Spotify can't connect to Chromecast Audio (again)

[alpenblauwtje]

Plan

Premium

Country

NL

Device

Multiple Android phones and tablets

Operating System

Most Android 10, some older

My Question or Issue

For many years Spotify has connection issues with our Chromecast Audio devices.
It might work flawlessly for weeks (or even months) and then suddenly connection errors appear.
The issue starts after selecting a Chromecast device from within Spotify. You hear the familiar connection sound from the speakers connected to the Chromecast but in the app nothing happens, you only see the blinking cast icon. Then after a minute it stops blinking, unconnected.
Sometimes if you try it again it works. Sometimes you can 'repair' the situation by starting Google Home and press Stop casting (although nothing was casted).
But over the last years there were also occasions where nothing helped. Rebooting phones and Chromecasts, reinstalling Spotify, nothing. And suddenly the next day or so it starts working again.

This is an issue FOR YEARS. VERY ANNOYING. I have a family subscription and all family members face this problem on a regular basis, which means on different phones, with different accounts and with different Chromecast devices. I'm sure it must be in Spotify (or in Spotify's Chromecast API implementation) as other apps don’t have this problem and are able to cast flawlessly when these issues appear in Spotify. Note that my network infrastructure is in a very good shape and the heaviest used Chromecast devices are connected by Ethernet.

Yesterday I (unfortunately) updated all Spotify apps on our devices (version 8 dec 2020). Initially I was able to cast to one of my devices, and now it fails to connect, on any device to any of my Chromecast devices.

Out of frustration I deleted Spotify and installed a (self backupped) version of 2019 (8.5.9.737). And this one works! Another proof IMO that it’s within the Spotify app.

If there’s a way to debug this issue (by enabling logging for example) please let me know.

[alpenblauwtje]

I just got it going again by going to https://open.spotify.com/ in Google chrome and used chrome's tab cast functionality to cast to the chromecast (audio). This freed up something because now all my other clients suddenly work again. This is a Spotify connect issue with the chromecast.

[alpenblauwtje]

Hey folks,

Thanks for your posts on this thread.

We're aware of the intermittent connection and playback issues with Chromecast and we're continuously trying to optimize the netcode and API integrations to make this occur as little as possible.

We've also made sure to pass all the info you've shared to the relevant teams. If you need a hand with anything else, the Community is here for you.

Cheers.

[Novy]

Hey folks, 

Thanks for your messages. 

We can get this reported to the right folks. In order to do this, we'll ask you to provide the following info:

• Your device's make, model and exact OS version.
• The exact Spotify version you're currently running.
• The firmware version currently running on your Chromecast.

Once we have this info, we can forward it to the team in charge who will look into the issue. 

We'll be on the lookout.

[mrc3984]

Hi Novy, here are the info requested:
-Device's make, model and OS version: Samsung Galaxy S10e, SM-G970F/DF,
Android 11 Kernel version 4.14113-21644994 with security patch 1 June 2021
-Spotify version: 8.6.36.1070
-Chromecast Audio firmware version: 1.42.172094

[Jeremy]

Hi there @mrc3984,

Thank you for your reply and for the information that you provided.

We've now reported this to the right team.

Let us know if we can help you with anything else 🙂

Take care!

[Novy]

Hi @alpenblauwtje, 

Thanks for your reply. 

We're sorry to hear that you feel like this. Keep in mind that we've already reported this to the teams in charge and they will be looking into the issue. 

Having the app and OS/firmware versions that your devices are running at the moment would help us investigate further to find the root cause of this behavior. 

Keep us posted.

[mrc3984]

Hoi @alpenblauwtje,

I don't see the correlation clue you are talking about:

1. I can easily (and always) resume an existing audio stream in CC Audio via the Google Home app, based on an earlier Spotify connection stream. 

2. An earlier version of the of the Spotify app for Android (8.6.34.749), running on a Galaxy S10 with Android 11, works flawlessly: a) it *always initiate a new connection* to the CC Audio device without issues; b) if I stop and restart casting from the Google Home app, the Spotify app re-establish the connection immediately. 

3. Conversely, the connection issue occurs whenever the new version of the Spotify client app tries to *establish a new connection* to the CC Audio; both devices are connected to the same private LAN. 

Side note: if the issue was on the server-to-server communication, it would also affect use cases 1 and 2 and it'd be quite easier for the Spotify Platform Support team to troubleshoot and fix. 

Although CC Audio users represent the 'audiophile' niche of the Spotify user base, it's still a common issue for premium users, and shouldn't be ignored. 

[sonick]

i was encountering connectivity issues with my CCA, and I think I discovered it was due to using a poor quality, low amperage usb power adapter.

When I replaced it with a higher quality usb adapter the connectivity issues were immediately fixed.

[mrc3984]

Hi Sonic, as well explained in earlier posts, this thread is not about CCA
issues.

[NYTEHAWK_ZERO]

Identical issues here. Casting to my multiple Chromecast Audios fails this month. I can cast to my Google home, Google home mini, nest mini, or Google home hub without issue. No CCA, meaning no fancy stereo.

I use the desktop app, mobile app, and google home voice commands, multiple sources to play Spotify audio. None play on the CCA.

My network is impeccable.

Yet, casting my phone's audio via the Google home app to my CCA works flawlessly, and is the only way to play Spotify on my home speakers.

Spotify Premium v.8.6.36.1070
USA
CCA: v.1.42.172094

Casting to my Chromecast audio is the primary way I use Spotify, please help us.

[CarlosE]

Hey folks,

Thanks for your posts on this thread.

We're aware of the intermittent connection and playback issues with Chromecast and we're continuously trying to optimize the netcode and API integrations to make this occur as little as possible.

We've also made sure to pass all the info you've shared to the relevant teams. If you need a hand with anything else, the Community is here for you.

Cheers.

[DanielRivers]

This is happening again now.  Cannot play any music on any chromecast devices (wifi point and hubs tried)

[D1N0]

No connection to any of my three chromecasts, audio or not, possible. Not from my Win 10 Desktop or my android phone or tablet. Can connect using other apps than Spotify. Please get this sorted. I listen on my stereo equipment so spotify is useless to me when it doesn't work.

[DanielRivers]

Is there any progress on this? We use spotify to plat bedtime music for my 2 year old daughter. When asking google to play it says its playing but then nothing happens. We have tried unlinking and relinking etc. Been happening for quite some time now.

[discy]

Why did you install the Google home app?

This should not be neccessary.

Remove and try again to replicate the issue.

[D1N0 · Accepted solution]

I just got it going again by going to https://open.spotify.com/ in Google chrome and used chrome's tab cast functionality to cast to the chromecast (audio). This freed up something because now all my other clients suddenly work again. This is a Spotify connect issue with the chromecast.

[alpenblauwtje]

@ D1N0: This is stupid as this is NOT a solution (why on earth can anyone accept anything as a solution on this forum?).

The problem is at Spotify, not at your side. You MAY think you have solved it by 'freeing up something' using your browser, but that is an illusion. The same illusion I had in my first post where I considered it had something to do with the Spotify app. It is NOT in the spotify app, nor in your router, nor in your network. I'm convinced it has something to do with the unavailability of the Spotify servers when this happens.

[D1N0]

It is not stupid, it is a work around.

[alpenblauwtje]

At least we can agree this is not a solution.

I also don't think this is a workaround, it gave you the impression that it worked. Technically it is simply not an explanation for all the issues reported in this thread. I predict this 'workaround' will not work the next time you face this problem.

[andrewralon]

Worked great. Thanks.

[Jeremy]

Hi there folks,

Thank you for your replies.

This should work with the latest Spotify version that was released.

We suggest that you make sure that you're running the latest Spotify version.

If you're still experience the issue, let us know which version of the app you have so that we can continue investigating this.

Let us know how everything works 🙂 

Cheers!

[discy]

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