Cannot shuffle playlist when connected to bluetooth in my car

[herbert_jarrod]

Plan

Premium

Country

United States

Device

iPhone 13

Operating System

iOS 15.6.1

My Question or Issue

I purchased a new iPhone on May 12th this year, switching from Android. I've had an issue since then as far as I can tell.

I start my car, my phone connects to the bluetooth, and I pull up a playlist and hit the green Play/shuffle button. Spotify will choose a random song from the playlist and start there, but shuffle immediately turns off. The play queue will be in the same order as the playlist itself.

On the play screen, with the Play Queue open, I can press the shuffle button. It turns on for a second, shuffles the queue, and then turns itself back off, putting things back in order. I am unable to find any way to prevent this behavior while connected to my car.

I did discover today that it is specifically when connected to my car; I disconnected from the bluetooth and was able to shuffle without any problems. As soon as I reconnected, it went right back to shuffle being off.

Has anyone seen this behavior before, or know what might be going on? It's very frustrating not being able to listen to music the way that I want.

[MjBalls]

I just tried that and the issue persists.  It doesn't happen when I connect to my bluetooth ear buds.  But it does happens with both cars I've tried.  The 13' Nissan Altima and 14' Mazda CX-5 

[valeriya15]

Still not..

[Minozemt]

Hello,

I have recently got a new IPhone 14 pro with Spotify and have been trying to use it on my 2017 Mazda CX-5. Prior to this I had an iPhone 11 which had no issues shuffling Spotify in the same car. However with my new phone, Spotify will not shuffle any playlist/songs/library. It will not shuffle on my echo dot either. I have tried to clean delete and reinstall, as well as all the of the suggestions above without resolution. 

[AlejaR]

Hey folks, 

Thanks for your replies and for the info shared.

In this case, a video of the described behavior will help us a lot to better visualize what it's happening on your side. Would you mind trying to send one to us? Remember, you can attach the videos in your next reply in mp4 format, or you can also upload them to YouTube or Google drive and make them public, so we can visualize them. 

@MjBalls, is this happening if you open a different account in the affected device? It'd be awesome if you could check. You can ask for the account of a relative or a friend to open it in your device, and check.

@valeriya15, would you mind sending us the exact Spotify version you are currently running in the affected device?

keep us in the loop!

[MjBalls]

Here's a link to the video https://www.dropbox.com/s/pc0718719q0768u/Spotify%20Shuffle%20Does%20not%20work.mov?dl=0

I am on Version 8.7.94.551 and iOS 16.2

[AlejaR]

Hey there @MjBalls,

Thanks for your reply and for the info shared.

Unfortunately, we couldn't visualize the video you kindly sent us. That being said, remember, you can attach the videos in your next reply in mp4 format, or you can also upload them to YouTube or Google drive and make them public, so we can visualize them. That way we could access them.

On another note, and just to confirm, did you try to open a different account in the affected device to check if said behavior persists? It'd be awesome if you could check. You can ask for the account of a relative or a friend to open it in your device, and check.

We'll be on the lookout!

[MjBalls]

I uploaded it to YouTube Here's the link https://youtu.be/Mg3NQmIOiCU

I will try using a different account but I highly doubt that, that will make a difference as I am certainly not the only facing this issue...

[MjBalls]

FYI I just did the newest update (8.8.1.397) and the issue persists

[MjBalls]

I updated to the newest version (8.8.2.511) and I just tried using a new account and the issue persists.  

[Joan]

Hi there folks,

Thank you so much for your responses. We've forwarded all of this to our relevant teams, so that it can be investigated further. We'll keep you posted on any developments on the matter.

Cheers!

[GustavoMendoza]

I also experienced this same issue with my brand new iPhone 12 on my Mazda CX5 2014, I’m happy to know I’m not the only one with this issue. I have my iPhone with the latest release to this date as well as my iphone 16.3 os version. Please let us know if anything new comes up as I’m shocked I didn’t have this issue before with my android device.

[Beniushis]

Hey,

Same problem with Mazda 6 2014 and Iphone 14. But whats funny is that smart shuffle works without any problems while regular shuffle doesn't work. Also problems with freezed playtime.

I used to have an android phone and there wasn't any problems with shuffle and freezed playtime.

So I think it's problem between iOS and Mazda infotainment system and not between Spotify and iOS/Mazda.

[Stevilex9]

I also have this issue in my iPhone (latest version software) and my Mazda 3 2013…

[Jrholmes]

Just bought a 2013 CX-5 and I can’t shuffle Spotify. Anybody find the solution yet?

[MjBalls]

I don’t think it’s a Mazda thing.  I have an aftermarket kenwood deck and the shuffle is horrible.  I have a playlist of over 900 songs and I’ll hear the same songs in different sessions almost in the same sequence!  This happens with all my playlists.

[caiannello]

Plan

Premium

Country

USA

Device

Pixel 6a

Operating System

Android 14

My Question or Issue

Hi, I like to listen to my playlists, on shuffle, in my car via Bluetooth. In the past, pushing the "next track" button on my steering wheel would switch to a random track, as I would expect.

Lately when I push "next track", shuffle mode turns off (the green shuffle icon changes to gray)  and playback resumes with the next song on the playlist rather than a random one. I don't want dink with my phone while I'm driving to turn shuffle back on and skip to a random track. 

Is there anything I can do to go back to the old functionality?  Thanks!

[AlejaR]

Hey @caiannello,

Thanks for posting in the Community and welcome.

We hope you don't mind us moving your post since it fits better in this thread.

That being said, we'd suggest you make sure both your device and the app are up-to-date. If you haven't yet, you can perform a clean reinstall of the app on your mobile device to see if you notice changes in this behavior. By doing that, the app can be up-to-date and you can make sure the cache is not leading to this inconvenience. You can see the steps for a clean reinstall here.

If the above doesn't do the trick, would you mind letting us know if the Shuffle works fine on your phone when not connected to the car? Additionally, can you try another type of connection, like USB or AUX cable, and let us know if this behavior persists?

Lastly, would you mind sending us the exact Spotify version you're running on your mobile device?

Keep us in the loop!

[ninjaneer89]

Here's what I learned. Your car is overriding your phone's shuffle. You have to turn on shuffle through your car. For my Mazda6, I had to use the voice command (there is no setting through the media screen), say "shuffle", then "all". Your car will then shuffle the playlist for you. Then you can shuffle on and off through your phone as you please. 

[caiannello]

Hi AlejaR, thanks for the response.

I'm using the Android app v8.8.80.599.  When I use the app outside the car, hitting next while playing a shuffled playlist works as I would expect. (It does skip to a random track, and shuffle mode remains enabled.)   I'll try uninstalling/reinstalling the app and see if that works.

Thanks, Craig

[Stevilex9]

**bleep**, after all these years - this is it! This solved the problem. Thank you
SO MUCH!