Bluetooth Play/Pause Button Problems

[actualJP]

Spotify Premium US

iPhone XR
iOS 12.4
Spotify App 8.15.17

When playing podcasts via Bluetooth AND podcast speed is NOT 1x (I usually listen at 1.25x, but have tried other speeds), the Spotify app will not pause when the Play/Pause button on the headphones is depressed. Play works fine. If I set the speed to 1x, Pause works fine. With my wired (Beats urBeats 3) headset, all buttons work normally at all speeds. Just my Sony WI-C400 headphones.

[jamesarosen]

I'm having the same problem on iOS 14.7.1 with Raycon E55 headphones.

[CarlosE]

Hey folks,

Thanks for reaching out to the Community.

Try logging out from your account > unpairing your headphones and phone > restarting your phone > logging back in and pairing your devices again. Any difference?

@jamesarosen, if that doesn't do the trick, could you try with different headphones and let us know if this behavior persists?

Keep us posted.

[jamesarosen]

1. Logged out of Spotify
2. Selected "Forget this device" on my Raycon headphones
3. Restart phone
4. Pair Raycon headphones
5. Sign in to Spotify
6. Play podcast at 1.5x
7. Pressing button on headphones doesn't pause the podcast

The Raycon's play/pause function does work on other apps, including Overcast and Libro.fm

The only other Bluetooth headphones I have around are AirPods. Removing an AirPod from my ear does cause Spotify to pause the podcast.

[MafeG]

Hi @jamesarosen,

Thank you for keeping us in the loop. 

We appreciate the troubleshooting you've done so far. Please try running a clean reinstall of the app, these steps are very thorough and make sure no damaged leftover files remain. Make sure to restart your device before running the newly installed app - this will allow the Bluetooth system to start afresh.

Let us know how this goes. 

[jamesarosen]

Thanks for the additional idea. I followed the steps for a clean reinstall of the Spotify app on my iOS device. The problem remains.

[MafeG]

Hey there @jamesarosen,

Thank you for your swift reply. 

Please try resetting your Bluetooth settings on your phone. Keep in mind it will remove all network info, including paired devices and WIFI networks.

You do this by going to Settings > General > Reset and tap “Reset Network Settings". 

If this doesn't do the trick, let us know if this issue happens only when you're listening to podcasts or if it also happens with music.

We'll be on the lookout.

[jamesarosen]

Sadly, the network reset didn't solve the problem.

• Spotify music: works fine (only 1x playback speed is supported)
• Spotify podcast:**bleep**, 0.8x, and 1x playback speeds
• Spotify podcast:**bleep**, 1.5x, 1.8x, 2x, and 2.5x playback speeds
• Overcast: works fine at all playback speeds
• Libro.fm: works fine at all playback speeds

[Alex]

Hi there @jamesarosen,

Thanks for the reply and the info.

It looks like this issue might be related to the way the specific headset interprets signals from the Spotify app, which may vary depending on the podcast speed. 

Currently there is no way to change this manually from the Spotify app. We've reported this to the right teams at Spotify, but we can't say for sure when or if this will be fixed. 

We recommend keeping your app up to date as this may be handled in a future release.

Hope this helps.

[jamesarosen]

I think this is a duplicate of https://community.spotify.com/t5/iOS-iPhone-iPad/Can-t-pause-podcast-with-Bluetooth-while-on-a-speed...

Interestingly, the double-tap to advance/rewind and triple-tap to increase/decrease volume all work. It's only play/pause that has problems.

[Daniel7422]

Looking for the same issue. Bumped into your thread. Thanks for creating it. Looking forward for solution.

[Jeremy]

Hi there @Daniel7422,

Thank you for your reply in this thread.

As mentioned above - this has been reported to the right team, but we can't say when or if this will be fixed.

In the meantime, make sure to always keep your app up to date.

Let us know if we can help you with anything else 🙂

Take care!

[jamesarosen]

Interestingly, this is also a problems with the same headphones and same phone when using the OverDrive app.

Some apps work fine; others don’t.

[Markhansen240]

Once again Spotify proves to be the most difficult podcasting app because of the simplest issues. Not only can you not automate downloads and delete, if you try to speed up podcasts it ruins all external button operation and years go by with both issues but no actual solutions are made

[TTcorporate]

I have the same problem. It seem like the issue occur when you increase the speed of the podcast, but not when you play 1x or slower. Must be a bug in the app somewhere. It’s 2023 and the issue has not been resolved? 

[Travisplo]

It seems to not just be Spotify, I've started having this issue with the Documents app by Readdle. I think it might be an issue with iOS itself that specifically has to be accounted for by the App by making a custom playback system, instead of just using the default iOS controls.

For example, the podcast player "Overcast" can do it without issues, so I guess they must have made some sort of custom playback system or control system for their app.