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

[grgbrn]

This is insane. Stop trying to pass this off as a "feature". I don't want your autoplay, don't force me to use it. 

[copypaper]

What an annoying bug. We have Sonos speakers, and I’ll be using AirPlay 2 until this is resolved.

[antipopmonkey]

Problem with AirPlay is that it reduces quality and ties up the device you are streaming from. If Spotify doesn’t fix this quickly and launches their lossless streaming soon I will be moving to Tidal. 

[copypaper]

Yes antipopmonkey, I completely agree, this is annoying. I had a working great setup that utilized Spotify connect before this, and now it’s a “feature” we need to request to get that back. Also, AirPlay 2 is not an option for people with Android devices or speakers that only support Spotify connect…

[mr_sok]

The fact this has been removed intentionally is really disappointing. As I primarily use connected speaker to listen, looks like I'll have to look at alternative services that let me listen to music the way I want to.

[lyrajayne]

This is unbelievably frustrating - my ASMR sleep Playlist now has chirpy morning yoga added to the end of the Playlist that woke me up every 45 minutes last night.  I had no idea this bug existed, so I spent a frustrating and bleary five minutes each time trying to figure out why my autoplay was turning back on.  Insane and ridiculous.  I'm perfectly willing to give up my spotify family plan if it's just going to work like Pandora anyway. 

[JalapenoMunich]

theverge.com has picked up on this:

https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/10/22774897/spotify-connect-autoplay-default-speaker-music-streamin...

[Godwhacker]

Hey, maybe now they're getting bad press they'll actually do something?

@moderators can we at least get an update? I am banging my head against the wall here. If we don't get an ETA within the next week I'm off to Apple Music and not coming back

[JonBurgerman]

I've been experiencing this issue for the last few weeks.

I've reinstalled and updated everything I can find with regards to Spotify and Sonos.

I cannot strongly state enough how much I detest this bug and how insulting it is to the listener.
What I choose to play, how I want to enjoy music should be COMPLETELY in my control. The silent space at the end of an LP or playlist is sacred. I want that gap. I want to consider what to play next. Having some song not of my choosing automatically played seriously damages my whole listening experience.

Does Apple Music employ the same shameful ploy to increasing listening time?

[SjoerdJTS]

I noticed this  annoying 'feature' as well. At home I listen via Google cast (ie. Connect) and it is very annoying to here music other the the album or playlist I selected. If I want that, I will switch autoplay on myself or select album-radio.

However, I found a work-around that at least works for me (android tablet and phone, playing through Google cast). Instead of selecting the cast-device in the spotify app (and thus starting Spotify Connect), I go to the Google Home app on the android-device I'm using and select Cast Audio for the cast-device I want the music to play on. I hope this helps other people with a similar set-up as well.

[PhantomOnslaught]

Please fix this. Autoplay should not be default for casting to devices. There are dozens or replies and hundreds of votes across topics. There was no reason to make this change and users are justifiably upset. There is also no reason why fixing this is taking so long since it was not previously an issue. It certainly doesn't help that most of the recommended songs are not good recommendations.

[amynalan93]

Find the Sleep Timer submenu to shut off play automatically. It's an extra step but it works. 

[elektrokokke]

Hi!

I registered in the forum (well, as I am a Premium subscriber, I only had to choose a user name) specifically for this bug.

I have a premium family account and most Spotify content is played on Sonos speakers.

I cannot believe that anybody would call this a feature and still be able to live with the resulting karma. It's so wrong in so many ways:

• I don't want anyone to decide what music I will hear. Come on, that's one of the reasons why I went for the Premium account. Nothing against an option to let Spotify choose something for me, but now it is not an option anymore, at least not when playing on speakers.
• We used to use Spotify for our kids when they were already in bed in the evening. This is now no longer possible, as random stuff will continue to play all night. Actually, this is how we found out about this bug, two nights in a row we would find the speakers playing stuff we never chose for our kids, indefinitely. I was outraged when I searched for support in the third night and had to read that it might be a new "feature".
• Most of the time we will play audio stories. The autoplay then just puts random bits and pieces of other audio stories into the queue. So you will hear, e.g., track 4 of some audio story, totally out of context, then track 7 of another story, then track 1 of the first audio story, and so on, totally bogus. So, not only can we not turn off autoplay anymore, its implementation is also totally **bleep**. Who in their right mind would want to hear tracks of audio stories (which are meant to be played sequentially) in random order, interrupted by random parts of other random stories? It's driving the kids crazy. Using the sleep timer as a workaround does not really help (too cumbersome, time options do not fit), and also the kids will then hear random stuff when they press the play button the speaker in the next morning.
• The current autoplay behaviour has NOT A SINGLE benefit for the user. Also I have tried to figure out what benefit it could have for spotify, but I couldn't think of any. Will spotify get more money from premium users when these listen to more content? No. Will spotify get more money via advertisement? No. Will spotify be paid from the music industry for playing more songs? I would think not, on the contrary, I would have thought that spotify has to pay license fees, either per stream or flat, neither would mean any benefit. In addition, streaming more songs also means higher running costs for spotify, doesn't it? I can't figure this out...

Well, long story short: I just came here to post that if this does not get fixed ASAP, I will cancel our subscription.

[elektrokokke]

Wow, the forum censors "s_c_r_e_w_e_d u_p", nice one... o.O. I am suprised that the word bug is not bleeped out...

[DigbyChicken]

Well, that's Spotify ruined. One of the main ways I use it is to play an album (carefully chosen) as I fall asleep each night - via a smart speaker in my bedroom. Now I get extra stuff at the end that I didn't ask for that wakes me up. And it's not a bug but a 'feature' - and we're expected to upvote the fix?! Ridiculous.

[balikye]

Thanks everyone for upvoting my post where I called Spotify stupid 🙂

So far, twice this week there were two albums I listened to that stopped when they were supposed to. The silence was certainly welcome yet confusing, because they were less than 15 tracks (since other people mentioned that 15+ tracks seemed to cut off the autoplay). But it was just two random albums amidst many, and when I started and finished the next ones the problem remained. I also did listen to an album a couple days ago that was 15 tracks long, but autoplay still continued after that. Maybe that's because it counted as 2 discs? I will experiment with the 15 track minimum playlist theory again

But I swear it happened twice! When it didn't autoplay! So maybe something is going on in there...

[antipopmonkey]

The sleep timer is a really poor workaround. When I put on an album or a carefully curated playlist it should stop when the last track ends. It’s as simple as that.

I can understand that Spotify wants Autoplay on by default, and many listeners too, but removing the option to turn it off is just shooting yourself in the foot. Way to chase away a good many customers.

[Sveinolsvik]

It seems that Spotify is neglecting its subscribers. Spotify does not listen to customer needs or recommendations. This is disappointing and sad!

[joosen]

This is probably the dumbest thing Spotify has ever come across. Pure evil. And considering it's coming from music subscription service that decided force prodcast as prime content on top of their music application UI and pushing music to 2nd rate content, without giving their premium subscribers no option to opt out of the UI feature or content, that's quite a achievement!!! 

Subscription: Premium

User since:  Jan 2009

[dannygaz]

“We understand that this change might cause frustration depending on your music listening habits. It is our humble ask that we keep the conversation civil and friendly. We'll do our best to pass the feedback on, but it can take some time for us to be able to follow up”

I’m curious the decision behind this change that is frustrating me and many others.  Was this an internal decision, or driven by customer request?  I see a lot of complaints, but has anyone praised the decision, commenting that they find it useful?