Windows Phone 8 - music cutting out when offline.

[bambionassis]

I hope someone can help me.  I just got the Windows Lumia 535 and whenever I'm out and about listening to my downloaded playlists on Spotify, the music cuts out with headphones (but seems to play fine without headphones).  It's an issue with volume, I think, as the song doesn't pause, the volume just cuts out for a few seconds.  I have tried using different headphones with the phone but this hasn't helped. Has anyone else had a similar problem?  This doesn't happen when I'm listening in the house with headphones (even if I'm not connected to WiFi.  Weird).

[xunonem]

Spotify requires a constant connection.It could be an issue with differing signal strength as you move around, not being enough to keep up with what is streaming. Is your phone ok outside browsing webpages? If so, good, but for a better comparison,try lowering the quality of the music if possible on spotify to see if that makes a difference. If it works then it could just be a signal not of a consistent strength. Does it cut out outside on other good quality radio websites such as last fm, radiofeeds, or (a good test if you have enough net allowance) youtube 480p - 720p medium to high quality videos with the headphones outside?If not, then it may be a Spotify problem. I believe spotify encrypts all loaded music data, so the play bar continuing instead of pausing may not indicate anything relating to the program or your signal.

As cutting out can be related to lack of ram memory or other programs hogging your internet bandwidth, make sure no other apps set to automatically run or update in the background when you switch to your regular internet, not on wifi. Many phone apps immediately update when they find an internet signal, which can be a pain and take a while to finish, depending on the amount of apps you have installed. Game apps can take a long time in updating once connected to the net. 

 Make sure no programs that you don't need running are on when you use spotify or go online. Switch your phone off, turn on, switch to your non-wifi net, and test. Do not run any other apps. 

To check your internet settings (on O2 in the UK as an example), I think you text ACTIVE to 2020, save and reboot. That would give you the set up for the internet with O2. Most major phone companies will have something similar for a contract or not if you check their forums. Your phone is likely to have the correct settings installed already, but it might be worth a try. Also post in the Nokia forums, you're likely to find someone with a solution if it's a headphone or phone internet issue. I am googling however and finding the same Spotify problem with many phones right up to the iphone, and it turns up to often be just a common signal or bandwidth problem. 

To make sure there is no conflict, as a last resort you could turn unnecessary modes related to the internet or not off, or anything else to test, bluetooth, screen dimming, screensavers, etc.  If my phone was unlocked and only Spotify had the issue, then I would end up trying another sim or memory card, making sure all apps, files and address book were backed up first, but I don't think you have to go that far.

[bambionassis]

Hey, thanks for your reply!

The one thing that I don't get is that when I had an iPhone 5, I didn't have a SIM in that either (as I had just moved to France so didn't bother with a SIM for ages) and streaming was fine when I wasn't connected to WiFi and I was out with my phone... but it's not the case with my Lumia 535. I don't have a SIM in that either yet as I just bough the phone...

I also don't have a memory card for it yet though so perhaps that's the issue?

[xunonem]

Your phone should have sufficient built in memory to cope with Spotify already - have you tried other headphones? Does it cut out only at the end of a song, or all the time? I know headphones can work as an antenna for FM radio,but I can't see any kind of conflict happening with that.

Others suggest installing spotify again (remember your password!) , another say they deleted their large playlists and it solved the problem. They thought one playlist entry might be causing the cutting out, but it didn't solve it for for everybody:-

https://community.spotify.com/t5/Help-Other-Partner-Devices/WP-8-1-Music-stops-playing-suddenly/td-p...

According to one user, this is Spotify's official help if you email them:-

"Have you tried a clean reinstall?
1. Delete the Spotify application
2. Restart your iPod or Phone
3. Install Spotify again from the AppStore "

"There are two possible solutions to try if your playback is stopping after every few songs. They are both reasonably quick and easy. So if one does not work, give the other a go.

1. Restart the device (iPhone, Mobile)
2. Switch to a different streaming quality :-
Spotify app » Settings » Stream

If it is set to "High quality", try out "Low bandwidth" (or the other way around).

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To be honest, it sounds like the Spotify program is the real problem, there are just too many complaints and very little feedback from any Spotify administration 😞 you could think back to when the problem started happening. Did it start just after you changed a phone setting, or just after you installed another unrelated app? Perhaps there is a conflict, or perhaps both are using up your data at the same time. You could try uninstalling the app you think might be causing the problem.

Also make sure your phone is not set to automatically switch to any 'low power mode' or battery saver. That may be interrupting the signal. Is your phone set to go into low power mode and switch off its display etc when you don't touch it? If you have a similar mode on, try switching it off and trying the phone again outside with Spotify to see if that makes a difference.

[bambionassis]

Thank you for replying again! I've only recently had the phone so the problem was there from the beginning. Strangely, I can listen to music when I'm on the metro (and underground) but when I'm above ground in the city (with phone on airplane mode, no SIM card, wifi off) it cuts out every four seconds throughout a song (the song pauses or the volume cuts out). But it seems to work when I'm on the Metro... I've tried taking the battery out to do a hard reset (whilst I'm outside), and I've tried it on low power mode but I still have the same issue 😞 will try to reinstall and see if that helps when I'm out later. Thank you again! Strange how it works on the metro but not above ground...