Spotify Stops Working In Android Auto

[NT5RA]

Plan

Premium

Country

 USA

Device

ZTE Z981 ZMax Pro

Operating System

Android 6.0.1

My Question or Issue

 Android Auto: "Spotify doesn't seem to be working right now."  This pops up after several minutes of playing music.  After a few seconds Spotify comes back up in Android Auto and allows me to play the same song from the beginning, but will not start where the song left off.  I have viewed similar errors in this forum as well as on the Google forum https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/android-auto/2WbSbeWISmc;context-place=topicsearchin/...   But they seem to be centered around Spotify not starting.  THAT IS NOT THE PROBLEM I HAVE.  Rather, it starts consistently but will not keep running.

I've tried all of the listed "fixes" in these forums and none have corrected the problem.

I HAVE, HOWEVER, STUMBLED ACROSS A WORK AROUND THAT IS 100% CONSISTENT.  I have confirmed this during hundreds of miles of cross-country travel.  I have another app, OBDLink, that works with an Onboard Diagnostics dongle plugged into the OBD II port in my vehicle.  It uses Bluetooth to allow me to monitor various engine functions on my phone.  When I have the OBDLink Dashboard pulled up on my phone, the Spotify app works flawlessly in Android Auto for hours and hours (longer than I can stay in the vehicle without a break).  One feature of the OBDLink Dashboard is that it overrides the tendency for Android Auto to blank out the screen; it continuously displays the engine data without interruption.  Perhaps a developer could make use of this information to provide a real fix that isn't a work around?

Phone:  ZTE Z981 ZMax Pro

Android:  6.0.1

Android Auto:  3.5.583024

Spotify:  8.4.70.666

OBDLink:  4.9.1

[Jemi]

Hey @NT5RA,

Thanks for getting in touch. First make sure to check out this help article to make sure everything is set up correctly. If that doesn't help, we suggest that you contact the folks at Android Auto Help Center for further troubleshooting. 

Hope that helps!

[NT5RA]

Hi @Jemi,

Thank you for the suggestion!  However, before I posted my problem to the Android Auto forum and this Spotify forum, I had already spent several hours spread over several days of trial and error, attempting the various suggestions found there and here.  Most of the suggestions would be considered work arounds anyway, not true fixes.  I have a work around; I am aiming for a fix.  I am hoping, since Spotify is the only app that is having trouble like this in Android Auto, that the Spotify Development Team will catch wind of this and make a change to the Spotify app.  Perhaps there is a way to make the Spotify app more persistent, like the OBDLink app I mentiioned in my original post?

[Jemi]

Hey @NT5RA,

As this is built-in with the Android Auto, they're the best folks to help you out, but we'd be more than happy to help as much as we can from here. 

We suggest that you check out this article to make sure everything looks set the right way. After that:

• Make sure Spotify isn’t in Offline Mode.
• Close any apps you’re not using. 
• Check if your firewall (if you use one) has Spotify set as an exception.
• Reinstall the app. Note: If you have music downloaded for offline listening, you need to download it again 
• If you’re using a data connection, check that you have enough data allowance.
• Sign out everywhere. It’s possible your account is being used somewhere else, meaning it has paused on your current device.
• Restart your device.
• Remove all offline devices via your account page.

You'll find more troubleshooting steps here.

Let us know how it goes.

[NT5RA]

Hi @Jemi, thanks for taking an interest in this problem!  Please explain what you meant by "As this is built-in with the Android Auto...."  I can't imagine Android Auto building a feature into their product that would stop Spotify from working after several minutes.

From a trouble-shooting perspective, I'm having difficulty following the line of reasoning in your suggestions.  As I've stated before, I've already spent many hours over several days trying the various suggestions found in the Spotify forums and the Android Auto forums.  If you can find it on your web site, I've probably already tried it.  They don't seem to fit this problem, and the work around I have described says a lot about what is NOT causing the problem:

1. The first link you provided points to Android Auto general functionality.  I have no trouble at all in starting the Spotify app or getting music to play via Android Auto for hours and hours.  I stated in my original post that a workaround was required to keep the app from failing, not that I could not get it to work.
2. Offline Mode has no affect whatsoever on this.  It fails just as often when online as when offline, and the work around will let me listen in Offline Mode for hours (my preferred listening mode).  Why do I need to make sure it is not in Offline Mode?  Are you saying that Offline Mode is supposed to stop after several minutes of play time?
3. Closing any apps I'm not using is a sure way to make the Spotify app fail.  It is ironic that keeping an app open that I'm not actually using is the only way to keep Spotify working.  If I close the unused app, the work around no longer exists and the Spotify app fails after several minutes.  Apps I'm not using are the key to the fix, if someone will look into it.
4. No firewalls.  However, if it was a firewall issue, then how would starting an unrelated app provide a work around?
5. I've uninstalled and reinstalled the Spotify app and the Android Auto app many times as numerous Android Auto and Spotify forums have suggested, and it has never made a difference.  I have done it again per your request, just to be sure.  The problem remains.
6. If this was a data allowance issue, it would not be affected by my work around.  Starting an unrelated app is not going to add more data to my cellular plan.  For the record I have unlimited data, but that is irrelevant considering the work around.
7. The problem I have described is not indicative of two devices battling over the same account, and starting an unrelated app would not correct the problem if it was.  For the record, when I was on my long trip and discovered the work around by accident, all of my devices were powered completely off except for the one Android device I was using.
8. I can't tell you how many dozens of times I've restarted my device.  In fact, one user on the Android Auto forum listed this as his "fix."  Every time Spotify fails, he restarts his device and it works until it fails again.  Then he restarts his device again.  That is unacceptable.
9. I have removed all offline devices via my account page, but it makes no difference.  I'm not sure how starting an unrelated app could work around an offline device problem with my account, even if it was the problem.
10. The final link you provided does not address this problem at all.  The symptoms are not the same, and the fixes provided are not needed since I can listen for hours with my work around.

Thank you for taking the time to respond, but I'm afraid the canned answers are not going to work.  A developer, because of their intimate knowledge of the app's inner workings, would have instantly recognized this from my original post. 

Please get this problem, along with the work around I have desctibed, over to the Spotify Development Team.  Thanks!  🙂

[twhansen]

I have this same problem. Very annoying. In my set up a rather consistent fix is to start Spotify on the phone prior to connecting it to the car. 

But still, Spotofy and Google should talk anf fix the problem.

@Spotify support: anyu news from your side?