Transitions don't play correctly

[Vasil]

Hey folks,

We've been getting reports that the transitions between songs are not being timed correctly the first time you start a playlist. When restarted, the transitions work as expected. 

This is being looked into & we'll keep you posted.

[Sweet5]

On my Samsung S23 Ultra, I've experienced misaligned transitions between songs irrespective of BPM (even if they are the same). The first transition of my playlist between two same-BPM songs always seems to play incorrectly.

I think the key is that it works fine when I have the app open and focused and the screen is on, but once running in the background or with the screen off, transitions start to fail.

I've run some tests playing the full first song of the playlist until the first transition:

• S23 Ultra with Screen on and Spotify app open: The first transition worked as expected.
• S23 Ultra with Screen off: the first transition was mostly missed this time, as if the app wasn't ready to transition, and the second song cut in very late.
• Windows 11 PC with Spotify window maximised and focused: The first transition worked as expected.
• Windows 11 PC with Spotify minimised: Again, the first transition was missed/late and cut to the second song.

Whatever Android/Windows are doing to make the apps more efficient when running in the background must be affecting these apps' ability to synchronise the 2 songs.

I generally use my phone in power saving mode, but still encounter the same issue with power saving mode off.

I found a setting on my phone under Apps > Spotify > Usage > Battery, and Changing from Optimised to Unrestricted seems to help a little bit, but I'm still getting the same problem quite often.

I hope this information is useful to someone who is close enough to work on the problem!

My S23 is on Android 15 and One UI 7.0. I have Spotify version 9.0.86.1358
My Windows PC is on Windows 11 Home version 24H2 (OS Build 26100.6584)

[Billy-J]

Hey @Sweet5, thanks for sharing your insights about this! 

@b7lmf8m264mqrsh6kpgm, @4udf7_v-e7ztb, @user26972912 — Can you let me know if you notice the app is having issues while playing content in the background? 

Also, does this happen when Shuffle/Smart Shuffle is on, or if you’re listening over Connect, or while in a Jam? It’d also be good to know if you’re manually mixing the songs in your playlists.

As this will help me look into it, can you please provide in your reply:

• The exact Spotify version and the make/model and OS of the affected devices.

Keep me posted! 

[andre_silveira07]

Plan

Premium

Country

Brazil

Device

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

Operating System

Android 16, OneUI 8

My Question or Issue

I'm having a problem with mixed playlists on Android. The first few songs crossfade perfectly, but after a while, the transitions start getting off-sync, or they stop happening entirely (the song just ends and the next one starts).

The only way I've found to fix it is to tap on the song's progress bar at its current position. This seems to force it to "resync" for the next transition. Has anyone else experienced this? It seems like a bug in the automix feature.

[OscarDC]

Hey @andre_silveira07,

Thank you for reaching out to the Community.

To start investigating this behavior, we'd recommend performing a clean reinstall of the app by following the steps in this article. This step is frequently ignored, yet it offers more depth than a regular one and can assist in eliminating any cache that may be causing issues.

Also, would you mind confirming if you're using the Auto transition feature or if you're using manual transitions?

If the issue persists, could you record a short video where we can take a better look? You can attach it to your next response by using the Insert Video option in the post editor. You can also upload it to YouTube or Google Drive and share the link with us (make sure the video has the permissions for anyone to watch it).

We'll be on the lookout.

[youzi]

Hello there! I am also currently experiencing the same issue as everyone. Specifically what 
user26972912 had mentioned. I noticed that Tracks A - C has no problem in transitioning at all, but when it came to C -> D, that’s when the beats started to misalign, either delayed or one of the transition settings not working. For example, I noticed that it happens all the time if I play these songs in order: 
A: Lady Gaga - Lovegame ->

B: Lady Gaga - Babylon ->

C: Lady Gaga - Garden of Eden

These songs would have no problems in transitioning until:

C: Lady Gaga - Garden of Eden ->

D - Lady Gaga - Donatella

That’s when I noticed the transitions not working properly. Could it be one of the mix settings (i.e. Volume/EQ/Effects) not incorporating properly when there is more than 3 songs in a playlist?

Additional Info:

Plan

Premium

Country

Singapore

Device

iPhone 15 Pro

Operating System

iOS 26.0.1

Spotify Version

9.0.88.1402
Mix Settings

Lady Gaga - Garden of Eden
125 BPM - 3B
Fade in Cut out - Centre Bass Swap - Low-pass in high-pass out - 8 bars

Donatella
125 BPM - 8A

[Billy-J]

Hey folks,

Thanks for the reports. I have forwarded it to the right teams at Spotify and they are looking into it. However, I can’t provide an ETA for when this will be resolved. The best way to avoid missing out on the fix is by ensuring your app is up to date. 

Hope this gets fixed soon! 

[J0siah]

I hit shuffle with the mix feature and sometimes I get this echoey noise and the transition isn't smooth at all. Sounds like the AI just throws random mixes together. Apple music you can hit shuffle and it matches bpm and makes it smooth transition with no fish bowl sounding effect. Very disappointed in the new feature

[4udf7_v-e7ztb]

This is still happening.

Still only happens on the first play of a Playlist, and for me is usually the transition between the first and second song. It could potentially also be certain songs as another person noted. 

On the second play through, it plays fine. 

[IstvanF]

I second Andre's question. I'm having the same issue. With mixed playlists with custom transitions. After a few songs, the transitions go out of sync (e.g. completely out of sync, the tempos don't match or sometimes the song just cuts and starts the next one without transition). 

Tapping the progress bar kinds resets the issue but just for a while. 

I'll try the clean reinstall anyway to see if helps 

[johnpipalacio]

Plan

Premium

Country

Colombia

Device

Samsung Galaxy A35

Operating System

Android 

My Question or Issue

Can please someone explain me what should i do to solve this: I got some mixed playlist, i set customized mix, but when i play them all sound like messed up, like i didn't set up. Sometimes works well, but most of the times goes wrong. Apreciate your comments and suggestions.