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.

[Maria]

Hey folks,

Thanks for posting in this thread!

@karinskapski - would you mind double-checking the device's Bluetooth settings? As mentioned by @tomday, some settings could interfere with playback in certain scenarios or with specific setups. 

We've also seen reports similar to what you're describing in this thread, so feel free to give the steps mentioned there a try, if you haven't already:

1. Go to your phone's Settings
2. Select Privacy & Security
3. Tap Bluetooth
4. Toggle Spotify off

Let us know how you get on!

[tomday]

Perfect! Thanks for sharing that Maria. Problem fixed

[Bernal1]

I have paying for premium and i am getting music cutting out here and there for no apparent reason please fix

[sethjlamb]

Having this issue on iOS 18.5 on a 15 Pro as of June 2025. Turned off Bluetooth for Spotify in Privacy and the issue still persists. I think the app needs an update. 

[Ipap23]

Same here

[General_grevious]

Having the same problem but sadly can’t find any fixes

[hcarrilho]

Hi all,

I've been experiencing the same issue over the past few months. It used to work perfectly for me. Interestingly, the issue also occurs in my friend's car, which made me dig a little deeper within the Spotify app and not just a fault with my car headset.

After some trial and error, I noticed that the music tends to jump or disconnect only when the Spotify screen is open on my phone while playing. However, if I lock my phone screen (so the app runs in the background) the music plays smoothly without any interruptions.

It made me wonder if this could be a safety feature introduced in a recent update, possibly to encourage drivers to stay focused on the road rather than interacting with the app? Just a theory, but since I started locking my screen during playback, I haven’t had any issues.

Feel free to give it a try and see if it works for you too.

[ZZWW1]

I have the same issue and it's only isolated to spotify, youtube works fine.

[scottejohnson]

Same here.  Really no fix for this? Seems like something that needs attention, Spotify.  Makes it impossible to actually use the service we pay for.

[Lea43]

I finally left for different providers. Should have done that a year ago. No problems now at all and actually better service overall.

[northerntwilight]

Are you suggesting we not connect via Bluetooth to play Spotify in our cars? I guess I'm not seeing how that is a great solution. I've have the same issue where Spotify skips when connected via Bluetooth (in my car or to any Bluetooth speaker) and I have Spotify app open on my phone, onscreen. If I don't have Spotify up and on-screen, the skipping stops. I would like to be able to use the app while connected to Bluetooth and no have this skipping issue that has grown progressively worse. 

I have seen a number of posts for this issue and no fixes or solutions from Spotify. How can we get developers to take a look at this issue seriously? I enjoy Spotify and don't want to have to change to another service if I can help it. 

Thanks.

[northerntwilight]

Just want to add myself here as another user with this issue. Spotify skips for me when connected to Bluetooth and the app is open and up on my phone. It happens primarily in the car, but I have also tested this on other Bluetooth speakers and experience the same skipping behavior. I've don't all the troubleshooting and nothing fixes this. It only happens with Spotify, I have not had this issue with any other app.

I would really love to see Spotify take this issue seriously and fix it. This has grown progressively worse over time. We shouldn't have to play work around games to solve the problem (as in not having the app up on screen when playing). I should be able to stream and browse for songs or pick another playlist, etc. without risking playback issues. 

[jordanderson7]

The fix suggested by Maria

1. Go to your phone's Settings
2. Select Privacy & Security
3. Tap Bluetooth
4. Toggle Spotify off

This only impacts the jam feature, not spotify's ability to play through a bluetooth connected device. Edevo in another thread about this said "

A reddit thread (https://www.reddit.com/r/ios/comments/16a35p2/unknown_iphone_randomly_connects_to_my_own_iphone/) advised how to prevent unknown devices automatically connecting using the above steps, with the side result of resolving the Spotify stuttering.

IMO, it's a security issue having unknown devices connect to my phone without my approval. Spotify should disable the Jam feature, and Apple shouldn't allow this to happen either. "

[MeteKhan]

Plan

Premium

Country

Canada

Device

iPhone 14 Pro

Operating System

iOS 18.7

My Question or Issue

I'm experiencing a recurring issue with the Spotify app on my iPhone 14 when connected via Bluetooth to my Toyota Highlander. Playback starts normally, but as I approach intersections, the audio becomes choppy or drops out entirely. Additionally, the song title displayed on my car’s infotainment screen changes from the actual track name to a generic “Streaming Audio” label.

This issue seems to be specific to Spotify—Apple Music, YouTube audio, and the iOS Podcasts app all work flawlessly under the same conditions. That leads me to believe the problem lies with the Spotify app rather than my car’s Bluetooth system.

Here’s what I’ve already tried:

• Updated Spotify to the latest version

• Deleted and reinstalled the app

• Unpaired and re-paired my iPhone with the car’s Bluetooth system

• Restarted both my phone and the car’s infotainment system

• Tested playback with the Spotify app running in the background instead of foreground

None of these steps have resolved the issue. I’d appreciate any insights or suggestions from the community or Spotify support. Is this a known bug, possibly related to Spotify Jam or Bluetooth permissions?

[Adoss]

Hola,

Estuve leyendo lo que comenta Cristo19 y me ocurre exactamente lo mismo. Tengo una cuenta familiar con mi marido y a ambos nos pasa: después de un rato la reproducción comienza a trabarse, a veces con bastante frecuencia.

Sucede tanto con conexión Bluetooth como con USB (esta última aguanta un poco más sin trabarse). Lo he probado en distintos vehículos y el problema se repite. He notado, además, que el problema empeora cuando estoy en la ciudad y mejora cuando voy por carretera.

Con otras aplicaciones, como YouTube, no ocurre, solo con Spotify. Ya reinstalé la app y confirmo que no tengo actualizaciones pendientes. Agradecería mucho su ayuda para resolverlo.

[FQUIROZP]

Thanks the tip help me a lot 

[lilredrunner]

There is an issue with Spotify. I have tried all the above and it still skips in my car. I played Apple Music yesterday and it didn't skip at all. I switched back to Spotify for the drive home and the skipping started again.

[OscarDC]

Hey @lilredrunner,

Welcome to the Community and thank you for joining the thread.

To continue investigating this behavior, would you mind checking if connecting your phone via AUX or Wi-Fi (if possible) makes any difference?

Also, could you confirm if this happens with all the playlists you've tried or if it’s specific to one playlist or listening to podcasts?

Lastly, include in your next response the troubleshooting steps you've done so far to avoid repeating processes already tried.

We'll be waiting for your response. 

[Mwilkosz]

Plan: Premium Family Plan

Country: USA

Device

Pixel 7a

Operating System

Android v. 16 (latest version)

My Question or Issue

A few months ago, Spotify started skipping in the bluetooth in my car. It's incredibly infuriating. It isn't a poor cellular connection. I've tried clearing the cache several times. I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling the app. It doesn't happen on my headphones. It doesn't happen on my phone speaker. It doesn't happen on the desktop app or the web player. I don't have another car to connect it to, so please don't suggest trying that. The first time I cleared the cache, it was fine for like four days. When it started again, I cleared the cache again and it didn't even last 24 hours (and yes I'm clearing the cache in both the app and in my phone settings). Equalizer is turned off, audio quality is set to adjust automatically based on signal strength. I've tried all the commonly found fixes out there. I don't understand how I went literally 8 years on Spotify Premium with no problem, and all of a sudden there's this. I haven't changed my phone in a couple years so it's not a new phone issue. My car has been the same for a few years so it's not a new car issue. @Spotify please help! This is ridiculous!

[JillD1]

Do we toggle it back on- after we toggle it off?