Skipping when connected to car Bluetooth

[alexbRaeburnapple]

iPhone 14 Pro Max
Spotify up to date

When listening whilst connected to car Bluetooth I am encountering a lot of skipping.
This happens on every track I try to play via Spotify. I have used another phone and account and this problem does not occur. I am able to listen to other things through the Bluetooth connection Eg, YouTube without this error occurring.

[Eni]

Hey there, 

Thanks for getting in touch about this here in the Community. 

Just to confirm, is this only happening in your car, or can you replicate it by using Bluetooth with another device, such as a speaker? It would be helpful if you could check. We'd also like to know if this started happening after a specific event such as an update either of Spotify or the OS of your iPhone. 

On another note, you mentioned that you already tried with a different account, did you try it on your iPhone or on the other phone? If you haven't tried with a different account on your iPhone, we suggest that you do so. You can ask a friend or a relative to log in to their account on your iPhone and see if they can replicate this behavior with their account. 

Keep us posted. 

[ribezaz]

Hey, welcome to the Spotify Community!

This type of situation happens quite often when we use Bluetooth for multiple functions simultaneously, such as hands-free calls, contact sharing and media streaming.

To do this, a good practice is to unpair the phone and the radio, and then pair them again. In the process, it is recommended to refuse contact and message sharing, as well as disable hands-free calls. This way, the Bluetooth bandwidth will be fully dedicated to music streaming, avoiding glitches or interruptions in playback.

Although it is a small limitation not being able to use all the features simultaneously, the adjustment is simple and can be reversed at any time, according to your needs: just reactivate the desired permissions.

Keep me updated.

Cheers,
ribezaz.

[karinskapski]

I’m experiencing this issue as well. I have an iPhone 12 Pro, but also tested this with my friend’s iPhone 14, logged into their Spotify account, connected to my vehicle. My vehicle is older - a 2011 model. This issue does not occur with other Bluetooth connections e.g. speakers. 

I don’t recall when this started exactly but it’s gotten progressively worse over time.

I notice when I’m driving past certain streets/landmarks this issue consistently happens. I do not have this issue with other apps e.g. YouTube.

I’ve also tried (each done in isolation, not at the same time, and not necessarily in this order):

• Unpairing and re-pairing phone to vehicle
• Unpairing all other devices from vehicle
• Unpairing all other devices from iPhone
• Clearing Spotify cache
• Uninstalling and reinstalling Spotify
• Disabling local device discovery via Spotify
• Changing streaming quality
• Disabling equalizer
• Disabling crossfade
• Updating iOS

I am a long time Spotify user (almost 10 years) but this is frustrating enough that I am considering switching to Apple Music.

[tomday]

This is a total stab in the dark but my theory is this is caused by the "start a jam" feature. I think the app is searching for other bluetooth devices with Spotify accounts so that they can join. My issues began when that feature rolled out and I've noticed the skipping occurs when in traffic but not on empty roads. If Spotify added a toggle of this feature (which I've never used) it might be a workaround for those with older cars.

[Maria]

Hey folks,

Thanks for posting in this thread!

@karinskapski - would you mind double-checking the device's Bluetooth settings? As mentioned by @tomday, some settings could interfere with playback in certain scenarios or with specific setups. 

We've also seen reports similar to what you're describing in this thread, so feel free to give the steps mentioned there a try, if you haven't already:

1. Go to your phone's Settings
2. Select Privacy & Security
3. Tap Bluetooth
4. Toggle Spotify off

Let us know how you get on!

[tomday]

Perfect! Thanks for sharing that Maria. Problem fixed

[hcarrilho]

Hi all,

I've been experiencing the same issue over the past few months. It used to work perfectly for me. Interestingly, the issue also occurs in my friend's car, which made me dig a little deeper within the Spotify app and not just a fault with my car headset.

After some trial and error, I noticed that the music tends to jump or disconnect only when the Spotify screen is open on my phone while playing. However, if I lock my phone screen (so the app runs in the background) the music plays smoothly without any interruptions.

It made me wonder if this could be a safety feature introduced in a recent update, possibly to encourage drivers to stay focused on the road rather than interacting with the app? Just a theory, but since I started locking my screen during playback, I haven’t had any issues.

Feel free to give it a try and see if it works for you too.

[northerntwilight]

Are you suggesting we not connect via Bluetooth to play Spotify in our cars? I guess I'm not seeing how that is a great solution. I've have the same issue where Spotify skips when connected via Bluetooth (in my car or to any Bluetooth speaker) and I have Spotify app open on my phone, onscreen. If I don't have Spotify up and on-screen, the skipping stops. I would like to be able to use the app while connected to Bluetooth and no have this skipping issue that has grown progressively worse. 

I have seen a number of posts for this issue and no fixes or solutions from Spotify. How can we get developers to take a look at this issue seriously? I enjoy Spotify and don't want to have to change to another service if I can help it. 

Thanks.

[northerntwilight]

Just want to add myself here as another user with this issue. Spotify skips for me when connected to Bluetooth and the app is open and up on my phone. It happens primarily in the car, but I have also tested this on other Bluetooth speakers and experience the same skipping behavior. I've don't all the troubleshooting and nothing fixes this. It only happens with Spotify, I have not had this issue with any other app.

I would really love to see Spotify take this issue seriously and fix it. This has grown progressively worse over time. We shouldn't have to play work around games to solve the problem (as in not having the app up on screen when playing). I should be able to stream and browse for songs or pick another playlist, etc. without risking playback issues. 

[jordanderson7]

The fix suggested by Maria

1. Go to your phone's Settings
2. Select Privacy & Security
3. Tap Bluetooth
4. Toggle Spotify off

This only impacts the jam feature, not spotify's ability to play through a bluetooth connected device. Edevo in another thread about this said "

A reddit thread (https://www.reddit.com/r/ios/comments/16a35p2/unknown_iphone_randomly_connects_to_my_own_iphone/) advised how to prevent unknown devices automatically connecting using the above steps, with the side result of resolving the Spotify stuttering.

IMO, it's a security issue having unknown devices connect to my phone without my approval. Spotify should disable the Jam feature, and Apple shouldn't allow this to happen either. "

[Adoss]

Hola,

Estuve leyendo lo que comenta Cristo19 y me ocurre exactamente lo mismo. Tengo una cuenta familiar con mi marido y a ambos nos pasa: después de un rato la reproducción comienza a trabarse, a veces con bastante frecuencia.

Sucede tanto con conexión Bluetooth como con USB (esta última aguanta un poco más sin trabarse). Lo he probado en distintos vehículos y el problema se repite. He notado, además, que el problema empeora cuando estoy en la ciudad y mejora cuando voy por carretera.

Con otras aplicaciones, como YouTube, no ocurre, solo con Spotify. Ya reinstalé la app y confirmo que no tengo actualizaciones pendientes. Agradecería mucho su ayuda para resolverlo.

[FQUIROZP]

Thanks the tip help me a lot 

[lilredrunner]

There is an issue with Spotify. I have tried all the above and it still skips in my car. I played Apple Music yesterday and it didn't skip at all. I switched back to Spotify for the drive home and the skipping started again.

[OscarDC]

Hey @lilredrunner,

Welcome to the Community and thank you for joining the thread.

To continue investigating this behavior, would you mind checking if connecting your phone via AUX or Wi-Fi (if possible) makes any difference?

Also, could you confirm if this happens with all the playlists you've tried or if it’s specific to one playlist or listening to podcasts?

Lastly, include in your next response the troubleshooting steps you've done so far to avoid repeating processes already tried.

We'll be waiting for your response.