[Connect] Disable automatic switching between devices

[HidalgoF]

Spotify Connect is great but the automatic switching is not for everyone.

Please allow us to disable automatic switching between devices. I understand Spotify doesn't like user to play in more than one device and I am happy with that, but the application shouldn't switch devices if the user does not want to do this. It clearly creates frustration amongst users.

In my particular case I work from home listening to music on my computer. I find really annoying when I plug my headphones in my phone to take a call and suddenly the music starts playing in my headphones.

This is what happens step by step:

• Spotify is in my mobile running in the back.
• Spotify is playing in my computer.
• My phone rings.
• I take the call at the same time that I get my headphones on me.
• I listed to a combination of my client/colleague and the music that I was playing in my computer, usually very loudly.
• I stop the music.
• I comment with my client/colleague how bad is Spotify.
• I finish my call.
• I go to my computer, change the playing device on Spotify to my computer and play again.
• I do this a couple of times until I get fed up of Spotify and I play music from somewhere else.

This problem has been already described here: LINK  but it has incorrectly tagged as repeated (the problems and solutions suggested are different).

[HidalgoF]

Hey folks,

Keep in mind that the mobile app will automatically take over and resume playback when an external playback device is connected to the phone by default.

That being said, could you all confirm whether you're using Multipoint Bluetooth devices, like @bluschd does? If so, test if having just one connected device at a time alleviates this issue.

Let us know how it goes 👍

[Lemoore]

No one is listening. No one cares. Don't even get me started on the awful audiobook experience.

They are complete amateurs.

Filling the client with absolute tosh no one wants and leaving all this technical debt.

Terrible engineering.

[supahz1016]

This still hasn't been fixed, what a joke. Can't use my other phone playing Spotify hooked up to a Bluetooth speaker while I exercise... Because when I use this phone for a call or anything involving my Bluetooth headphones, it switches over contrary to my wishes. Spotify isn't even open sometimes! Sigh, get better, can't stop for some features on users that didn't ask for it

[supahz1016]

1. Exactly. I clicked on this very message to reply and then the pop-up keeps showing up "did you find this article helpful?" I don't know spotify, I'm not done with the article .. stop interrupting me . What a bunch of **bleep**.

[slamhound]

I was very happy when I discovered that I could revoke the Spotify Bluetooth permision on my Samsung (workaround). Not a problem (with this issue) since.

Yeah, that popup 🤣

[Lemoore]

Any negative side effects? Spotify Connect still works I presume?

[slamhound]

I don't know exactly what Spotify Connect is. I have no connection issues with how I listen (Bluetooth / Chromecast Audio) after revoking Bluetooth permission.

[Lemoore]

It's the feature in Spotify (it's ONE good feature lol) that allows to send the Spotify output to other instances or Spotify or Alexa devices

[DarkAvenger36]

I can't believe this thing is going on for 4 years. Is is extremely annoying

[huWolfy]

Recently I've been experiencing this issue, where the playback from my desktop Spotify application is switched to my Android mobile phone. This happened multiple times yesterday, and already twice today.

Did someone else also met this issue? Support only recommended to log out/in from the Spotify app on Android and restarting the phone, but this clearly didn't help.

[Joan]

Hi there @huWolfy,

Thanks for reaching out. We'll be glad to help you get the app working properly across all devices.

Can you describe in a little more detail the exact behaviour here? Namely, let us know the following:

• When did this start happening?
• What device are you using? Which Android version is it on?
• Is there any pattern as to when the playback switches or is it purely sporadic whenever the Android app is open? Does it happen with specific content?
• Is it always to the Android app or does playback sometimes switch to other devices too?
• If possible, could you log in on a different Android device with your account and test if the same happens?
• A video of the behaviour. If the files are too large to attach here in the Community, you can send them to us via Google Drive or as unlisted YouTube videos.

With this information, we’d be happy to investigate.

Keep us posted.

[rifle5]

I have this issue also.  I will be playing music on my computer and Spotify will randomly change the playback device to my phone.  It doesn't matter if my phone is on the same network, or on mobile data, it will just randomly switch.

I was able to stop the issue by going into system settings (on Android), applications, and force stopping the Spotify app.

[Thought567]

Yeah, it’s terrible. I wish there was just a way to turn off automatic device changes.

if I want to change what device my Spotify is playing on. I will do it manually

[glimglam2]

Same for me, been going on for several days. Spotify running on Macbook Pro and Android, switches randomly to the phone.

[Van_Doale]

I have the Spotify app on PC and on Android phone.

If I'm listening through PC speakers, I want to keep listening through PC speakers. I don't want it to change to my phone speakers.

If I'm listening through phone speakers, I want to keep listening through phone speakers. I don't want it to change to my PC speakers.

I would really like to decide for myself which speakers to use. I would really like for Spotify to NOT decide for me which speakers to use.

It's been 4 years. There has been a dozen of posts. Why don't you just fix this?

We don't want a new shuffle algorithm (actually we do, we want 100% random shuffle), or other bells and whistles, we want this bug out of our Spotify SUBSCRIPTIONS.

I pay to listen to music, not to keep switching speakers when Spotify likes it.

[bluschd]

Plan

Premium

Device

Google Pixel 7 Pro, Lenovo Thinkpad

Operating System

Android 15, Windows 11

My Question or Issue

I have a laptop and a phone. I use both daily to play music. Usually, I'm using headphones and bluetooth speakers. Both of which support multiple connections, so whenever I use either, they automatically connect to my phone and laptop. Then I go to the Windows app and start playing music, which works fine for a while. But then after a few minutes, or whenever I change the bluetooth device (e.g. turn on/off my headphones) the Andoird app automatically "steals" control from my Windows app and then I'm listening to my phone instead of my laptop. This happens every time and is infuriating to no end so I usually end up killing Spotify on the phone and disabling bluetooth just so I can keep listing via my laptop.

This happened twice while I was writing this paragraph...

All I want is to control which device is doing the playback myself without some magic trying to transfer control between devices. When I start playing music on my laptop, I want to listen to my laptop until I explicitly tell the Android app to take over control (and vice versa). It's that simple.

Can this be done somehow or do I just have to live with the status quo?

[Yordan]

Hey folks,

Keep in mind that the mobile app will automatically take over and resume playback when an external playback device is connected to the phone by default.

That being said, could you all confirm whether you're using Multipoint Bluetooth devices, like @bluschd does? If so, test if having just one connected device at a time alleviates this issue.

Let us know how it goes 👍

[MackeyC34]

I'm ok with being able to send output to another device, I just want to do it on my terms and not Spotify's.

[Rc36]

fully agree. it’s not just the stupid second-guessing and forcing a change of playback device… it’s also the fact that every update makes it harder and harder and take longer and longer to find the music and playlist I want. Then of course there’s the stupid and annoying incessant in the app notifications and interruptions encouraging me to use their ridiculous audio book service. 

the icing on the cake is that when I want to listen on my home hi-fi but control from my phone, 50% of the time I don’t get presented with the controls.  i use a Windows iOS tablet as my hi-fi playback device, and guess what they’ve wrecked the ui to such a degree that it’s effectively unusable unless I’m able to handoff control to my phone. 

lol, I came here and replied to you as a result of an email notification from Spotify I’ve just  noticed a banner at the bottom of this reply window saying that I’m not signed in!

Modern tech companies - smoke mirrors  

[bluschd]

@Yordan wrote:

the mobile app will take over [...] by default.

Does that mean it can be disabled somehow?

[Yordan]

I'm afraid it's not possible to turn this off at the moment, @bluschd. That's the current expected behavior. We're regularly looking for opportunities to enhance the user experience for everyone though, so your feedback on this is greatly appreciated.

Let us know if having just one device connected does the trick.