[iOS] High battery drain with Spotify on iPhones with iOS versions 14.8 and 15.0

[Mario]

Hey folks,

Thanks for your reports about battery drainage while updating from iOS 14.8 to .15 on both firmware versions during the past days.

We’ve passed your info on to the relevant team and we can confirm they are currently looking into it.

If you’re experiencing this issue, make sure to click +VOTE and Subscribe to the thread to be notified of any developments.

Aside from trying restarting and/or a clean reinstall of the app, it'd be great if you'd give disabling Background App Refresh a shot: this could be found under Settings -> General -> Background App Refresh.

Thanks! We’ll keep you posted and let you know as soon as we have any updates on this.

[Alexanderchu]

Hello! I’m pleased to report blocking Spotify from access to mobile data has stopped battery drain. Obviously this is not a viable long term solution, but at least it lets you keep using the service while the team works on a fix. I’m guessing it’ll drain again when I go back on WiFi and whatever background process is going on related to the internet  kicks in again, but I hope this buys everyone here a little time and saves on frustration in the meantime. 

[Knowledgeispowe]

Hello. I'm having this issue. Iphone 12 pro. IOS 14.8. I have the latest Spotiofy version installed, 8.6.621035.

I can't play any song for more than a couple minutes and then the app crashes. Has been happening for a couple days.

Also it's been draining my battery at an extreme rate the past couple days. Not trying to be sensationalist or dramatic, but if this cant get resolved quickly im gonna have to cancel my subscription and switch over to apple music. you app is unusable right now.

[Eseljunge]

Same here… if app is in background the app crash’s after few seconds… not usable anymore 😪

iPhone 11

iOS 15

Spotify 8.6.62.1035

[aceofspadesxxx]

I’ve posted here before on Monday with another user name ( @aceofspades001 ) on Sunday (19.09.2021). I also had reached out via Twitter to @SpotifyCares on Sunday (19.09.2021) and I’ve been in touch with them daily for troubleshooting, which is why I haven’t given feedback here so far.

All the mentioned issues still persist at my end, and here is what @SpotifyCares and I did together for troubleshooting:

logging out - restarting the device - logging back in
-> problem persists

clean reinstall

-> problem persists

check if there's enough storage space on my device
-> yes

checking if issue only happens with iphone or also with the desktop app
-> only with iPhone

check if I have the latest app version
-> yes

check if problem only happens when listening online or also offline
-> i only listen online since the app has always shown error notifications that I "cannot play offline downloaded playlists withouth net connection" - which is a completely different issue that I had given up on it already long ago)

check if this issue only happens when the app is the background with your screen locked? Or does this happen with the app open/in the foreground too?
-> only in the background

check if ihave the latest firmware on my device
-> i had been using iOS 14.8 and iOS 15 since Sept. 22nd, the issue with app crashing still persists

@SpotifyCares offered to clear my offline cache on their end
-> i agreed and did a clean reinstall -> the issue with app crashing still persists

check if the problem persists with WiFi or mobile net connection
-> both

check if Offline mode in my Spotify app settings is disabled
-> it's disabled

@SpotifyCares asked me to log in in their test account and to tell if I get the same issue while using their account.
-> that seemed to work

@SpotifyCares believes that the issue might be related to my account and offered to make a new account for me and to transfer my songs, playlists, podcasts subscriptions, followers and premium plan to the new account

-> I'm fine with it, if that would help further

after the transfer process to my new account was complete, the issue still persists with the app crashing after playing a title for not at least a minute
(which is why I'm logged here now from a different account)

check, if the Background App Refresh option on your device enabled
-> yes

disabling and re-enabling it
-> no difference

try log out of the app > toggle the Background app refresh option off > then toggle it back on > restart the device > then log back in
-> no difference

check if I'm using any battery saving or cache clearing apps on the device?
-> no

any firewalls and/or anti-virus apps on your device?
-> no

try clean reinstall again
-> didn't help, app still crashes

@SpotfyCares offers to pass this on to their Tech team to investigate backstage - this was on last Thursday (23.09.2021). I haven't heard anything since then anymore.

The whole problem started immediately with the last update (my current version 8.6.62.1035). Before that, the app was working perfectly fine and I got the update for this version before last weekend. In short: I wasn't able to play anything with Spotify on iPhone for a week now, and before I had mainly been using Spotify on my iPhone on the go (which is why using the desktop app is no solution for me).

As you can see, I have been troubleshooting the soul out of the app for a week now, even @SpotifyCares is at their wit's end. As a previous poster here already hinted: it is tough to pay premium membership for a service that isn't working, especially after all the troubleshooting. The colleagues of @SpotfyCares were very helpful and supportive with troubleshooting, and I did my part in troubleshooting, as I've listed up and now I'm done. To make paying premium users go further for any more troubleshooting (especially after the app crashing started right after the last update) would be also very tough to comprehend any further, at least for me, after this week with troubleshooting. At least my patience is at its end and I'll look into the app when the next update will be released and I'm happy to check further after that. I've already started using alternate streaming apps on my device now since Spotify has been out of order for a week now (and the other apps don't have any trouble on my device). It's not about trying to be sensationalist or dramatic, as a previous user has correctly mentioned here before, it's about drawing consequences and not wasting any further time if a service doesn't work.

Since the last update (when the constant crashes started) I noticed some minor changes in the app design, while the redesign has been rolling out bit by bit for quite a time now. I have previously mentioned in this forum related to other bugs, that I'd appreciate fixing bugs prior to coming up with new app designs... (my issue with the app demanding an online connection in order to play offline downloaded playlists have never been solved, and I gave up on it. I didn't pursue it any further since I have a big GB-volume-plan with my mobile provider). It amazes me everytime when a new design is rolled out, but bugs are keeping inherited or new ones come along with new designs. Spotify is fun and listening to music has always been my hobby, and with Spotify discovering new music has become an additional hobby and the developers have done a great job so far, which is why I'd love to stick to Spotify further. I can't speak for others but I'd be most happy with an old outdated design, but a working app, instead of spending days with troubleshooting as a paying user and looking out for alternate apps in order to listen to music. My point: hopefully the developers would rethink the priorities between designs and bugs someday... Because at my end as a user, watching update after update since years, I don't get the impression that existing bugs seem to get the same attention - no matter how often I've addressed them in the past - as new design conceptions.

Coming back to the constant app crashes currently: Let's face it: the last update of the app was a failure. Users of iPhones are complaining about the same issue here, on Twitter, on Reddit etc. since the last update.

Dear Team of Spotify: kindly fix the issue. I understand that apps can have bugs and I've learned to live with some of the bugs (like the offline issue), if I can adjust with that, but the app is completely useless and out of order now, and after a week of troubleshooting, there should be some other solutions in the pipeline. Please pass this over to the developers, whoever this may concern.

[Kibopoki]

Clean reinstall.  Delete and reinstall app. Turn off cell data and background refresh. 
adjusted as many other settings as possible to optimize battery life.  
spotify is still eating 30% of my battery every hour. It is also destroying my iphone11 “battery health”, i’m down to 84% from 96% 3 weeks ago. 
i’m deeting spotify permanently and going back to apple. Someone mentioned selling all their spotify shares.  Not a bad idea…

[Alazwegen]

I was using Spotify mainly for Podcast.

I switched to Apple Podcast App. No more overheating. No more battery drain...I will probably stick to this app.

[beee111]

Clean install did not fix issue, clearing cache did not fix issue, logging
in and out on all devices did not fix issue. Only experienced glitch after
most recent update.

[Leon-Prinz]

Same Issue.

I also asked my Parents and some Friends, all having this issue.

Tested on:

iPhone 7, 8+, XR, 11, 12 all on iOS 15

iPad Pro 2020 and 2021 with iPadOS 15

iPad Air 2 iPadOS 15

Spotify 8.6.62.1035

Date of Testing: 25th and 26th of September

Last time the Issue occurred: 26th September, 09:57 AM (CEST)

Edit: I had an iPhone 7 lying around running iOS 14.4 and also Spotify 8.6.62.1035. It works flawlessly there, so the issue has to do with iOS 15 I think or Spotify on iOS 15.

Edit2: The issue does not occur when connected via CarPlay or to a PS4 (8.0) 

Edit3: The issue does not occur when not connected to an Bluetooth device. The issue is reproducible when using an iPhone on iOS 15 connected to AirPods. Tested on the Devices listed above.

[Leon-Prinz]

I tried it. turning off the Background App refresh didn’t help.

[Alexanderchu]

Still silence from Spotify. I wonder if there’ll be greater urgency from the company if the tech media picked up on this story? It clearly affects a wide swathe of users…!