Spotify on FireTV only playing sound when video is running

[Cobbie626]

Plan

Premium

Country

Germany

Device

Amazon FireTV Gen2

Operating System

FireOS 5.2.9.5

My Question or Issue

The spotify app on my FireTV Gen2 only has sound when a video is played. If a song does not have a video or I set it to "audio only", songs start but you can't hear anything. After 10 seconds, the song is skipped and the next one is started. If a video is played, the songs have sound.

All other apps on the FireTV as well as the menu itself do have sound. Spotify is the only one affected. On all other devices (Smartphones, Sonos speakers, android-based Philips TV), everything works fine.

This behavior started yesterday without me changing anything.

I already tried ...

- Uninstalling and reinstalling the spotify app

- Resetting the FireTV to factory defaults

- Changing the Audio settings of the FireTV (Dolby, Dolby Plus, Auto and so on) - tried all available settings, none helped.

I'm out of ideas so any help is appreciated. Has there been an update of the app (and how could I check that), does anybody else know this behavior? Are there any settings in the spotify app that could help?

As I said - every idea is much appreciated!

Kind regards

Cobbie

[Eni]

Hey there @Cobbie626, 

Thanks for getting in touch about this and welcome to the Community! 

Kudos for the troubleshooting steps you've already tried! As a next step, we suggest that you check if the software of your FireTV has any pending updates. You just need to go to Settings > My Fire TV > About > Check for Updates. 

On another note, could you try connecting to a different audio output? If you've been using for example a soundbar, or HDMI ARC, try with the TV speakers directly to see if the same happens. 

Keep us posted on how it goes. 

[Cobbie626]

Hello Eni,

thanks for your troubleshooting suggestions!

- The FireTV has no pending updates. I reset it to factory defaults, then installed the most current available updates and then installed the apps including spotify. As far as I an see on the system, everything is up to date.

- I did try a different audio output. Usually the output is connected to an amplifier but for testing purposes I connected it directly to the TV. I also tried a different HDMI port on the TV and different HDMI cables, no success.

What I just cant get my head around is why it does work when a video is played ... on the matter of audio output: what's different between audio with still picture and audio with video? Why does one work an the other not?

Kind regards

Cobbie

[MihailY]

Hey @Cobbie626,

Thank you for your detailed response.

We've taken a look around the Community and found this recent post from a thread describing a similar issue. Can you try the steps shared by the user there and let us know if they help?

We'll be on the lookout for your reply.

[Cobbie626]

Hello MihailY,

thank you for the suggestion! My setup is a bit different from what is described in the linked post, mainly because I have a wired network connection instead of WiFi, but I tried all steps that would apply to my system: Uninstalling the spotify app, disconnecting the FireTV, reconnecting and logging in via QR code instead of spotify connect. And well ... that helped, at least for a little while.

What I found now: audio comes back when I disconnect and reconnect the network cable. It has to be just for a split second, that's already enough. But normally after a track has completed and the next track starts, the audio stops again.
I also tried switching to WiFi but on WiFi, no audio is played at all. Switching back to wired network, once again the first song plays, then audio stops and tracks get skipped after ten seconds. But the network connection itself does work. I can control the spotify app via my Smartphone, it also loads pictures and covers ... it just does not play audio.

In the meantime, I also tried connecting the FireTV to a different router bit this too didn't change a thing.

I can't get my head around it - all other apps work, one song plays after a reconnect ... what's the logic behind it? And why did it start just a few days ago after it worked perfectly for years? Does any of you guys have an idea?

Kind regards

Cobbie

[Vasil]

Hey @Cobbie626,

Thank you for the extensive amount of detail!
We did some additional digging on our end and managed to locate this thread where a very similar issue seems to have been discussed. From what I'm seeing, there are two ways to fix things:
 

• Disabling the IPv6 support on the router itself or
• Fully resetting your network settings

In case you encounter any issues, reach back to us and let us know! 

Tip: It'd be helpful if you could share with us the make  model of your router 🙂

Best of luck! Hope this helps 🙌🏼

[Cobbie626]

Hello Vasil,

thanks a lot for that information! After a quick test (need to go further into detail when I have more time), it looks like IPv6 is the cause of the issues. I disabled it on my router, played a few songs and everything looks ... I mean sounds ... good.

Now disabling IPv6 (in my eyes) is not the solution but only a workaround because IPv6 is a requirement for the SmartHome-Protocol "Matter" which I'm planning to use in near-future.

Long story short: are there any recommendations or requirements that an IPv6 network should meet to have Spotify working on it? Or is there a workaround/setting/switch to make Spotify work on IPv6-enabled networks?

Kind regards

Cobbie

[Dessi]

Hey @Cobbie626,

Thanks for the reply and happy to hear that the sound issue is resolved!

Spotify’s infrastructure is adopting IPv6, but there is no specific “switch” in the Spotify app to force IPv6 or IPv4; the app will use what the network provides. In our troubleshooting of similar cases we have determined that the root cause of such issues is most often related to the current network settings or the internet service provider. Usually the users need to check if there's some blocking on their provider's end to solve this.

Hope this clears things up.