Device Lock Screen not working when listening on another device

[broeckc]

Plan

Premium

Country

USA

Device

iPhone 12 Pro

Operating System

IOS 14.2.1

My Question or Issue

Hello,

I recently upgraded to an iPhone 12 Pro running IOS 14.2.1. I normally control an iPad on my wifi network that is connected to my stereo from both my iPhone and my Apple Watch. In the Spotify App Setting Devices Menu, I have the Devices Lock Screen (Control your music from the lock screen when listening on another device) turned on. The control works fine when I'm playing music on my iPhone just not when it's playing on another device. My Apple Watch can still control the iPad. I've restarted my phone and reinstalled the Spotify app.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

[broeckc]

Hey folks,

Thanks for writing about this here in the Community.

Writing to confirm that what you've experienced is due to this functionality not being supported anymore by the new iOS.

In case of feedback, it'd be great to reach out to Apple!

[Ver]

Hey @broeckc,

Thanks for reaching out to us 🙂
 

It's important to make sure that the app is first running in the background after locking the screen.

If the issue persists, it's a good idea to give these steps a go and run a clean reinstall. This one is more thorough than the usual one. That way you can make sure the app is up-to-date and the cache is not causing any issues.

Keep us in the loop! If you have questions, we are here for you.

[Jchaduh]

I am having the same issue on my iPhone 12 Pro Max after upgrading from an iPhone 11 Pro Max.

With the iPhone 12 Pro Max, the Spotify app recognizes the other device playing music but it does not display on my iPhone 12 Pro Max Lock Screen. I have check notifications and Lock Screen settings and they are all enabled.

[Jeremy]

Hey there @Jchaduh,

Thank you for your reply. We're sorry to hear that you experience this.

Can you confirm if you followed the steps that @Ver provided?

It can also be good to do a soft reset of the device and make sure that the operating system is up-to-date.

If that doesn't do the trick - can you try with another internet connection?

We'll keep an eye out for your reply.

Cheers!

[Jchaduh]

Can you confirm if you followed the steps that @Verprovided? Yes I did. 

It can also be good to do a soft reset of the device and make sure that the operating system is up-to-date. Yes, I’ve tried that on both devices and both OS are up to date. 

If that doesn't do the trick - can you try with another internet connection? I tried without WiFi and just cellular connection and the secondary device is still not displaying Now Playing on Lock Screen. 

[Ver]

Hey @Jchaduh,

Thanks for keeping us posted 🙂

In this case, it's a good idea to try re-syncing all the devices with each other and to re-launch the Spotify app across all of them. It's important that they stay connected to the same network. Are there any changes?

Let us know how it goes. If you have questions, you know where to find us.

[Jchaduh]

I just “forgot” both iOS devices from my MacBook, made sure they were both connected to the same WiFi, relaunched Spotify, played a song on one, it shows up in the app on the other iOS device but not on the Lock Screen. 

[Alex]

Hi @Jchuduh,

Thanks for the info.

Can you make sure that there is no battery optimization running on your phone and that Background Refresh is switched ON? These settings control how apps behave when the screen is switched off and are often reset when updating to new OS versions.

Go to:

1 - Low Power Mode (Settings -> Battery -> Low Power Mode) needs to be off 

2 - Background App Refresh (Settings -> General-> Background App Refresh needs to be ON for Spotify

If Background refresh is greyed out in the ON position, go To Settings - > General - > Background App Refresh - > Turn on the option for the system, and then you can turn on / off by app.

Let us know how it looks after this 🙂

[Jchaduh]

Low power mode is OFF. Background App Refresh is Enabled (and not greyed out). Issue persists. 

[Jeremy]

Hey again @Jchaduh,

Thank you for your reply and confirmation.

Can you let us know which version of the app you have?

It would also be good if you can restart your router.

If that doesn't do the trick - can you log in with another account - such as a friend's or a family member's to see if the issue persists?

Keep us posted 🙂

Cheers!

[Jchaduh]

Version 8.5.86.

I’ve restarted my router and issue persists.

I do not know someone that uses Spotify that I can test with.

[Jeremy]

Hey again @Jchaduh,

Thank you for your reply.

Can you log in with another account on the devices - such as a friend's or a family member's to see if the issue persist?

Cheers!

[Jchaduh]

None of my friends or family use Spotify, so I cannot test using this
method.

[Alex]

Hi there @Jchaduh,

You can create a new test account with another email address. After that try playing some music from the new account.

This will help us determine if the issue is related to your account.

Cheers.

[balchin]

I have the same problem on my iPhone 12 Pro Max and have tried all the proposed solutions but the background controls stop working after locking the phone (even if the phone is then unlocked).

I noticed that when I open the Spotify app, after unlocking, for a brief second it is still displaying the previous song - as if the app isn’t updating in the background when steaming to another device. However, it works perfectly when playing locally on the phone (or with Bluetooth headphones) - after unlocking - the problem is very much limited to the remote control/listening within Spotify.

Spotify - please fix this so we can enjoy a Christmas with music 😉

[Jeremy]

Hey there @balchin,

Thank you for your reply. We're happy to help.

Can you confirm if you followed the troubleshooting steps that's been provided in the thread?
 

We'll keep an eye out for your reply 🙂

[Jchaduh]

Yes, I have.

[Jeremy]

Hey again @Jchaduh,

Thank you for your reply.

What happen when you logged in with another account?

Also - can you log in from another device to see if the issue persist?

We'll keep an eye out for your reply.

[balchin]

Hello @jeremy

I had tried the steps in the link but no luck.

After over an hour of testing (logging out, deleting, rebooting, reinstalling - changing network settings etc), I discovered an option at the top of the “listening on” selection page to “allow” access to the local network to discover devices. All my local devices were already showing and I hadn’t been promoted for this option before, nor during the reinstalling but it seems to be working for me now!

I hope this might help someone else

This was so frustrating that I’d already take out a 1 month free Apple Music trial and started setting up new playlists there...

[Jeremy]

Hey @balchin,

Thank you for getting back in touch and for sharing your solution to others.

We're really happy to see that everything works for you again 🙂

If anything comes to your mind, we're always one reply away.

Happy Friday 🙂