Cross-device playback synchronization issue

[SmexyPolishHero]

My Question or Issue

Hi folks. I've observed this issue for a long time now and wanted to share.

Namely, whenever I play some music/podcasts either on my android device or PC, without having the other opened in the background, the playback session doesn't carry over when I exit the app and open Spotify on the other device separately. What I mean is that only when I open the app on the 2nd device during active playback on the 1st one, the currently played song updates/synchronizes to be visible on the 2nd device correctly. If I stop the playback on 1st device, then open Spotify on other device, I am still left with what I was listening on that device last time, until i hit "resume" on the 1st device - then it synchronizes eventually and I can continue/control playback from 2nd device as well.

What is also important, is that "Listening History" sometimes also doesn't show up at all in case I listen to sth on either PC/android, close it and then open the app on 2nd device. I only see the history of what I listened to on that very device last time.

To say the least - quite annoying. Would appreciate it being addressed down the line! I'm happy to provide any additional info to help resolve this issue. 

Best regards.

Plan

Premium

Country

Poland

Device

OnePlus 12 / Windows 11

Operating System

Android / Windows 11

[Ivelina · Accepted solution]

Hello there @SmexyPolishHero,

Thanks for reaching out via the Community!

It's currently expected for Spotify not to continue playback on another device when you've already exited the app on the first device, however, we appreciate the provided feedback and we're always looking for ways to improve our users' experience and offer better functions.

As you mentioned that playback carries over from one device on to the other one when you've got Spotify open on both at the same time, this is thanks to the Connect feature. Connect also makes it possible to control playback from one device on to the other one. 

When it comes to your listening history not updating across devices, I recommend logging out > back in twice in a row, as this helps resync the account and devices. It's also worth mentioning that the section should be called 'Recents' and if that's not the case on your end, it's a good idea to make sure that you're using the newest app version.

Hope this info helps clear things up and we're here if you need assistance with anything else.

[SmexyPolishHero]

Thank you for explaining how it works - it makes some sense, now that you mention it. And yeah, "Recents" is probably what I meant for naming the history of what I've been listening to on a device, since I am not using English language on my phone and was trying to translate it spontaneously. Nevertheless, an option to choose "continuous" playback/history between devices and "separate" (as it functions now) would be much appreciated feature.

Same goes to the Spotify not allowing us to have a separate "endless playback" option for music and podcasts. I would personally like to keep it separate, especially that Spotify is shuffling on the playback podcast episodes that I have already listened to in the past, when suggesting stuff. I do not know why does this happen, because I have even marked all of my followed podcasts' episodes as already listened to, but when a new episode ends, Spotify just picks something from that pile to keep on going. And without manually changing the playback option for the whole app, there's no timer button for podcasts (which would be handy) as there is for the music. Hope it makes sense, as I perceive it as a really good QoL.

Thank you!

[Eni]

Hey there @SmexyPolishHero, 

Thanks for your reply. 

As @Ivelina mentioned above, we appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback with us and will make sure to pass it onto the right team, as we always strive to improve your experience.

You can also have a look in our Idea Exchange to see if someone else has already made a similar suggestion. If there isn't one, you can give these steps a go and submit your idea so that other users can also support it. The higher the number of votes an idea gets, the more likely it is for it to be implemented.

Also, you can read more about how your feedback reaches Spotify here.

If you need a hand with anything else, the Community is here for you.