Spotify skill for Alexa seems to be broken

[gtg465x]

Plan

Premium Duo

Country

USA

Device

Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Gen)

My Question or Issue

When I tell Alexa "Play X", it often responds with "Playing X from Spotify", but then nothing happens. This started happening last week after I bought two new Echo Dots. I previously had 3 Echo Dots and 2 Echo Show 5s and have been using Spotify with them for years with no real issues. I've tried re-enabling the Spotify skill and resetting the Echos, both of which seem to fix the issue for a short period of time, but then it starts happening again. I'm wondering if the Spotify skill has a programmed limit of 5 devices maximum connected to a single Spotify account, and when it detects more than that, playing will only work on 5 random devices and not on additional devices.

Do Spotify employees read these posts? If I can't get this resolved soon I'm going to have to switch to Apple Music or Amazon Music.

[Sally15]

I have 7 echo dots.  I was able to play spotify on all if them until 3 days ago. (Not at the same time of course). 

I contacted Amazon and told them Alexa recognizes Spotify but Spotify doesn't recognize my Alexa anymore. I was told it is a known issue with Spotify but there is no estimated time for it to be fixed. 

My kids and their playlists are not amused. 

[gtg465x]

Thanks for the update. So did Amazon say whether it was something they would have to fix or Spotify would have to fix? At least they acknowledged that there’s an issue. I contacted Spotify support and they were totally unhelpful. They told me that I had more Echo devices than they supported and to read the terms of service. I did and told them that there’s nothing in their terms of service or anywhere else on their website about this limitation, but they wouldn’t escalate me or report the issue to engineering, so I signed up for Apple Music 3 month free trials and am planning to switch. I may reconsider if Spotify fixes this issue quickly though.

[Sally15]

the only thing the lady would say is they know it is an issue. Wish I could be more help. Sure wish Spotify would respond...or just fix it. 

[kpadia1]

Plan

Free

Country

India

Device

Amazon Echo 3

My Question or Issue

I'm trying my echo 3 to play music with spotify which also my default music app on alexa. However, whenever I ask it to, "Play music" or "Play music on spotify", it responds with "Now playing on spotify". That's it. It doesn't actually start playing the music. It just announces it. Looking for some support here. 

[Mihail]

Hey there @kpadia1,

Thanks for searching for the answer you need here and welcome to the Community! 

We recommend that you first unpair your Spotify Account from the Alexa app. You should then perform a clean reinstall of both apps. This is to make sure that no corrupted files, that might be causing such issues, are left over.

The steps for a clean reinstall of the Spotify app can be found on this page. You can then link the Alexa app with your account by following the steps here.

That should do the trick. Keep us posted if you have any further questions.

Have an awesome day!

[kpadia1]

Hey!!
I just tried out your solution. Doesn’t work, it seems. Still the same. May be you should take this up with your development team. And from the reviews I see on the Alexa Skills store, I think it’s not me, it’s you 😉

[Mihail]

Hey @kpadia1,

Thanks for keeping us in the loop.

Could you please confirm if in the playback bar in the Spotify app is progressing or not when you give the voice command?

The make and model of the device you are using the Alexa app on would also help us out in identifying the cause of the issue. If you have the option, we recommend that you also try it out with another device and let us know if you could replicate the issue.

Keep us posted on how it goes.

[kpadia1]

Hey!

So, the progress bar on the spotify app on my iPhone 11 64GB (iOS13.6) does NOT 'progress' after I give the voice command to my Echo 3. It doesn't progress when I give the voice command to the Alexa app on my phone either. Also, even if I try to play it using the touch screen through the Alexa app, it doesn't seem to have any effect. 

Aditional Point

Bluetooth streaming seems to be working fine, which, I believe, is a totally different protocol. However, I thought I'd mention, just in case you were wondering.

[Mihail]

Hey @kpadia1,

Thanks for your reply and the troubleshooting you've done so far!

It points to that your voice commands are not actually reaching the Spotify app. In this case we recommend that you reach out to the Amazon help site. They'll be happy to make sure that the voice commands of your device are properly processed. 

Hope this helps. Let us know how you get on.

Have a great day!

[EthanS1]

Hi All, 

Spotify are currently aware and investigating this issue as you have mentioned & Amazon are investigating this, however right now there isn't a time frame of when this will be resolved however it's currently under investigation by the correct teams backstage.

Any further updates that come through regarding this issues will be shared here when they are made available.

Best,