Connect - Autoplay DISABLED, but still ACTIVE

[JalapenoMunich]

Plan

Premium

Country

Germany

Device

Samsung Galaxy A51, Windows 10 notebook

Operating System

Android 11, Windows 10

My Question or Issue

I'm listening on several Sonos speakers via Connect. Recently, Spotify has started playing other music once the album I listen to has finished - i.e. it's using the Autoplay feature. Problem is: Autoplay is DISABLED on all devices, but it's still being used. How do I fix this? (I've already reinstalled Spotify on all devices.)

[JalapenoMunich]

Hey folks,

Thanks for all your replies.

@Primordial_Radiance, we'd like to confirm, is your account on free service? If yes, keep in mind our free experience on mobile is different: music on-demand is a Premium feature, so it's expected for the app to add suggested tracks within the same album/playlist. This is not the same as Autoplay. You can read more about it here. Keep in mind, these recommendations are going to appear, even if you disable Autoplay.
 

If your account is Premium, it'd be really helpful if you sent us a video recording of what's happening. You can attach the video to your next reply in mp4 format, or you can also upload it to YouTube or Google Drive and make it public, so we can visualize it.

Keep us in the loop!

[JalapenoMunich]

As mentioned by @JalapenoMunich 

An update has been posted. An option to disable Autoplay on connected devices will soon be coming to the desktop app first and then the mobile app at a later time. The setting works globally so if you turn Autoplay off in the desktop app for connected devices, it will also be off in the mobile app when playing to connected devices.

More info here:

https://community.spotify.com/t5/Live-Ideas/AutoPlay-Option-to-toggle-Autoplay-on-off-across-all-devices/idc-p/5303176

[Godwhacker]

Can we please get an ETA for a fix, or a confirmation that you're forcing everyone to listen to unwanted music after their selection ends? I'd like to know before the next billing date please.

[beufordy3k]

Same problem streaming to Spotify App on XBOX which is connected to my living room speakers. Playlist or Album ends and rando sort-of related music is added and Spotify keeps playing ad nauseum.

[themichaek]

This autoplay behavior is definitely a feature regression - the hair-on-fire kind, where it reverses the established functionality in a way that surprises, inconveniences, or offends the user. For Spotify to break something, tell us to "stay tuned for updates" and then say nothing for almost two weeks is galling, to say the least.

I think Spotify is fundamentally a sound product, and I accept some of their mystifying decisions (um, podcasts) but force-feeding autoplay on connected speakers is a dealbreaker. I will be cancelling my subscription if this is not addressed.

[balikye]

Well well well. Looks like TIDAL has announced new subscription plans, specifically ones that emphasize proper royalties to the artists (of which Tidal has already been one of the leaders--I think only Napster pays more).

I use Spotify for convenience and sharing but I kind of hate using it every day since compensation for musicians is really important to me and this industry is very exploitative.

2022 might be the year I jump ship for good.

Just so y'all know 🙂

[Elfunesto]

So I am wondering how the meeting where they made the decision to block the control of the autofill went…

Boss: I wait for your ideas.

Guy: I have one…

Boss: Yes go head.

Guy: You know the autoplay feature.

Boss: Yes, sometimes useful, but usually I think it can be annoying. A chance we can select to use it or not.

Guy: Precisely, I propose to remove that option.

Boss: So there won’t be an autoplay feature anymore ?

Guy: No, the contrary it will be always on.

Boss: Why, people don’t use the possibility of blocking the autofill ?

Guy: No, they do use it.

Boss: Does it generate bugs ?

Guy: No, it works like a charm.

Boss: Is it costly ?

Guy: Not that I know.

Boss: Did anyone ever complained about it ?

Guy: Never heard of that.

Boss: So why do you want to remove that option.

Guy: Because we can.

Boss: Not sure about that. Anyone else with an idea ?

…

Boss: No one ? Ok, let’s do it then. Guy, thanks for the initiative. Tell me, what are your other projects ?

Guy: Oh, I am also the one who made the Android interface that contains only the random play button for albums. Nobody ever ask for that and it would be no big deal to have both a normal and a random play button, but where would be the fun ! 

[OutsidaII]

I think they might have fixed this today. I'm no longer having the issue.

[themichaek]

I'm no longer seeing the broken behavior (inescapable autoplay on connected speakers). Kudos to Spotify for fixing the problem, but their communication around the issue was really a disaster. Glad I don't have to cancel my Spotify subscription!

[bbd23]

well it was fixed for about an hour or two...now its back to a bunch of random songs I dont ever want to listen to!. funny it was working when they said spotify was down and having issues

[Adriano_Meis]

Hi, ... It also kinda works again for me on Android plus Chromecast(s) ... In my little experiments it seems like Spotify no longer adds random related content to the queue when I play my playlists and nevertheless it still populates the queue when I play an album as it is found on Spotify ( belonging or not to your library ) without further integration on a playlist. It's a shame to me as I'm more of a consumer of the good old Album format than I am of playlists. Moreover, as I listen to music every night to fall asleep, I no longer can simply play the album I fancy without having to worry about anything else; and here comes a very important point to me, whenever, by chance, error or as a result of the recent changes in the Spotify behaviour, I've fell asleep and the music has kept continuously playing in my room till I've woken up, I've found my brain hadn't rest at all and I've felt tired and irritated regardless of the hours I've spent supposedly sleeping. There's a workaround for the albums though; however it involves programming a timer ( no more than 60 minutes available ) in order to stop the queue from playing indefinitely. It's a bit of a hassle as you don't want to be overthinking when you finally feel like falling asleep .... Anyways it seems there's been some concessions from the Spotify team in the last Android update ... Cheers ...

[themichaek]

Ok, so it's back to broken again. Getting frustrated.

[Soundbytz]

This is absolutely ridiculous. Some coder broke the function; it isn't a feature - that's a LAME excuse for sloppy work. Autoplay OFF should be Autoplay OFF - not dependent on where the music is coming out of! There is no way that was intentional. So fix the bug and let people turn Autoplay OFF on Spotify!

This kind of sloppy work followed by stupid excuses makes me reconsider my subscription. There are so many issues with Spotify (sorting, information on the music and artists, categorization, UI and UX issues) that it makes me wonder if people who even care about music and the listening experience are avoided when hiring. This service and apps should be light-years better than it is now after so many years and millions of subscribers.
FIX AUTOPLAY.

[antipopmonkey]

This is not fixed in the latest update (iPhone, Spotify Connect on KEF speakers). Tested this morning and after the album there were more songs when playing over Connect but not when playing from the phone. 

[gomezbiased]

Sooooo, won't they ever fix this (clearly) bug? If that's the case I'm considering moving to Apple Music even if I have to pay, they even have a bigger catalog for the same price anyways...

[osloenhiver]

Just decided to try Apple Music's free 3 months trial. If Spotify doesn't fix the problem by the end of the trial, I'm transferring to Apple Music.

I would encourage anyone here to do the same ; I finally feel sane again (at least for now).

Hopefully that will give Spotify enough time to fix the problem so I don't need to transfer all of my library, but I'll start looking into this a bit before the end of the trial if I need to.

[otakakot]

Please fix this, this is absolutely horrible, I used to use spotify to go to sleep, now it’s almost impossible.

[fixionauta]

Certainly an excellent chance to try the 3 month trial (and HD tracks) with Amazon Music, thanks Spotify!

[0b5cur1ty]

Over the years I have been a customer, I have gone from loving to actively hating the Spotify app. The brilliance of Spotify connect (and lack of good alternative with my HEOS stereo) has kept me coming back despite the crappy interface and obsession with shuffle, playlists and podcasts, but this latest user-hostile change to deliberately ignore a setting the customer has consciously disabled and play music we don't want to hear may be the straw that breaks this particular camel's back.

[Va_Sa]

Solve this problem. I listen to album, not "playlist". I hate to have to immediately listen to something I haven't chosen at the end of the album I listened to. I don't want you to decide what I have to listen!

[phubretz]

I thought I'd check back in on this thread to see if there had been any progress but apparently not, so I cut the cord today. I'm going to give Deezer and Tidal a try and see which one I prefer. I've included the text of my feedback below if anyone wants to use it as a template:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am cancelling my Premium account specifically in response to the introduction of compulsory autoplay on connected devices and Spotify's apparent indifference to the reduction in quality this represents for a customer. As a person who 1) primarily listens to albums and 2) uses music to help fall asleep, defaulting to endless play is an unacceptable annoyance. That Spotify has gone a step further and removed the customer's ability to disable this is baffling and insulting.

The thread on the community message board reacting to this change is on its twelfth page at the time of writing, and Twitter is also flooded with negative reactions. Had Spotify responded promptly to this feedback and rolled back the change with an explanation and an apology then the relationship would have been sustainable. As it transpired, what Spotify has actually done is the following:

1) Introduced a change without notice that is self-evidently a reduction of service
2) In its limited communications on the topic attempted to frame this as a "new feature" (i.e. done for the customers benefit)
3) Attached conditions to remedying the situation (in the form of a ludicrous popularity contest: "vote for this idea!!!1!")
4) Pre-emptively demanded civility from people who would justifiably be furious at the company's actions
5) Exploited free labour from its own customers to perform the market research and quality assurance that should obviously have been completed before the update was released.

To put it bluntly, this is not the way a business treats its customers. Unless and until there is a clear public statement confirming the restoration of a fundamental feature of the music listening experience, with an apology, I will not be a paying customer of Spotify.

[Va_Sa]

It's incredible disrespectful and annoying. I think I'll do the same. For the same price (at least here in Italy) Tidal quality audio is a lot better (lossless high fidelity audio vs MP3 320 Kbps). My only preoccupation is that they probably have less music available).