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.

[myntrpd]

This thread seems to have gone cold...anyone have any new information?  The Spotify app is now on version 2.0.0.1643

[Keitheii]

Spotify was working for me somewhat until iOS 8.1.1, now it's completely broken again... They need to round up their CarPlay users and coordinate a beta test group, such frustration could be mitigated so easily that way.

[aware]

I let my premium subscription expire.  

It was too much of a mess and it didn't appear things were being addressed in a timely fashion.

[Jemzor]

I've been reading this thread with huge interest as I am looking to upgrade my stereo. Had an earlier demo with CarPlay on a Pioneer AVIC-F60DAB using my iPhone 6 running IOS 8.1.1 with spotify 2.0.0.1643.

I can't say I experienced any problems with the demo unit for the 15min I was messing around with it. I was however wondering whether a number of the issues that posters raised earlier have now been resolved.

The primary reason why I want to upgrade the stereo is to be able to stream music from spotify - either locally or through data streaming. Obviously the last thing I want to do is spend £1k+ on a system to find out it's not fit for purpose, or that it only works for some of the time, or that it won't stream music locally.

Any feedback from existing users would be greatly appreciated.

[technologiq]

The experience is still 'meh'.

Spotify works, and works better than it did originally but it can still be hit or miss when you fire it up and playing music sometimes.   We're still not at a point where you can plug it in and know it is going to work right off the bat.

To be perfectly honest:

• I don't think Spotify cares much at this point about CarPlay.
• I wouldn't subscribe to Spotify just for the Carplay experience.

[Huink7]

From my experience it seems that Spotify has issues with picking up where it left off. I've seen it work beautifully and I've also seen it work like @#$%.

I've tried to debug it by opening it via Carplay while it is running on my phone and most of the time it results in an empty playlist or wont play the song that I have selected.

On the other hand, i've tried opening it while the application wasnt running on my phone at all and it tends to work this way.

I do agree that Spotify probably shouldnt have created a half baked idea and released it.. I understand first to market is very attractive, but it defeats the purpose when the app isnt ready for production use.

They were also pretty sneaky about release an update that claimed "Now supports carplay" after it had already been on carplay but buggy as hell..

Also, sorry if I repeated others thoughts.. I didnt read all of the comments after joining the discussion =].

[ummario]

I have Pioneer SPH-DA120 and can tell you that Spotify experience is really bad. Works when it wants... sometimes blank screens... or freeze screens.... and now can't even make the full screen (leaves a empty space on the right side of the screen).

Also in other car I use (with Audi MMI), with the bluetooth connection using Spotify is also not so good. Sometimes MMI recognizes spotify as audio source and some others don't.

I hope Apple makes Beats music available in Europe soon. I will defenetly give it a try. Now with Spotify, with software that i can't use, is not worth keep paying a premium subscription.

Spotify: Any official statment please? Don't you see there is a lot of people with the same problems?

[myntrpd]

After using Spotify on my iPhone 5c running 8.1.1 for over a week with my SPH-DA120 AppRadio 4, I can sum up my Spotify experience within CarPlay mode in this sentence:  It works in the CarPlay app, but almost never without choosing a song/playlist on the phone screen to get the music started.

Sometimes I plug my phone in and it works fine, but most of the time I plug my phone in and it will load everything in the CarPlay app up to the point where I pick a song, and it just hangs there.  Then I have to grab my phone, go to the playlist and pick a song on my phone for it to start playing.  After that, I can skip songs just fine on the head unit, but if I try to go to a different playlist, I have to grab my phone to choose a song to get it to start playing.  All-in-all, not impressed.  I have ended up just using Spotify on my phone while it's plugged in, which totally defeats the purpose of the CarPlay app.

On a side note, anyone have an issue where Siri doesn't make the "begin listening" tone?  I almost always have to reach over and hit the button on the screen to tell her to start listening after saying "Hey Siri".

[Chrissfa]

Also have Pioneer sph-da120. Spotify was a massive reason for buying - I knew when I bought this that there may be 'a few bugs' but Spotify is unusable, unsafe and therefore not fit for purpose, in my opinion.

Everything else works great on CarPlay - Maps, Podcasts etc...

Issues:
-Always Slow and extremely unresponsive.
-Select a song, it usually doesn't work.
-If song eventually feels like playing, then select next track, device doesn't respond, it carries on playing start track. Sometimes it will catch up and register all my frustrated previous taps on next button, so song will skip to 5th track etc.
- ARGH!!

A big issue with the above is that IMO it is extremely dangerous. Someone could get very distracted having to keep tapping the screen in case it decides to wake up and do something, while keeping one eye on screen and one on the road. Awful.

The most confusing thing is that this shouldn't be too hard create as it seems to simply be a front skin for what is happening on your phone - a mirror, if you like.

[kking_75]

I'lol add to this thread as it seems to be a widespread problem.

I also have the Pioneer SPH-DA120 and it's really hit and miss whether the app works. Same symptoms as everyone else.

iPhone 5 (iOS 8.1.2)
Spotify (2.2.0)
Pioneer firmware (1.07)

RDIO seems to be fine ...

[Jemzor]

Think I'll hold on to purchasing the SPH-DA120 until there is a positive outcome since the main reason to buy for me would be for spotify.

Seems ridiculous that everyone is paying for hardware and subscription fees for a service that they are not getting. On top of that, Spotify seems reluctant to issue any statements to acknowledge the problem and explain what it's doing about it.

Mind boggling.

[joeliam]

Matt, I own the appradio4, and I would not recommend it just yet, especially if you are an avid Spotify user. There are so many issues with this version, that I've resolved to listening to itunes radio or (cough cough) FM stations, before going through the pain of playing with Spotify while driving. It's pretty bad right now...

[happyarthur1979]

Hey all,
I know it's not ideal as Spotify should just work (it doesn't look like it's going to) but if you open spotify direct from your iPhone instead of via your head unit, let it load up and you should then be able to operate all aspects of it via the head unit.
So connect your phone to your lightening connector, press ok for CarPlay connection then select spotify on your iPhone it should be fine.
I can browse and select playlists, top lists, albums etc.
Hope this helps.

[joeliam]

Ok so check this out, I edited my playlist in Spotify, and resynched all songs with the highest quality. I then took the playlist offline.

I turned off iTunes match, since most of the music I have is fairly dated, and there's nothing I can't already get through spotify, so my iTunes library is gone from my phone.

I also turned off the cellular access for iTunes, and voila, everything is working great now. I've been on the car all day, and it's all working perfectly.

I am loving the spotify music quality (extreme) vs playing over Bluetooth, it is simply outstanding!

[technologiq]

What worked for JoeLiam did not work for me, unfortunately.

[Djchad72]

I am using the Pioneer NEX4000. Music works great such as iTunes Albums and Playlists as well as iTunes Radio. However I find podcasts take a minute before they are available to play, even when already downloaded. It gets worse when you try iHeart and Spotify. So I am not entirely convinced it's 100% Spotify, but I have been following this thread for a while as Spotify is the one I wanted to work the most. I pay subscription and use offline play.

Even when I try to play from Spotify app on my iPhone 6 128gb, it doesn't always go to the now playing of the CarPlay player via Pioneer NeX4000. I have had a successful use once from Spotify app launched and played from head unit. It was after I closed all apps, did a power + home button power cycle, and made are nothing was queued to play via my phone after it rebooted. The Spotofy music played in just a second or two launched from the headunit. Since it's not worked under normal circumstances unless you jump,start it from the phone.

However I've had the same jump start issue via IHeart too. Has anyone else had flawless use of other CarPlay music apps besides Music?

[SeekHashem]

So, in the past two days, we've had a iOS update (now to 8.1.3) and a Spotify App update (v2.3.0).  

Hoping it addresses some of our Spotify in CarPlay woes.

Anyone discovering any improvement? 

[Heyzoos]

Nope. iPhone 6, iOS 8.1.3, Spotify 2.3.0

Completely unusable on by Pioneer. All other CarPlay apps work flawlessly.

My wife and I will be ceasing our subscriptions this month and use Rdio for the mean time.

[joeliam]

Hi T! Yeah, so this has been an intermittent solution, but it's worked for me (most) of the time. I also found that turning off wifi and Bluetooth will let me control the playlist faster, as well as opening the app on the phone first. These head units are so loaded with extra crap, that I can't believe the basic functions even work. Overall though, I like it a lot

[ovalball]

Hi all.New owner of Pioneer SPH DA 120 and thought I was doing something wrong when trying to use the CarPlay Spotify app.Everything worked as expected until I selected a song to play then.....nothing!Previous audio source just kept on playing.Not a good start to my new life with Pioneer CarPlay!
Really hope this gets sorted out ASAP as it was one of the main reasons for buying the head unit.