So what is the official status of "car mode?"

[L84Cabo]

Plan

Premium

Country

USA

Device

iPhone 13

Operating System

iOS 17.4

My Question or Issue

Car mode was on the app and working a few months ago...I mean working as "jenky" as it always had but at least it was there...but then it seems to have disappeared with a recent app update (not sure which one).  It still shows up, however, as a feature at the Spotify support link below...

https://support.spotify.com/us/article/spotify-in-the-car/

But what is the deal?  Did it just disappear off of my app for some reason, or has Spotify, once again, removed this functionality for some reason?  And if so, why?  And what...and when...is the replacement?  Without it the phone reverts to the Lock Screen when in the car...but there is small navigation bar at the Lock Screen when you shake/wake the phone up. 

I am so very tired of this. 

[ChrisDiz]

Car mode is not working at all. I have an iPhone 14 pro max which is up to date, as is the Spotify app. I have a Spotify duo account and I'm the main account holder.

I have both "car mode" and "keep Spotify open" enabled but it won't recognise that I'm plugged up to the car or using a car Bluetooth stereo, and doesn't enable car mode or keep Spotify open, which means my phone screen locks when driving.

I find this very dangerous and I'm this close to using another service!

Anyone else?

Please fix this ASAP Spotify!

[OscarDC]

Hey @ChrisDiz,

Thank you for reaching out to the Community and welcome. 

To start investigating this issue, would you mind connecting a different device to your car (using your own account) to see if it makes any difference? If you don't have another one available, you can borrow one from a friend or family member to test it out. 

Also, it would be great if you could have someone log in with their account on your device and connect to your car (it could be the same friend or family member), to see if the issue persists. This will give us a better look at the issue.

We'll be on the lookout.

[ChrisDiz]

What's the point? I can see plenty of other users who have the same problem and Spotify seems uninterested in fixing core functionality. This has been a problem for nearly a year!!! 

And adverts inbetween podcasts now? I pay not to hear any adverts. Not for much longer I can assure you. 

[Maria]

Hey @ChrisDiz,

Thanks for the additional info, this ensures that we're on the same page!

We've been getting a few reports about this, and it sounds like you’re seeing a recent change to the app. We’re always testing possible improvements, so you or someone else may see something new or get a limited feature temporarily on the app. We appreciate you taking your time to raise this on the Community, as it helps inform our future decisions.

If anything else appears, we're just a post away.

[melissath]

I have the same issue, my device is not changing to car mode, I have an iPhone 14 pro with iOS 17.4.1 and using spotify version 8.9.26

[ChrisDiz]

I guess we should expect Spotify to have lots of problems since they sacked hundreds of their developers. 

This is massively frustrating!! 

I tried all the complete uninstall, cache clearing, reboot bulls**t and nothings changed whatsoever. 

At least I can have an AI generated playlist while I'm waiting for the police to arrive when I have a crash because I wasn't paying enough attention to the road. Whoopdef***ingdooo!!

[JulianNL]

Same issue here

[Atchaleigh]

I’m having the opposite. I can’t get mine out of car mode when playing in the car. 

[HammerKnee]

About a week ago I noticed Car Mode is no longer working when I was on a bluetooth connection. Which was useful for my vehicle and motorcycle.

Screen now turns off which is dangerous if I need to skip a song since I don't have any buttons for skipping where my hand controls are. I spoke with a representative from the support chat, and they claimed car mode was being removed. However I don't recall seeing any news about this happening. In addition multiple co-workers and friends still have the car mode settings, and it still works for them.

[edvinnilsson]

Using Android phone in Sweden, please make Car mode available asap.

[edvinnilsson]

I just bought my own car and realised that Car mode does not exist on my phone. I am using Android 13 (OnePlus Nord 2 5G, Oxygen OS 13.0) in Sweden.

Friends that use iOS have that option. Can't be too much work to implement it on Android as well as it's a matter of safety on the road. Please make Car mode available asap.

(Not connected to the car on the screenshot beneath but it looks the same, no option for Car mode then either.)

[drowrulesupreme]

I always use Car Mode in my car as it's the best way to keep the app open and not get distracted by Spotify whilst driving.  I parked my car today, turned off Spotify and when I turned it back on Car Mode is no longer an option on my device?!  Samsung Galaxy A13 running Android 14.  There wasn't a Spotify update on my phone in the 10 minutes I wasn't using it (last update was 5 days ago and it has been working since then).  I've restarted my phone and reinstalled the app but no joy.

Genuinely annoyed by this.

[10xbek]

Same here, car mode disappeared Galaxy S23 plus, android 14, spotify version 8.9.32.624

It's dangerous when driving 

[Mrtoastyboogieman]

Exact same thing happening here...would really appreciate it if they at least gave us an answer....

[Seedsofjoy1]

Yeah... No warning, no update, just gone. This was the most helpful simplistic way of enjoying Spotify in the car. Please bring it back or have an option for turning on a basic or simple Spotify version 

[#17]

Car mode has seemingly disappeared
It's not in setting's so it hasn't accidentally been turned off.

[unorthafox]

Same thing happened to me, it was there in the morning, and gone by the afternoon!
Car mode is really useful!

[MatthewLov]

Same happened to me. I was driving to work and it just never switched over. I did all the same, reboot, reinstall, etc. My car doesn't allow me to skip with my stereo, so I relied on car mode to navigate songs. It's Spotify trying to push the car thing, I'm sure, because that's now the only other option in the car settings. But instead of the sales they're hoping for, they're just going to cause more safety risks because we now have to unlock our phones and skip, but half the time if you swipe and maybe very slightly go in a downward motion because you're trying to focus on driving, you minimize the player and have to bring it back up to skip. It's a lot. I wonder if other music apps have car mode features. We'll see how long I remain a premium customer. 

[Itztheozz]

Same, riding my motorcycle this morning I had the feature, while heading home it was gone.