Audio Glitching / Stuttering / Popping

[Stephen0vick]

Plan

Premium

Country

United States

Device

(iPhone 13 Pro Max)

Operating System

(iOS 18.1.1)

My Question or Issue

I have a strange issue with my Spotify where it skips when connected via Bluetooth and my iPhone. The audio will glitch and stutter. It becomes extremely bad gradually, but the increase is rapid. This problem ONLY occurs when I have the app actively open and my phone is connected to a Bluetooth device. If I leave the app open it will begin the glitch within one minute and then get intense before a single song can finish. The only solution I’ve came up with is clicking play and then swiping out of the app. I can still skip songs from the iPhone drop down menu, but if I want to select a new playlist I have to open the app, select the playlist, close the app because the glitching begins, then re-open the app, click play, and swipe out the app. The problem persists regardless of my WiFi connection, phone battery, Bluetooth device, or any other connection issue that would commonly cause problems. I haven’t found any regular way to resolve the issue and trust me, I’ve looked. It’s so much that the issue becomes a major problem, I would just like to be able to surf through my Spotify app while listening to music without problems.

[EJL2021]

Completely agree! I contacted Spotify months ago about this problem and they told me it was basically a fault on my end and that they weren’t going to help me further. I told them that I’m paying premium and that it’s not a premium service, not being able to listen to a song without skipping. 

[Stephen0vick]

Yep, pretty disappointing if you ask me.

[Lea43]

Yes. I just updated Spotify and it got even worse. Now it's stopping and
stuttering all the time!

[Gamsy]

For me the Jam Sessions feature wasn't even part of the problem either though. This issue is NOT fixed for me. My issue appears whether I'm in a car or not. So for me this is still an app-breaking bug. I am also very close to cancelling my subscription. I literally cannot use the service reasonably on the device I use most.

[WilliamBraveheart]

Hey everyone, I'm having intermittent Bluetooth stuttering (~10% of the time I'd guess?) with my iPhone 13 Pro Max (iOS 18.5) on my car’s built-in system. It's a rapid disconnect/reconnect cycles. My wife’s Android rarely has issues though, but it will very occasionally happen one or twice EVER and isn't noticeable on Spotify.

Troubleshooting:

• Re-paired Bluetooth, reset on both ends
• Updated iOS, tested Airplane Mode (helps slightly, not perfect)
• No interference from mobile data, other BT devices work fine. Note this was never a problem until 1-2 months ago.
• No static—just brief and rapid audio interruptions
• Mainly affects Spotify, changing audio quality didn’t fix it. Haven't tested much with other apps but Youtube seemed to work for the short time I tested.

Anyone else seen this with Toyota’s system? Possible iOS compatibility issue, or Spotify? The usual suspects have been ruled out, I tried Googling the problem.

[Lea43]

Actually, today it happened even with Audible. It was only once as opposed to about 6 times that usually happens with Spotify but it shows it's a wider Android 15 problem, not just Spotify's...

[Floydianship]

Have the same issue with zero solutions, have reached out to Spotify and waiting for their response and have reached out to uconnect to see if they can help.

[roghes]

I created a account just to say that this solution worked for me too :).

[agore018]

I have the identical problem, on my 2015 Honda Civic, and have switched to Apple Music as well.

[alexbRaeburnapple]

iPhone 14 Pro Max
Spotify up to date

When listening whilst connected to car Bluetooth I am encountering a lot of skipping.
This happens on every track I try to play via Spotify. I have used another phone and account and this problem does not occur. I am able to listen to other things through the Bluetooth connection Eg, YouTube without this error occurring.

[Eni]

Hey there, 

Thanks for getting in touch about this here in the Community. 

Just to confirm, is this only happening in your car, or can you replicate it by using Bluetooth with another device, such as a speaker? It would be helpful if you could check. We'd also like to know if this started happening after a specific event such as an update either of Spotify or the OS of your iPhone. 

On another note, you mentioned that you already tried with a different account, did you try it on your iPhone or on the other phone? If you haven't tried with a different account on your iPhone, we suggest that you do so. You can ask a friend or a relative to log in to their account on your iPhone and see if they can replicate this behavior with their account. 

Keep us posted. 

[ribezaz]

Hey, welcome to the Spotify Community!

This type of situation happens quite often when we use Bluetooth for multiple functions simultaneously, such as hands-free calls, contact sharing and media streaming.

To do this, a good practice is to unpair the phone and the radio, and then pair them again. In the process, it is recommended to refuse contact and message sharing, as well as disable hands-free calls. This way, the Bluetooth bandwidth will be fully dedicated to music streaming, avoiding glitches or interruptions in playback.

Although it is a small limitation not being able to use all the features simultaneously, the adjustment is simple and can be reversed at any time, according to your needs: just reactivate the desired permissions.

Keep me updated.

Cheers,
ribezaz.

[theojeffgood]

My Question or Issue

The audio constantly cuts out when connected to my car by bluetooth (not CarPlay). The only solve seems to be to revoke Spotify's access to my phone's bluetooth. It happens more when I'm in close proximity to other cars (ie at busy intersections). It does not happen with other audio apps, only Spotify.

Plan

Premium

Country

USA

Device

iPhone 12mini

Operating System

iOS 18.4.1

[Susan_GP]

Hi there @theojeffgood,

Thanks for your post here in the Community!

We understand this is not happening with other apps, but have you checked if there's any interruption when using other Bluetooth devices? You could check with a speaker or headphones.

On another note, have you tried any steps to fix this besides unpairing the devices? If not, we recommend reinstalling the Spotify app by following these steps. No worries, you won't lose any saved content, but you might need to download your offline music again. You could also try connecting a different mobile device to your car to check if you have the same issue.

Let us know how that goes.

[mullis-family]

Fixed for me as well.  Think Spotify team is more focused on adding AI slop to their library than fixing this type of stuff

[theojeffgood]

I followed your suggestions. Here’s what I found:

• Using a different mobile device connected to my car. Same thing happens.
• Using a different bluetooth speaker. It happens, but way less. I’m testing at home, so presumably less bluetooth interference from cars / pedestrians.
• Re-installing the app. No effect.

[Lea43]

I just had two major updates, hoping it would help but nothing. Still
going mute and glitching. Don't start me on the AI bs! It drives me up the
wall! Nobody's asking for it and it's now stuffed into fkn everything!

[Braders2122]

Hello,

I have been experiencing an issue for several months. The only workaround I have found is to disable mobile data and use offline mode. This has resolved the jittering and glitching issues. This has worked for me and two other individuals I am aware of. I hope this can be resolved, as during long road trips, I can only play what I have downloaded without any issues. However, as soon as I enable mobile data, I encounter the same problems. I have also attempted to adjust the stream quality to low, but the issue persists. If you are able to try this and determine if it is effective for you, I would appreciate it. 

[karinskapski]

I’m experiencing this issue as well. I have an iPhone 12 Pro, but also tested this with my friend’s iPhone 14, logged into their Spotify account, connected to my vehicle. My vehicle is older - a 2011 model. This issue does not occur with other Bluetooth connections e.g. speakers. 

I don’t recall when this started exactly but it’s gotten progressively worse over time.

I notice when I’m driving past certain streets/landmarks this issue consistently happens. I do not have this issue with other apps e.g. YouTube.

I’ve also tried (each done in isolation, not at the same time, and not necessarily in this order):

• Unpairing and re-pairing phone to vehicle
• Unpairing all other devices from vehicle
• Unpairing all other devices from iPhone
• Clearing Spotify cache
• Uninstalling and reinstalling Spotify
• Disabling local device discovery via Spotify
• Changing streaming quality
• Disabling equalizer
• Disabling crossfade
• Updating iOS

I am a long time Spotify user (almost 10 years) but this is frustrating enough that I am considering switching to Apple Music.

[tomday]

This is a total stab in the dark but my theory is this is caused by the "start a jam" feature. I think the app is searching for other bluetooth devices with Spotify accounts so that they can join. My issues began when that feature rolled out and I've noticed the skipping occurs when in traffic but not on empty roads. If Spotify added a toggle of this feature (which I've never used) it might be a workaround for those with older cars.