Spotify as an extra with Vodafone (UK)

[Koenfucius]

Plan

Premium

Country

UK

Device

iPhone 12

Operating System

iOS18.x

My Question or Issue

Has anyone been able to add Spotify Premium to their Vodafone mobile plan as an extra? I get into a recurring loop - I am taken to the Spotify site to confirm the account I want to link, and then upon return to Vodafone I am told "It looks like you've already had a free trial - you are currently not eligible for this offer from YouTube. You can still add Spotify Premium to your bill for £11.99 per month, which you can cancel at any time." Clicking the 'Add' button takes me back to the page with details about Spotify premium, tapping the Continue button takes me to the Confirm screen, tapping the button there takes me back to Spotify (spm.spotify.com), and confirming the account takes me back to the "looks like you've already had a free trial screen"... forever more.
Is there a different way to get this extra added?
Thanks!

[OscarDC]

Hey @Koenfucius,

Thank you for reaching out to the Community and welcome. 

That's an odd behavior. So first, we'd recommend making sure you're following the process correctly to add your Spotify Premium as an extra:

1. Sign up or log in to Subscription+ on Vodafone's website or "Add to Plan/Charge to Bill" in My Vodafone app.
2. Look for Spotify Premium within the list of available subscriptions. 
3. Vodafone will guide you through the process of adding the subscription to your bill. 

If you're following those instructions and the issue persists, we'd recommend trying again from an incognito/private window or a different browser. It's also worth trying on a different Wi-Fi network to see if it makes any difference.

Lastly, if you're using any VPN, we'd recommend turning it off during the process as it may affect it.

Hope this helps. Let us know how it goes. 

[Koenfucius]

Hey OscarDC
Thanks for the quick response! 
I follow your description of the process pretty much to the letter on my phone, using a link Vodafone sent me by text message. I just tried it again, but this time, after being redirected to spm.spotify.com and selecting my existing and active spotify account, there was short (a few seconds, but noticeable) after which a blank page is shown with just a short message saying something like "Upstream timeout" (it's disappeared now so i cannot verify the exact wording). Then it just sits there, and fails to return to the Vodafone site.
I replicated this on my laptop, with the same link, and there I experience the same as I described above - "looks like you've already had a free YouTube trial".
At least, this seems to eliminate a browser/platform issue. 
I spent 45 minutes on the phone with a Vodafone customer service agent trying to cut through the mess, but after consulting with the backoffice team she couldn't offer a better suggestion than seeking help at Spotify.
I am not sure the issue is here, but if you have any further ideas, they will be most welcome!

Thanks again

K 

[OscarDC]

Hey @Koenfucius,

Thank you for keeping in contact and for the info shared.

Just to make sure we've covered all the basics and taking into account that it seems that the "redirection" is the issue, since it could be related to network restrictions, would you mind confirming if you've already tried with a different Wi-Fi network? If you don't have another one, you can use your mobile data to test it. 

Also, you can try it from an incognito/private window as it prevents the browser from saving your browsing history, cookies, and site data.

Let us know how it goes.

[Koenfucius]

Thanks again for the quick reply and keeping engaged, OscarDC!
I just tried it from an icognito window on my Windows browser (Edge) and (a) as expected, the Spotify page did not see that I was logged in (as I am logged in via Chrome on this device); (b) when I successfully logged in, I received the "upstream request timeout" message. 
This is what seems to happen at my first attempt (after a certain time has elapsed).
...and indeed, my second attempt (now no need to log in to Spotify as expected) takes me back to the old "You've already had a free trial"
The Vodafone signal is dodgy where I live, so I normally use WiFi call, but I went upstairs where I have a marginal signal and... you guessed it. "It looks like you've already had a free trial...", with the offer to add it and pay for it (which is what I wanted to do all along) and I get back into the infernal loop...
So, I think we can safely conclude it is nothing to do with cookies, browsers, or WiFi networks.
It is unclear exactly what is going on. The fact that the first attempt produces this "upstream request time out" may be relevant - at the very least, that shouldn't happen, and it also makes what happens next a little unpredictable. All I can say is that Vodafone then starts to go on about a free trial (and about this being a "YouTube" offer), before entering in this interminable loop.
It would be interesting to know whether others have at all encountered this rigmarole, or whether this is something peculiar about either my Vodafone or my Spotify account...
Anyway, I think I have told you everything I know and could find out, so if you have any ideas of what to try next, I am all ears!
Thanks again

 

[Dessi]

Hey @Koenfucius,

Thanks for the reply!

Something we also wanted to double-check with you is if you've paid for Spotify via Vodafone before - in case you have and the subscription ended, that might be the reason for this strange eligibility error you're getting. This still is a 3rd-party payment provider and the payment for your Spotify subscription goes directly to them so we can only attempt to troubleshoot the issue, but can't really check why it's happening. 

We'd recommend contacting the Vodafone Support Team again and asking for further support. What we can suggest as a workaround from our end is subscribing directly through Spotify if things don't work out again. To see what payment methods are available where you are:

1. Go to spotify.com/premium.
2. Choose a Premium plan.

All the payment options for your account’s location will be on the next page.

Note: You won’t be charged until you submit your payment info.

Hope this clears things up.

[Koenfucius]

Hello Dessi, and thanks for joining the discussion. 
I have had Spotify as the entertainment extra to my plan for quite a few years, and I was disappointed that when it came to renewing this time, none of the plans offered Spotify as the entertainment option - but I was assured that I could choose to add Spotify separately to my new plan.
And this is where it has been going wrong - when I try to add Spotify through the app, the option of adding entertainment is unresponsive to my tapping, and on the web... well, I have described the situation above, both via Windows and via iOS on my phone.
Ironically, Vodafone have just launched an initiative in which they commit to assigning a single customer agent to a customer query, until it is resolved. So far, I am not impressed.
It may well be that the glitch is related to having had the Spotify entertainment add-on until recently, and that is precisely the reason I wanted to check here if anyone in my position has been able to successfully add Spotify premium to their plan. It would be quite remarkable if this issue was unique to my account.
I know, life is too short and I should have long given up and subscribed to Spotify directly, but it really annoys me when a provider offers something and then fails to deliver, so I am going to run with it for a little longer.
I will keep this forum posted of any progress 🙂 

[jordspicer]

This exact issue is happening to me too and it’s honestly driving me mad. I just wasted over an hour on the phone with Vodafone, and they had no clue what was going on or how to fix it. Like you, it’s become a matter of principle now — I’ve always had Spotify included or billed through my contract, and I’d really prefer to keep it that way.

Vodafone told me I could easily add it again via Subscription+, but I keep getting this confusing error about a YouTube trial — even though I’m clearly trying to sign up for Spotify. It makes no sense, and there seems to be no solution or proper explanation from their side. Honestly just feeling stuck and pretty frustrated.