Cannot download app to Apple Watch on Apple Family Setup

[Seanoneill65]

Plan - Family

Free/Premium - Premium

Country - United States

Device

Apple Watch SE

Operating System

7.4.1 (18T201)

My Question or Issue

We recently purchased 2 Apple Watch SEs for our girls. We also purchased cellular data plans for them from T-Mobile. Note that they have their own Apple IDs/accounts and their own iPads with latest iOS, but neither has an iPhone, so we set the watches up using Apple’s Family Setup. Everything was set-up properly and works as expected, except we cannot download Spotify to their watches. They both have their own Spotify Family Plan logins and their Spotify accounts work perfectly on their iPads. However, Spotify did not automatically download when the watches were set-up, as I would have expected. So we have tried going to the App Store on the watch to download Spotify and it won’t let us - we receive the message in the watch App Store that a phone is required. My impression is that this is not the case. Our girls LOVE Spotify and it was a good portion of the reason we bought the watches. Help!

[MattSuda · Accepted solution]

Hey @Seanoneill65 

Sorry to hear about this.

Right now Spotify does not have a standalone Apple Watch app.

The way the Spotify Apple Watch app works right now is that it requires the iPhone app on an iPhone. The Spotify Apple Watch app can control the playback for the Spotify iPhone app, or you can stream music directly to the Apple Watch with paired bluetooth headphones if you have a cellular connection. Also today Spotify announced that in the coming weeks you will be able to download music to playback offline on the Apple Watch with connected bluetooth headphones for when you don't have an internet connection or your iPhone with you.

Until Apple comes out with a system to manage and sync watches from the iPad, or Spotify comes out with a standalone watch app (this may not be possible with the current watch limitations), you will need to have the watch paired to an iPhone to use the Spotify Apple Watch app.

[Seanoneill65]

Bummer. But thank you for the background/ details. I hope this gets resolved in the not too distant future. Seems like a silly limitation.

[MattSuda]

You're welcome!

[staylorz]

I agree with the OP that not having a standalone app for the Apple Watch is very disappointing. My son has the exact watch with cellular, which does not need my phone to call or text, and is bummed that he cannot have his Spotify family account on his watch. I really hope it is a possibility in the very near future. 

[richardfstrange]

It must be technically possible since Pandora manages to do it fine. Disappointing that the service I subscribe to with a family plan can't pull this off, when I only really got my family plan for this. I don't want to pay the added expense of getting another phone and plan for my daughter for this, since we are trying hard to avoid her getting a phone.

[staylorz]

Same! I’m not getting my 10 year old a phone, hence the purchase of an Apple Watch cellular standalone. He desperately wants to listen to his playlists on his watch. C’mon, Spotify!! And yes, we have the Premium Family Plan. Remember, happy customers are needed for profit. You can make this work!

[j-kn9pbf6_7sh]

Add me to the disappointed list in the exact same situation with 10-year old twins.  

[staylorz]

*love*

[Bustagrill]

This is very disappointing. We just purchased an Apple Watch for our daughter to use with family setup. Spotify is the only thing we are really wishing we had on the watch through family setup that isn't available. We are not about to spend several hundred dollars on an iphone for her after just spending hundreds of dollars on the watch. (She already has an ipad). So it looks like we will sign up for an Apple music account, which has a 3-month free trial. If Spotify hasn't fixed this by the time our free trial is up we will probably have to bail on Spotify as it doesn't make sense to pay for two separate music streaming services.

[Peispurs]

Just signed up for the 3 free months to Apple Music. It is now easy for my kids to listen to music on their apple watches through the Apple Music app under apple family sharing. They have their own apple watches but no phones. Spotify does not have this feature. I will cancel my Spotify subscription in 3 months if Spotify continues to not allow their app to be put on apple watches under family sharing. 

[ilovemz2]

For anyone switching to Apple Music because of this, like me, there's are a few methods for  transfer playlists from Spotify to Apple Music that you can google. Some of the easier ways don't work with children's accounts though.

[joeytmn]

Spotify... Please fix this. Make it so you can install Spotify on a stand alone, family Apple Watch! Otherwise I'll have to cancel my family premium plan and go with Apple Music. 

[Joshturner43]

Agreed. This is a joke. I have been with Spotify since it was in beta form. Looks like we may be moving to Apple...ugh. 

[andiesch]

I really don’t want to move back to Apple Music because I too have been with Spotify for about seven years but I have to agree that they really should develop this app for the watch only. Same boat as all of you just got the watch phone for my daughter and she’ll be disappointed that she can’t listen to her Spotify. I wish that Spotify would at least acknowledge the situation.

[staylorz]

After receiving several notification emails regarding people posting to this thread I decided to add another response to the original post. The first post was written almost exactly 1 year ago, in May 2021. I’m pretty sure it does not take 1 year to write code for a stand-a-lone Apple Watch app. I am thinking the kids will just have to wait until they’re old enough for a phone. Until then, they have to use the same tech they’ve been using for Spotify. An app on this particular Apple Watch is not going to happen. What a shame. 

[rubybea123]

same! i just got an apple watch and dont have a phone, just an ipad and am very annoyed by this

[AziLarsen]

Im grateful to have found this thread as its been driving me nuts that I cant seem to download spotify kids for my 10 yo son's new Apple Watch (which we got instead of an Iphone). Its one of the main reasons we wanted to get the watch so its beyond disappointing indeed they havent fixed this yet - we have been with spotify since the beginning too. 

[mitoids]

I have the same issue with my 12-year old son's watch.  Anybody know if I can get around this issue by pairing his watch with my old iPhone, which is not subscribed to a cellular plan?

[hahsjs]

Hello, I also have the same problem. And I commented on the App Store.