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.

[S8oxl]

iPhone 6 when using car play Spotify plays from playlist then freezes when trying to skip track then crashes out
Please fix

[aware]

Third party Carplay App report:

Rdio--Works Great

iHeart Radio--Works Great

Spotify--Hot Mess

[Spankey00]

 iHeart Radio is working fine, so any issues are most likely have to do with Spotify.

I do have a workaround which works over 90% of the time for me. 

1. Launch Spotify from withing Carplay
2. Menus do not load
3. Hit the Carplay Home button to go to home screen
4. Hit Spotify icon again and menus will be there, Spotify will work as expected.

I don't know if it's lag time in loading menus, but all other apps load on first go. Spotify is not completely useless now and it takes two extra clicks to get it working.

[Keitheii]

Same problems.. spotify with CarPlay was buggy but usable somewhat until 8.1, now it is totally unusable. Here are my issues:
1. Album cover thumbnails take forever to appear, then they rapidly flash on and off every second.
2. When the app first opens I can usually play a song... If I let it play songs in order it seems to be ok for a few sonhs and then the app crashes and I'm done.
3. At this point selecting any song does nothing, will not play. If I open a song stored on my iPhone with the iPod function that plays fine, if I go back into spotify and select a spotify song, it will not switch to the spotify song but will show the now playing screen for my local iPod song instead.
4. Constant crashing...

Spotify: did you eve test this release? How about some communication acknowledging the issue and let us know you're fixing it?

[Twist0105]

Well.

I had a more interesting experience on my hour and a half drive last night in mostly silence... 

I've been irritated about the spotify experience on my avic-6000. I've updated to IOS 8.1 (the day it came out) and it hadn't helped spotify stability much. I'm annoyed and in a quandry, because I'm going to have to decide if I should return this new head unit before that window expires; I consider the environment unsafe and unusable. However...

Last nights drive problem wasn't anything to do with Spotify carplay at all. My Podcasts app exhibited roughly the same behavior as spotify has been for all of us, maps crashed twice, and once the entire system just "dropped" the iphone connection altogether, and decided there was no iphone connected. (Yes, the cable was still snug.)

I'm starting to wonder how much of this is an IOS and/or headunit issue, rather than being spotify specifically. I'm still irritated by the lack of communication, and I'm torn - I know early adopters deal with bugs and whatnot, but I've got a $1000 headunit that is practically unusable (at least, when it crashes it can't be debugged while I'm driving... oh, the irony - I bought the thing to make my spotify use in the car SAFER!) I'm not sure I want to risk waiting (past the return period from crutchfield) for apple and/or spotify to get their crap together. 

Just a little communication about this stuff - we know there's a problem, we're looking into it - and I'd maybe wait it out, but having this system while nobody admits an issue makes me worry I just threw away a lot of money.

If it would help anyone I'm debating borrowing the dept go pro camera, mounting, and just recording my drive home. Worth the hassle?

Sigh...

Twy

[user-removed]

The woes continue!!! Spotify working ok ish in offline mode with synced playlists but then once you turn it back to streaming it all goes a little wrong!! stuttering, taking eternity to start playing new track and once it does it then crashes, please someone from spotify reply. The other rather embarassing thing is that i have just signed up to a Deezer account and that is flying along with online and offline mode, obviously not in car play mode YET...if this isnt sorted or even acknowledged by someone at spotify then a cancelled sub is coming.

so like other

Rdio - Fine

Deezer - Fine

Mixcloud - Fine

Itunes - fine

Podcasts - fine

Rinse FM - Fine

Soundcloud - Fine

Spotify - Needs some serious attention 

All above being tested and used on

Iphone 6

Pioneer SPH DA-120

[glenf1975]

Couldn't agree more. The Spotify Carplay app is totally unusable. I too have a Pioneer unit. Hopefully Spotify sorts this out quickly.

[PJRM68]

iHeartRadio and Rdio both work just fine. Why is Spotify so unusable? I gave them the benefit of the doubt when it didn't work right after CarPlay was released, but for the second update to still be completely unusable is just unbelievable.

I do a lot of my listening in the car, and if they can't get the app working soon, I'm going to have to cancel my subscription. It's just wasted money right now, and I find myself listening to iTunes Radio and iHeartRadio more now anyway, because they work.

[happyarthur1979]

It is really bloody annoying when Spotify can't rectify this and Rdio get it right first time!
We are yet to get iTunes Radio and iheartradio here in the UK so I'm still streaming Spotify via Bluetooth as well as internet radio using TuneIn Radio!

[fiesta]

The one thing which I feel the most annoying is, that NOBODY, not a single person of spotify even responded to this posting. I don't expect a perfect solution within 1 day, nowadays this is hardly possible. But at the moment I feel like they don't give a **bleep** about this problems. My personal deadline for subscripion cancelling: Next sunday if I don't hear anything from Spotify by then.

[PJRM68]

I have to say, I'm right there with you. It makes no sense for me to keep paying for something that I can't use. I've enjoyed Spotify a lot, but unless this app gets fixed, I'm going to have to cancel and use one of the other services that does work. I'm giving it a week--and not even for the app to be fixed, but at least for Spotify to acknowledge the problem--and then I'll cancel my premium.

[Keitheii]

Rumor is Apple is turning beats music into a spotify and rhapsody competitor, maybe spotify will have to ramp up its quality control and customer service now.

[user-removed]

Me too. Cancellation coming. Why are they not responding in any way??? doesnt make sense to just let people rant! Very poor customer service indeed.....

[Twist0105]

So... last night was a typical cluster, left work at 10:45 and looking forward to a nice hour drive home. Carplay funsies started a mile in - honestly, i thought it was working for a change. I was wrong... this time, however, I had a spare camera handy, so pulled over and hit record while I tried to make it play something. I recorded me trying to get it running again, took 12 mins. Pardon the shakeycam, this was unplanned. You've got a few of the "greatist hits" errors here - flashing icons, no text, or text but just won't play (from cached songs, btw.) Wasnt just Spotify though, Podcasts was weird too.

If a mod wants to edit this post to embed the video better, go nuts, I just dont know how.

It is also entirely possible I've missed some operation trick (beyond "well, pull out the phone and try there"... thats why I bought a carplay radio!!) If so feel free to let me know, because I'd love to know how to make this $900 radio, well, yanno, work as advertised. By all means tell me I'm stupid for missing something, cause right now I just feel dumb for being an early adopter.

I think it's time to return stereo and consider cancelling. 

http://youtu.be/OXyYCO3uyEc

[technologiq]

I'd suggest if you want to hear back from Spotify at this point that you tweet at @SpotifyCares that you are having this issue.  Perhaps if they get enough complains they'll actually do something about it.  Right now I am really surpised at the lack of ... anything being done.  There are several Music apps that work fine with CarPlay.

This place is, however, not tech support.  I'm going to raise the issue with them as well and see where we can get.

[Greg]

Hey everyone!

Apologies for the delay in getting back to you on this. 

We are currently looking into the issues you have reported.

If you haven't done so already, please let us know the following:

- Description of the issue 

- iPhone and iOS you're using

- Model of stereo you're using 

Thank you to everyone who has already provided this, we'll update you guys as soon as we have more info. 

[user-removed]

Hi, 

Thanks for replying albeit 3 weeks later! I can confirm that i have answered all your questions in previous posts but for ease they are as follows

Iphone 6 with latest software

SPH DA120

Issues are it just doesnt work, crashes, no artwork, really goes clunky in online mode....see for all the info you really will have to trail through the past posts.

Also just to point out with the other music streamers i use and radio apps this doesnt happen.

Thanks

[happyarthur1979]

Hey,

I'm using :-

iPhone 5s running iOS 7.1.2 (jailbroken)
Pioneer AVH-X8600BT
Latest version of Spotify

I'm in the UK

Cheers.

[technologiq]

I'm glad to see Spotify in here finally.  I think yesterday when I sent complaints via facebook, website, etc with a link here maybe it got your guys attention 🙂

- Upon launching Spotify via carplay interface, I will go to a song, album or playlist and... nothing will happen.

- Any song that isn't already downloaded will result in the background image and controls on the screen flashing.

- Everything works 'slightly' better using the Airplane mode trick.  However, my phone in airplane mode makes it useless for everything else

- Using the reigon change trick (see below) CarPlay almost functions as intended however it will crash 2 times before working correctly.  I can repeat this over and over again.  Generally 1-2 minutes into the song Spotify will quit and relaunch on the phone.

iPhone I'm using:  iPhone 6 Plust 128GB AT&T

iOS version: 8.1

Head unit;  Pioneer AVH-4000NEX

Reigon change trick (Thaks to Edwin @ Spotify Support) 

1. Go to settings.
2. Scroll down to General.
3. Scroll down to International.
4. Go to Region Format and change your Country to United Kingdom
5. Turn the phone off and then back on.
6. Go back to the Region Format and change the Country to your original Country again.

[PJRM68]

Same problems for me as those cited above. My equipment:

IPhone 6 with IOS 8.1 (Verizon)
Latest version of Spotify app
Pioneer AVH-NEX4000 head unit.