Album art and track length info incorrect over USB during a playlist (iOS)

[mattlokot]

If I have my iPhone connected to my car over USB the album art and track length are incorrect. If I play any song, and let it complete the song and go to the next song in the playlist, the album art and track length will be for the previous song, and stay one song behind for the whole playlist. So if the previous song was for 3 minutes, and the current song is 7 minutes long, the car will show a song length of 3 minutes. However, if I skip to the next song without letting it play through, the album art and track length displayed on the car will be corrected and shown accurately for the current track.

I did this on the way to work one day, and when I got back in the car at the end of the day the Spotify app resumed playing over USB but the track length and album art was still showing for the previous song, so it's definitely sending the wrong info, and not caused by the car. The track length and album art shown on my phone screen are correct but different to what's being shown on the car.

(this seems to me like a list index issue where the index for sending the track length and album art are out by 1, compared to the track title data, for the current track in a playlist).

This is easily able to be replicated. I can send you a photo if you need it.

[SergioDavid]

Hey @mattlokot, welcome to the Community!

How long has this been happening for? Did it start happening after a Spotify update? Also, can you let us know what infotainment system you're connecting your device to via USB?

We'll also need to know the make and model of your car.

We'll see what we can suggest once we have this info.

[mattlokot]

Hi @SergioDavid, it's been happening for a long time. There were some changes, maybe 2 years ago (?) in this area, and it's been this way since. So it's not a new issue, and it's been like that for quite a while. It finally bugged me enough to put in a request for it.

I have a 2015 Skoda Octavia vRS with the Tech Pack, which means it has the Canton audio system. I think the unit is called, "infotainment navigation columbus".

[SergioDavid]

Thanks for letting us know.

Do you have any trouble with this if you connect it using a different method besides USB? You can try Bluetooth to see how it goes. 

Also, have you noticed any recent firmware updates available for your infotainment system? If so, installing them could clear this up.

Give it a try and keep us in the loop.

[mattlokot]

@SergioDavid apologies for the delay in getting back to you. It's been one of those weeks.

I tried with Bluetooth and I got the correct track names and lengths, but album art doesn't work over Bluetooth. I'm not sure how to check for firmward updates, but I have asked them to check it during maintenance and I've been told there's nothing new.

I took some photos so you can see what I'm talking about.

First song to play, length 6:31End of first song, length 6:31Second song, art work is correct but car shows track length for previous song 6:31 (actual song length is 4:26)End of first song, phone shows correct art and length but car shows length for previous track.Third song, car shows art for previous song, car shows length for this song 6:28End of trackFourth song, phone shows correct art but car shows art for the previous song. Song length on car is correct at 5:32

[Alfredo]

Hey @mattlokot!

Could you send us your car's make and model? Also, is it using the stock infotainment system?

In the meantime, do you have a different phone you could try using to see if it behaves the same?

Keep us posted.

[mattlokot]

@Alfredo I alredy posted the details of the car above. I'll paste it here: I have a 2015 Skoda Octavia vRS with the Tech Pack, which means it has the Canton audio system. I think the unit is called, "infotainment navigation columbus". If you need more than this let me know and I'll see what I can find out.

I tried using my work phone, a HTC M10, but I couldn't work out how to get the audio to play over USB. There's like 6 different USB modes in Android when you connect to the car, but none of them played audio over USB. I tried over Bluetooth with this phone, and the track names and length are correct, but no artwork is shown.

I had this same issue with my previous iPhone 5s and had exactly the same experience when playing playlists. Note that I only get this problem on playlists and not on albums. From memory, I tried it with a compilation album with different artwork on each track and it was okay, but I'd have to check that again to be sure.

[Alfredo]

Thanks for getting back to us.

I didn't see this info before, sorry about that.

Could you let us know what iPhone model are you using? Also, send us the iOS and Spotify version numbers.

In the meantime, we suggest reinstalling the app and using a different USB cable if possible.

Let us know how it goes.

[mattlokot]

Hi @Alfredo, I am using an iPhone 8 Plus, but also my previous iPhone 5s had the same issue. I’m running iOS 11.2.5 and Spotify app 8.4.38.634. I have used 3 different cables over the period of a year or two and there is no difference.

[William_13]

Hey @mattlokot!

We've reported to the right folks. We'll let you know as soon as we hear from them.

Stay tuned!

[mattlokot]

Thanks, mate.

[mattlokot]

I wanted to provide some more information on this. I found that if I change tracks by tapping on a song in the playlist then the track artwork and track length will be lagging by one song (shows details for the previously playing track), but if I skip the track forward or backward using the buttons on the player then all the titles, artwork and track lengths are displayed correctly. Is there a difference in how the app sends metadata depending on which way you navigate?

I took some photos below. Sorry for the washed out look, the sun was very bright when I took the photos.

Thanks.

Track titles correct, artwork and track length lagging (showing details for previously played track).Track changed by tapping on a song title in the playlist view (playlist accessed by the icon on the top-right of the screen). Song title is correct, but artwork and track length is lagging.Track changed by tapping on a song title in the playlist view. Song title is correct, but artwork and track length is lagging.track changed by tapping the skip forward button on the player. Song titles, artwork, and track length are correct.track changed by tapping the skip forward button on the player. Song titles, artwork, and track length are correct.track changed by tapping the skip forward button on the player. Song titles, artwork, and track length are correct.

[Alfredo]

Hey @mattlokot!

Thanks for all the info you've sent us on this.

The right team is looking into this as we speak.

As soon as there's an update, we'll post it here.

Cheers.

[Melody]

Hey there, @mattlokot

We're sorry for the delay in getting back to you! We've moved this thread to the Help section of the Community now, so that we can follow up on things.

We've heard back from our tech team, who have taken a look backstage.

It looks like this is something for your car manufacturer to check out now. If possible, we'd recommend giving the good folks there a shout.

Let us know how you get on,

/M

[flavouric]

Hi!

I'm having the exact same issue right now with my VW Polo (2018) and Discover Media.

Using an iPhone 8 (iOS 11.2.6) with Spotify v8.4.45 via USB, because Bluetooth isn't providing the album art (why, tho?). USB is providing the album art, but the metadata seems to be some kind of laggy.

You're stating, that this is an issue on the car manufactors side?

Cheers,

Niklas

[mattlokot]

Thanks for the reply, @Melody. Before I contact Skoda, can you help me to understand why the information is displayed correctly if I skip a track versus running through a playlist? I'm struggling to visualise in my head how it could be caused by the car if the correct information is displayed depending on how you use the app.

Thanks,

Matt