different albums), the album cover that appears on my car's infotainment screen is wrong. The album title and artwork for the first track I play are correct, then the issue begins when the next track starts. The album title changes normally but the artwork remains the same as the previous one. On the track after that, you see the title change normally but it has the artwork of the previous song, and so on. Sometimes it corrects itself, but after a couple minutes it goes back to messing up again.

This issue has been happening for the past few months. I even upgraded my phone in the meantime (iPhone 14 to 17 Pro) and no change. I tried all of the troubleshooting tips from Spotify like restarting and reinstalling the app, and still nothing. I know it's not an issue with the car's system, because the right album covers appear when I connect it via USB and use Spotify in Apple CarPlay mode.

Is there any way this bug can be fixed? I enjoy and am comfortable with Spotify, and would rather not switch to another streaming service.

Thank you in advance.

[ieleq]

Same here, since August - September. 

Spotify plays fine upon connecting to Android Auto, yet if another song from another playlist is chosen from the infotainment system ), doesn't play and spotify screen appears with only 'stop' button of currently playing song (not the selected one). From the point on, none of the selected songs from either of the playlist plays. Despite not playing, Spotify allows for scrolling and viewing playlists.

[Kingofthenorth906]

2020 gmc sierra