BMW ConnectedDrive not working

[user-removed]

Plan

Premium

Country

Belgium

Device

Nexus 6P

Operating System

(iOS 10, Android Oreo, Windows 10,etc.)

My Question or Issue

So I have a BWM 1 series for about a week now and was able to connect spotify without any problems until it stopped working once i got back in my car two days ago. It still shows up in my apps, and sometimes I can click it and continue to the next screen but it doesn't load any further than that. I also get a notification on my phone that it's connected.

The problem started when I used the spotify app on my computer and connected to Sonos. But I already changed it in the computer app so the music plays from my computer itself.

The funny thing is that it does play spotify from my phone connected via bluetooth, just not from the app that's in the list.

Any idea how I can fix this? Already tried to reinstall the app, open the spotify app through the connected drive app, and disconnect/reconnect my phone.

[groove2spotify]

So excited what the new connected app brings back to life 😄 But i can't test it till sunday.

[groove2spotify]

spotify 8.5.5.850

Connected 6.1.1.5396

no changes

[dan1431]

I am still not seeing the update to 6.1.1.5396, so I cannot speak to if it fixes the issues being experienced. 

[jolaca01]

Hi there, I am already using 6.1.1.5396 and I still get the ‘loading’ message when trying to control Spotify from the steering Wheel. So not working yet, No luck yet, and really unimpressive (both Spotify and bmw) customer service.

[chanmanx2k]

Does anyone have a tasker script that they find helps?  Could you pleas share it with us?

[user-removed]

Got the latest updates. Still got the same issues though. Inconsistent connection. Sometimes Spotify appears and others times not. Also sometimes when it connects/ appears in the media list, the screen is blank. Blank display on the dashboard, using the steering controls.

[andrey85s]

Still the same **bleep**. Plus I don't know why I don't have anymore on the left
menu the buttons to see the queue of the current playlist and the search.
Do you know how to get them back?

[chanmanx2k]

I have noticed in a previous post that if you get into your car more frequently, it seems to not work.  I can share this sentiment.  In the morning when I wake up, works great.  But when going shopping with short in between, seems to fail more frequently.  

[geddy007]

The most recent BMW Connected App in the US is 6.1.0.5272 - I think that version 6.1.1.5396 is for another region (maybe Europe).

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@dan1431 wrote:

I am still not seeing the update to 6.1.1.5396, so I cannot speak to if it fixes the issues being experienced. 

---

[chanmanx2k]

Noticed this new notification in the tray!  What is this? 

[nealesj]

So it seems Spotify took another step backwards (something they're good at)..... the last but one update now connects and starts playing, before cutting the connection completely before the end of the song.  

Spotify (Android) v8.5.4.770

BMW Connected v6.1.1.5396

However, I've noticed an update available today.... watch this space (after all, we're used to that because of the useless information that Spotify posts....)

[nealesj]

---

@chanmanx2k wrote:

I have noticed in a previous post that if you get into your car more frequently, it seems to not work.  I can share this sentiment.  In the morning when I wake up, works great.  But when going shopping with short in between, seems to fail more frequently.  

---

Yes I've experienced this too.

[jariolle]

I'm still about 100% sure this issue has not much to do with Spotify but BMW Connected app. As a workaround, force to stop the BMW Connected app, start it again before starting the car and it connects. This also explains why it connects better after longer break. Most likely Android kills unused app and that makes it work. All that regardless of Spotify version.

Steering wheel buttons won't work, but most likely that would require an update to car entertainment system, if not update to BMW Connected app again...

[marccarney]

I'm sure that I dont even need to open the BMW and Spotify apps on my phone
(android 9), the various updates seem to have allowed it to work (albeit
unreliably) without having to open them first.

[dan1431]

Finally had a time to test the latest version of BMW ConnectedDrive and Spotify and while it does seem to load faster and work more reliably, I am still getting the loading from using the scroll wheel on my sterring wheel.

[jolaca01]

A bit OT, but as I own my BMW only a couple of months I still didn't know this, maybe I'm the only one but just in case someone doesn't know it yet: holding the car's mic button for 1second instead of just pushing it, let's you connect with Google Assistant or Alexa, whatever you choose from your mobile the first time. This is great in my case to ask to open my garage door from the car  without having to yell 'ok Google!' to my mobile.😀

[nealesj]

Well it seems to be better since the last update.  I get the impression that there is not a lot of communication between Spotify and BMW development teams.... 

Dash/HUD still not working, displaying "Loading..." constantly.  I believe this is a BMW issue to resolve.  

I'm of the opinion that these problems are not real technical difficulties - the problem is more the relationship between Spotify and BMW.  

Spotify (Android) version 8.5.5.853

BMW Connected version 6.1.1.5396

[fritzkramer]

- Samsung Galaxy S7

- Android 8.0.0 (Security Patch 01. March 2019)

- Spotify 8.5.6.673

- BMW Connected 6.1.1.5396

- Bluetooth AVRCP-Version: AVRCP 1.6

still unreliable, sometimes it works, sometimes not.

Can't reproduce the behaviour.

The Spotify icon always shows up on the media-screen, but once I push the icon in most cases a blank screen appears with no options to steer Spotify.
In rare cases when it works NO additional action is required on the phone (e.g. manually start BMW connected of Spotify, etc).

[user-removed]

I get the same problem .Blank screen most of the time. It's got worse since update. Sometimes Spotify doesn't appear still, old problem. Hasn't ever worked properly since buying the car last July. Really diabolically poor, I don't care if Spotify or BMW issue, just fix it please! 

[gooselee1]

I'm still of the thought that this is primarily a Spotify issue, not BMW.

I'm continuing to run Spotify 8.4.77.779 on my LG G6. It can be a little slow to connect at times (20-30 seconds after car start to music playing), but connection works just fine in my BMW (iDrive 6) and 4Runner (aftermarket Kenwood; both native Spotify and Android Auto works fine). Also have had a rental car recently (MB GLK) with Android Auto and it worked fine via USB/AA.

My wife also has an LG G6, purchased at the same time as mine (one of those Verizon BOGO deals). She lets her Spotify auto-update and it basically doesn't work with anything. In the BMW on her driver profile the icon doesn't even appear half the time, and the other half the time selecting it just spins for a while. Zero success at actually getting music to play. In the 4Runner and MB rental, her phone goes into some weird USB connection loop when you plug it in for Android Auto, and in the 4Runner the native Spotify app on the head unit just shows as "device disconnected" even though her BT connection is stable enough to make phone calls and play any audio via generic BT streaming. I also have a ZenFone 3 that I use for int'l travel and keep all the apps auto-updated. For giggles I swapped SIMs one day to see if that phone would work better than the LGs, but I got the same results as my wife's G6.

TL;DR - For my experience, any Spotify update after 8.4.77.779 seems to be the common factor in things NOT working across multiple phones and vehicles. Since Spotify is the common problem, I'd say Spotify has the primary burden for a solution.