Getting Access Error when playing Spotify Connect on Yamaha AV receiver

[jonasnilsson]

I having problems when playing Spotify Connect on my Yamaha AV receiver (RX-A1030).

It starts playing (from iPad and iPhone) as supposed. But after about 30-60 seconds it stops playing and the message "Access Error" shows in the receivers display. Then I must pause and start play again. Then it will play for about 5 seconds. I have had this problem since the first day the new firmware was released.

I have tried every solution with no luck. I have been in contact with the Yamaha store and they advised me to get in contact with the Spotify helpdesk.

I can however play music from Spotify by using Airplay without any problem. But the real reason I bought this receiver was to achieve the Connect function.

Appreciate  all help to solve this problem.

Thanks.

[tyron]

I am also having this problem.

iOS with latest Spotify App (2.2.0.2464), Yamaha RX-V675 with latest firmware (1.60).

[lesbul]

AirPlay is also not stable anymore so the only reliable connection with RX Yamaha is unfortunatly USB input and cable which is radiculous these days and I really hope Yamaha will do samthing with this very soon.

Remote connection is very sensitive and simply hanging once you change the track or anything else.

[Merik]

Hey there @tyron and @lesbul!

This may seem like a random question, but do you guys have a computer running BitTorrent Sync?

[tyron]

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@Merik wrote:

Hey there @tyron and @lesbul!

This may seem like a random question, but do you guys have a computer running BitTorrent Sync?

---

Not for me. Network-wise, I have Airplay going on (Apple TV + Airport router) DLNA and UPnP communication.

[lesbul]

Not at all in my case as well. In most cases only one iPad is connected to network.

[flodin]

I am also seeing this problem with an R-N500 yamaha receiver.

I have a hunch that this could have something to do with some non-spotify server being used for communication with the receiver. Net radio uses yradio.vtuner.com for configuring available channels etc, and that site is hideously slow. Getting the list of favorite radio channels can take more than a minute. Perhaps the situation is similar with spotify: some additional server being used and having severe throughput issues, leading to timeouts. Switching songs with the spotify player can take 10-15 seconds, whereas changing volume via the yamaha app is instantaneous. It smells to me as if one is using direct peer-to-peer communication with the receiver and the other is not.

[kelio]

Hey guys, please ensure these steps are fullfilled:

- Ensure you have installed firmware v1.26

- Disable DHCP in the receiver. Power off, back on, and enable it again

Succesfully worked for me.

I hope this helps.

[kelio]

Sorry, forgot to mention v1.26 is for Yamaha RX-V475. This fw version specifically has got enhancements for audio streaming.

[kelio]

My guess is that the network software layer that the yamaha devices run needs some serious enhancements. Therefore, the receiver sometimes just stops fully or partially transmitting properly. I founf that tryin to change the ip address resulted in weird data in the address fields, and, while the receiver could be pinged from other deives in the network, it could not reach the internet though. Which obviously makes spotify a nightmare to reach the device

[lesbul]

I made a test by disconnecting Yamaha and iPad from home network and connect it to wifi spot shared from my mobile phone and everything is working stable. This gives me indication that something must be wrong with home network like disabled some protocols in the wifi router that Yamaha is using, some QoS parameters or anything else I don't know yet.

[kelio]

I doubt this could be a lan related issue, as only yamaha receiver users
are suffering it as far as i know. It aims to the receivers quite clearly.

[Phouk]

The problem seems to me to be Yamaha-specific and server-load-related.

I'm getting the "Access Error" on weekends and workday evenings, when presumably a lot of people are listening to music. On workday mornings and early afternoons everything is working fine. This pattern has been the same for weeks now.

The problem appears as follows:
- I switch my Yamaha MCR-N560D off and on, with Spotify selected as input method.
- On the Yamaha, I get the messages "Initializing" and then "Connected".
- In the Spotify app on my iPad, Android phone or notebook, I see the Spotify Connect icon in white (circled speaker).
- I click the Spotify Connect icon. I see my Yamaha device. I click it.
- The Yamaha flashes the message "Access Error".
- On the Spotify app, the Spotify Connect icon is circled, white, with flashing waves, i.e. showing it's trying to connect. It stays like this, i.e. does not turn green, and no connection occurs, even after some time. No music playing either, of course.
- If I click the icon again, the Yamaha device is no longer in the list of devices that can be connected. If I close the selection of connectable devices, the loudspeaker icon is no longer circled.

At other times, presumably low-load times, everything works as expected.

It's not a problem with Spotify itself, since the Spotify app itself works fine at all times on my iPad, Android phone and notebook, even when I swith to high bitrates ("Extreme").

The problem is not related to the Spotify app on the control device, as I can reproduce it with iPad, Android phone and notebook.

It's not a problem with the Yamaha not having internet access either. Internet radio on the Yamaha works fine at all times (although the Yamaha directory server is annoyingly slow). I have a stable, high-speed DSL connection. The Yamaha is directly connected to the WLAN router via LAN cable, no fancy network setup.

Based on the time pattern of the problem, I assume that to connect the control app to the Yamaha device, access to some Yamaha- or Spotify-Connect-related server is necessary (?), and that server has load-related problems. It would be great if you could elucidate.

It would be even greater, of course, if you could confirm that the problem is understood and actively being worked on.

[Phouk]

P.S.: I live in Germany, so the times mentioned (morning, afternoon etc.) relate to European timezones.

I have the latest versions of the Spotify app on all three devices, and on the Yamaha, the latest firmware version.

[Phouk]

P.P.S: If and when I get a connection (just as right now, because it's a workday morning here), the music will stream just fine. But I know that later in the day, if I try again, I will not be able to get that initial connection anymore. This pattern has been repeating itself for weeks now.

[lesbul]

The problem you've described is pretty the same in my case but I ussually not using Spotify in the mornings so I experiance the problem every time I use it. Let me test it tomorrow morning and confirm your pattern.

[lesbul]

Hello, I did the test today morning with Spotify running on the Laptop and Yamaha RX-V577 and I confirm what has written Phouk, Connect was working stable at least for 30 min (the time I was able to test it) which is normally not the case in the evenings.

Now the question is on which side is this bottleneck and how we can overcome this? 

[Phouk]

The problem persists. Spotify support says I should contact the Yamaha support (after first telling me my device wasn't supported, and then finding out they were working from outdated information). The Yamaha support doesn't answer. No helpful reaction on this forum so far either.

Is the customer supposed to work out technical problems that are between the two business partners Spotify and Yamaha?

I'm getting more and more frustrated with both of them...

[lesbul]

I'll do the same and contact Yamaha support in my country.

Today morning I failed with Spotify Connect on my Yamaha as it always happen every evening.

Spotify was the main reason I have replaced my old amp. I'm also diapointed.

[Jelfstrom]

Hi,

Got the same issue. I have a Yamaha RX-A2030 that has been working fine. The fw in the receiver was last updated in November and I have made no changes whatsoever other than updating Spotify on the various devices I own. I get the list of Spotify Connect devices available, click the receiver and you get that beaming speaker until it stops and checking the list again the receiver is gone. After a short while it pops up again.

This is something that happened the last couple of weeks.

To me this clearly hints at some recent update on the Spotify side. My network set-up as well as fw version in the receiver has not changed at all, the only thing different is updated Spotify Clients.

How support can blame Yamaha is a mystery. Even if this is a hidden flaw in the Spotify Connect implementation made by Yamaha that hasn't surfaced until now they must have passed some quality assurance demanded by Spotify earlier.

Hopefully someone from Spotify is checking this forum as it is quite annoying to have a working feature wrecked by an update on their side.

/Jan

[Phouk]

Same pattern for me again today: Worked in the morning (8:30 a.m.), doesn't work now (1:40 p.m.).

At least I'm not alone. Hope we can get some attention...

Cheers,

  Phouk