App crashes when opening podcast

[thepokey]

Plan

Premium

Country

Australia 

Device

Google Pixel Pro 9

Operating System

Android

My Question or Issue

My issue is that whenever I try to access a specific playlist that I follow the app always crashes. I have seen others ask similar questions but in their questions it always seems to be a custom made playlist. The playlist that is causing me an issue is a podcast that I follow - not a curated song playlist with local tracks.

I have tried:

Uninstalling/reinstalling the app

Restarting my phone

Clearing app cache

Changing battery optimisation to unrestricted 

Changing from wifi to mobile data

Accessing the podcast playlist in different ways (ie via search results as opposed to my own library)

So far nothing seems to work and no other playlists/podcasts seem to be effected except this specific one. 

Any ideas? 

[Ivelina]

Hey there @thepokey,

Thanks for reaching out via the Community and it's great to hear that you've already performed some troubleshooting steps. It really helps us with the investigation.

Have you tested accessing the said podcast from your account on another device (PC for example)? You could also ask a relative or a friend to open it to see if the same behavior persists for them. 

Lastly, to check if there's a possible issue with the content itself since you already tried troubleshooting, it would be very helpful if you could send us a link to the podcast so we can also take a look. 

We'll be on the lookout.

[thepokey]

Thanks very much for your reply! The podcast in question is https://open.spotify.com/show/4yeAtraRF7HUqp9SpCKDhb?si=897f821d49af4d54

I don't have any trouble accessing it via PC, I haven't seen or heard anyone else having issues with this particular podcast either on their phones.

[Dean_Oz]

I'm having the same issue but only with certain podcasts. I have a Samsung S25 Ultra.

Forgot to mention I'm on a Premium Family account. 

One of the podcasts is The MeidasTouch and I'm using Bluetooth earbuds

I've tried everything (including removing and reinstalling) with no luck.

[Dean_Oz]

Forgot to mention I'm on a Premium Family account. 

One of the podcasts is The MeidasTouch and I'm using Bluetooth earbuds

[Dean_Oz]

Has there been any update on this?

[Dessi]

Hi folks,

Thanks for reaching out!

@Dean_Oz, can you send us a link to a podcast episode, which crashes on your end, since we weren't able to reproduce the issue? We also wanted to check if this only happens when connected to your earbuds? If possible, it'd also be great if you can test this out on a different device and with a different account - you can ask a friend or relative to log in their own account on your device to check what's causing this.

@Charlie85, can you also give the above a try and share the requested info in this reply? That would help us a lot!

Keep us posted.

[Dean_Oz]

I can't play any episodes in two of my podcast subscriptions. All the other podcasts seem to work without any issue. When I tap on one of the problem podcasts then Spotify immediately closes.

I tried my wife's iPhone and it doesn't have the problem and works fine. I also tried my Samsung tablet using my account and it also works without any issue.

The problem still occurs on my phone even when I have my Bluetooth turned off.

The problem only started a few days ago

[Dean_Oz]

Below is a link to the latest episode of the podcast that crashes Spotify. I had to use my tablet to get the link.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1aZqeTZDk8YwnzBoGCW5zW?si=kBNesy3fTPScufI8sk5NnQ

[Ivelina]

Thanks for the details @Dean_Oz.

Do you see any error messages when the app closes?

Since this is only happening on your phone with your account and regardless if you're using your Bluetooth earbuds or not, then the issue seems to be device-related.

You did mention reinstalling Spotify, but if you have an SD-card and there's corrupted cache stored there, this can also cause performance issues. I recommend that you remove it and give the app another clean reinstall with the steps here just to be on the safe side. After that, please test without the SD-card and let us know if the behavior persists.

Something else that comes to mind is to download the podcast episodes and try playing them in Offline mode.

We'll be on the lookout.

[Dessi]

Hey @thepokey,

Thanks for sending over the podcast and for the info!

I couldn't reproduce the issue on my end, so can you let me know if you're trying to play the podcast directly from the podcast page you sent or from a playlist you've created and have added episodes from it to? Just wanted to double-check, since you mentioned a playlist in your original post. 

If this doesn't happen on a different device and it plays fine for others, then there might be something wrong with your device. You've mentioned reinstalling the app, but have you tried a clean reinstall? It's more thorough and will ensure that any damaged cache would be removed. Another thing that's worth trying is logging out and back in a couple of times in a row to make sure everything's synced. 

Let us know how it goes.

[thepokey]

I think I misspoke when I mentioned playlist. This is when I go directly to the podcast page itself from my phone. Not a custom playlist.

Just tried following the steps for clean reinstalling it and the problem persists

[Dean_Oz]

I don't have an SD-card. I tried the clean reinstall but it didn't work. I didn't have the com.spotify folder.

I downloaded the latest episode using my tablet then went to the downloads section on my phone and I can play it.

There are no error messages. It seems that Spotify just minimises and is actually still running. Not sure how to add a photo to this thread.

[Dean_Oz]

 

[Dean_Oz]

 

[Ivelina]

Appreciate the quick response and cooperation @Dean_Oz.

As far as I understand, you're able to play the podcast episodes on your phone if you've downloaded them and there aren't error messages.

The error message that you see is when you're streaming the episodes and the app closes on the phone. Is that right? But when you mention that the app closes, does it actually continue to play the episodes in the background (you hear sound)?

The more details you provide, the better idea we'll have of the situation so we can continue troubleshooting it together.

In the meantime, you can also make sure that you've allowed Spotify to play in the background on your phone and to check for any battery-optimization settings or apps.

Keep us posted.

[Dessi]

Hey @thepokey,

Thanks for the quick reply and the clarification!

Does your device happen to be connected to an external one when this happens, for example Bluetooth headphones? If yes, then can you try disconnecting from it to see if that makes a difference? A different network would also be worth trying - if you're currently connected to a WiFi network, try switching to mobile data or to a different WiFi, if available.

To check if this really is device-related, it'd be great if you can ask a friend or relative to log in their account on your phone and play the podcast to see if the app crashes.

Keep us posted.

[thepokey]

I have tried both when connected to bluetooth and while bluetooth is disconnected. Also, both on wifi and on mobile data - in each instance the same crash happens.

No one I have asked has had similar issues, so I assume it mustn't be a problem with the podcast page itself or others would mention the same issue.

The only "fix" I have found was logging into spotify on desktop and then creating my own playlist. Then importing all the episodes from the original podcast onto the playlist. My phone will then access the newly created custom playlist, but still not the original podcast.

[Dessi]

Hey @thepokey,

Thanks for the cooperation!

You mentioned creating a playlist in the desktop app to add the podcast episodes to as a workaround, but have you tried that in the mobile app as well to see if that works? If it doesn't, it'd be great if you can send us a screen recording of what happens and how the app crashes so that we can take a closer look and investigate this further. If the file is too large to attach, you can upload it to Google Drive (make sure to allow general access to the file) or as an unlisted YouTube video.

We'll be on the lookout.

[thepokey]

I am able to access the newly created playlist that I made on the desktop via my phone, but I am not able to create a playlist via my phone because when I open the podcast to add a file to the playlist is instantly closes the app. 

Here is a link to a google drive file that shows a screen recording of what happens https://drive.google.com/file/d/13uT_j7ppQrYN4k_XZ1rYHwLhHtml3qOE/view?usp=drivesdk