Playback gets paused if Bluetooth headset is connected with multiple devices simultaneously

[Xenia]

Hi everyone,

We're seeing reports that the Spotify app keeps pausing audio whenever there are multiple devices connected to the same Bluetooth headset and the app is open on at least one of the connected devices. Special thanks to @growlybeard who provided a very detailed description and video showing the issue!

To keep you all in the loop we've merged a few threads together and have passed on the collected info to our tech folks, who are still looking into the issue. 

We'll be keeping everyone up to speed here, so make sure to subscribe to this thread! 

[Xenia]

Hey folks, 

Thanks for bearing with us while we were looking into this. 

Our teams are still investigating the issue as it seems to be related to the Bluetooth configurations set by the manufacturers of the devices and the way these interact with apps and OS.

For now we're not able to provide an exact timeline for a fix, but we'd recommend always keeping your Spotify app up-to-date to ensure you're on the latest version.

Cheers!  

[Nightshaxx]

I am getting this as well  Dell XPS 13 Windows 10, Pixel 3 Android 11, Sennheiser PXC 550-II. The issue I think boils down to the fact that Spotify can be controlled on one device using the other. There seems to be some mechanism the headphones use to determine which device to accept audio from which must also be tied to which application is being used for media controls.

I will show you what I think is happening:

• Device A, B are both connected to headphones and have Spotify open.
• Device A starts playing a song on Spotify
• Spotify on Device B realizes that something is playing on another device and tells Device B that it can take control of the audio.
• The headphones see that Device B asked to control media playback. So it pauses playback on device A and switches audio to device B.
• No audio is playing from device B because Spotify was asked to play the music on Device A. So the user is now confused why the audio is paused.
• For me sometimes what happens after this is that once the headphones switch to Device B, Device B Spotify was paused since Device A Spotify was paused by the headphones. So now that Device B was paused, the Headphones try to resume playback on Device A which starts the whole chain over again.

This is something of a logic issue. To fix this Spotify should look at how the headphones can determine when to switch to a device. Maybe there is a different API to accept playback controls that does not make the headphones think there is music playing? I am not sure if that exists and if it does not, it would make a solution hard. Maybe if you are allowed to disable remote control by other devices? Just have it as a switch in the "Listening on" menu. Just make sure it remembers your decision so it doesn't keep resetting which would not fix the problem at all.

I hope this issue can be fixed because it is really annoying.

[EG32]

I have the same problem with a Macbook Pro 2021, iPhone SE and Marshall Stanmore 2 Speakers. I find it extremely annoying.

[Michieltje1]

Same issue here

[leggomymeggos]

A similar issue is happening with my Sennheiser Momentum 3 headphones. If I'm connected to a computer and my cell phone is also on, playback from the Spotify desktop app will stop on the computer every few seconds. I'm not running Spotify on the cell phone, bluetooth is off on the cell phone, and the only bluetooth connection the headphones have is the one to the computer playing Spotify. This only goes away if I completely turn off my cellphone. Not restart - fully turn off. Restarting the phone causes the issue to recur once the phone has booted up again. It is definitely annoying and I guess I'll switch to the webapp for the time being. I agree with the others here that having to manage bluetooth connections for Spotify specifically is a very bad experience. 

[greypants]

Happens to me as well with my Jabra Elite Active 75t earbuds. Though I also noticed a similar behavior where it kept muting me on zoom. Not sure if Spotify was open or not when that was happening.

[razorre]

Hi Alex, When we can expect issue to be solved??

It happens all the time,

with headphones (Sennheiser PXC 550-II) connected to 2 devices where Spotify run, however i'm trying to listen to music only from one device ! (obviously)

[asjustis]

I think I found a workaround. Works for me at least. I use Spotify on mac os and iOS, and have this pausing issue on iOS pretty frequently. Here is what worked for me:

1. Start listening on your device. It gets paused.

2. Switch to you other source "listening on" and start play. It seems to work fine.

3. While playing, switch the source back to your first device you had trouble with. 

4. Seems to continue playing on my first device I had trouble with previously.

Hope this works for you as well. 

[razorre]

i'll try and play with it, but it doesn''t change that there is F@#$%$ BUG how it works, it exists for OVER A YEAR and it's still NOT fixed !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111111111

wth.... do you have any programmers there in Spotify? i'd be ashamed of this sh#% if i work there ....

[razorre]

wth... it took me 5 attempts to publish that post, wth, simple forum/msg board, and it's f#^up as well.....

[austinpc]

Just checking back in here to see if you've found a fix for this issue? I'm encountering the same problems other users with my brand-new Jabra Elite 75t earbuds. Playback pauses on my phone but not on the desktop. Would love a resolution soon!

[RickyD1]

I'm encountering this exact same issue. Why not provide a way to turn off spotify connect as a workaround for now at least?

[bigjuergo]

is there a solution for my jabra elite 75?

spotify plays music

every sound on windows stops spotify playing

[Michieltje1]

It seems the issue is fixed. I'm not experiencing it anymore 🙂

[RickyD1]

I've updated spotify to the latest version and am still experiencing it 😞

[AndresM]

Hey @RickyD1,

Thanks for reaching out to the Community. 

Could you log out everywhere. You'll find this option by scrolling down here. Afterwards, restart your devices and tell us if the issue still persists.

Lastly, send us over the make/model of your devices (phone, PC/laptop, headset), along with the OS version and Spotify version installed.

We'll be on the lookout for your reply. 

[Benlikesmusic]

Has this been fixed? I'm still experiencing this issue

[maledr5]

Hi,

I think I found a solution at least for JABRA products. If you download the app in MAC, there is an option in settings for the headset called Softphone > Prioritize computer audio. Activating this option stopped the issue for me.

Devices:

Jabra Evolve2 75, MacBook pro 2019, iPhone 13 

Issue:

Headset connected to dongle in computer and to Bluetooth in the phone. Spotify playback is on the computer. When hitting play in the computer, Spotify stops playback after 1 second.

[user-removed]

Tested your solution of logout everywhere, restart phone and pc and afterward login on both. Bluetooth connected to earphones to both and still the same isuee.

Earphones: Jabra Elite 7 active

Phone: iPhone 13 Pro (Spotify 8.7.30.1342)

Laptop: Dell XPS 13, Windows 10 (Spotify 1.1.85.895.g2a71e1b8)

[cakism]

I've got the same issue - 14" 2022 Macbook Pro.

I'm playing music from the mac Spotify desktop app on a bluetooth speaker. If I pause the music on Spotify, either by pressing the PAUSE-button in the desktop app or by using the media key on the keyboard, no other sound will be played until I switch audio output source UNLESS I start playing the other media BEFORE pausing Spotify. 

For example:

1. Play audio from Spotify desktop app on bluetooth speaker

2. Start playing a youtube-video at the same time - I now hear both medias 

3. Press PAUSE in Spotify - I will now hear the youtube video only.

However, if I

1. Play audio from Spotify

2. Press Pause

3. Start a youtube video 

I will not hear any audio from the youtube video. 

4. If I press play in Spotify now, i will start to hear both audios at the same time, but if I press pause again, Spotify will pause and the youtube video will go silent - not paused, not muted, just no audio to the bluetooth speaker.

It's **bleep**ing annoying. I've tried reinstalling, wiping all data, logging out of all clients, tried different browsers for the secondary audio source but nothing helps. This is most definitely some bug in the Spotify client because this does not happen with any other combination of apps I've tried. 

[luat1203]

I won't subscribe to spotify anymore, it's been 2 years and the problem hasn't been fixed.