CarPlay extremely buggy

[technologiq]

Spotify on CarPlay is buggy bordering on unusable.   If I try to play my starred playlist, I just get a 'empty' looking playlist.  Sometimes it will start playing something after 30 or so seconds but most of the time it does nothing.

Spotify will also randomly force close.  Music cuts, screen goes back to the main carplay menu.  

Sometimes it will startup normally but then I get no sound.

This is Spotify running on iOS 8.0.2 via iPhone 6+ on a Pioneer AVH-4000NEX head unit.

Please, please work on CarPlay. 

Edit 1-5-2015: Spotify 2.2.0.2464 on iOS 8.1.2 (12B440) on iPhone 6+ and the issues are still there.

Edit: 6-11-2015: Spotify 3.2.0.1554 on iOS 8.3 (12F70) on iPhone 6+: Recently I've had better luck with Spotify loading correctly and playing correctly. Occassionally I'll have audio break up (not sure if that's the iPhone 6+, Spotify or the head unit).     It should be noted that I like Spotify and don't care for other products out there (for some reason another product was marked as the solution to this thread).  I'm glad to see some positive movement for Spotify and CarPlay.

6-11-15 Update 2:   2 things happen frequently:  Songs play at 2x (skipping every few seconds).  Spotify stops responding for 4-5 seconds.

[hcchef1975]

Yep I have the same problem the only to fix it for me is to reconnect it but it almost every time I connect it now i these these issues either playing the music too fast or coming up with play button on screen and when I press it nothing happens , there obviously bugs with the system so apple or Spotify need to pull there finger out and fix them asap otherwise they will both loose out.

[user-removed]

Hello everyone!

So many bugs in this App! Still I want to tell you something that may help.

• FFW

Have you guys tried reseting everything after the update from 4th of July? After 8 months of 5 out of every 10 times I played Spotify to be in FFW, I have not had the issue again, at least till today (still have the No Play issue, freezing and other bugs). Give it  try:

1. Log out
2. Delete the App
3. Reset Carplay and fisically disconnect your iPhone
4. Remove Carplay profile from your iPhone
5. Download Spotify again
6. Login
7. Connect to you Car and give the permissions needed, all of them.
8. Play your music and observe the next few days.

For a week this has worked... I really really hope the issue to be solved.

Other bugs:

• Play button not working from Carplay

Every time I hop in my VW and connect the phone I want to play Spotify from the Touchscreen and PLOP! Play button won't do anything. When I go to the phone it is in Play but no sound goes to the car. I have to Pause and Play in the iPhone to work this out, that happens every time I have Spotify opened by Carplay

[notsohappy]

Thanks for the great tips. I must admit, however, that I'm cancelling my
spotify subscription at the end of the month. Apple music is the same price
and works flawlessly with carplay.

[dristie-nl]

Question. Do you force close Spotify after getting out of your car?
I think I noticed something..I think.. when i force close the spotify app, the play button doesnt work when I get in my car. Spotify starts on the iphone and music plays, but no music from audio system. And when it does work, I notice the FWD. So I stopped closing the app.
When Im in my car, hit play and it starts playing music with no problems. Give it a try.. I will try anything to enjoy it.

[user-removed]

Yes Apple Music works like a charm. The only thing I find better in Spotify is I like more the way to manage playlists and how to share music... in Apple is not that great for me. Still I have both 😝

[user-removed]

I do force close it when it starts to FFWD. With the new update I think I have obviously (I have a OCD with notifications and opened apps not being used hehe) force closed the app.... still FFWD is gone. I'm checking that...

[dristie-nl]

No.. what I mean is, when you're not in the car, do you force close the spotify app? (tap tap, swipe up). When you get back in your car, you start Spotify from the car play menu?

What I do is, when I get out of the car, I disconnect the lighting cable, and just minimize Spotify. I don't (force) close it. When I get back in my car, I connect my Iphone, and can hit Play buttom and music starts playing. Sometimes I don't even have to hit play, music just starts playing automatically.

I have notice that when I force closed spotify before getting in the car, connect my iphone, hit play, nothing is working. For what I see, is Spotify starts on my Iphone, is playing on my iphone, but no sound over the speaker or when it does, its just FFWD.

That's why I decided not to close the app anymore. I have tested this 5 times today all with succes. If I accidentally closed the app, I just start it and minimize it, before I get into my car. Whatever helps right? 🙂

[hcchef1975]

Yes I agree Spotify is much better for managing your music.

[shadownz]

I'm having major problems with Spotify and Apple Carplay.

I usually open Spotify on Carplay with the phone locked, navigate to my library, songs then press shuffle. Most of the time I'm just presented with a screen with back, play and forward and nothing happens.

I have noticed sometimes when going through the menus that they take a little while to populate, including having the menus across the top of the screen show up. It gets a bit fustrating as I'll try to close the app and re-open it and sometimes I'll get lucky and it'll work. 

I was using apple music but switched to Spotify as my mobile phone provider offered premium as part of the bundle.

I use a Sony XAV-AX100 headunit, iphone 7, iOS 10.3.3 and app ver 8.4.8.467

[user-removed]

Dristie,
Yes I concluded something like that too so I don't force close the App anymore.. But I STILL have the problem sometimes specifically if I use the app to do other things...
So I think it's an issue with the app not running correctly or stopping running in the background or something breaking after a while of not being used. What iPhone do you have? Mine is and old iPhone 6 so it should also have less memory than newer ones.

[dristie-nl]

About 3 weeks ago I also had an iPhone 6.. now I have an iPhone 7 Plus.. same thing.. has nothing to do with memory. I will, as an experience, try to connect my phone with bluetooth and test Spotify. But I don't think I will have the same issues..

[user-removed]

It's a bad app design for CarPlay then. Apple Music App works like a charm all the time. I wonder if anyone from Spotify pay attention to this forums. We are doing their job 😜

[shadownz]

The latest update is an utter disaster for carplay, I'm on iOS 11.0.3 and Spotify ver 8.4.22.515 and using it on a Sony Headunit.

When I try to open the app now I'm just given a blank screen, if I press the home button to go out then try to open the app again I might get "now playing" in the corner but nothing else is displayed

[hcchef1975]

I had a lot of problems with Spotify and think that after using Apple Music that Spotify will never be as good using Apple Music on CarPlay , I’m pretty sure that’s wat Apple want after all CarPlay is a Apple system. But saying that Spotify is a superior music app.
I wonder if the android system works better with Spotify ?