Spotify always tries to live stream songs by default - even when song is downloaded

[jeetmody]

Plan

Premium

Country

USA

Device

iPhone 12

Operating System

Latest iOS

My Question or Issue

Observation:

I have a song X downloaded on my iPhone. 

I am travelling in a low network road. I go to my downloaded songs and I play X. It takes a few seconds before the song can start, sometimes even more. Even though it is downloaded.

My guess and potential solution:

I think spotify always tries to re-download a song or does something like check if the song is still its latest version etc that needs internet to be used. 

If it is trying to re-download the song, then that is wrong in my opinion as the song is already downloaded.

If it is trying to fetch some metadata about the song to make sure it is still latest, then I think that API call should be run in the background in parallel, after the song has started playing. That way my experience to listen to a song I have downloaded is not ruined and you are making sure I have the latest info on a song the NEXT time I play it instead of trying to do it for the CURRENT time I am playing it.

Scenario where it is a pain:

Every time I am out for a road trip, I will have spotty internet from time to time. So in those situations, I dont want to turn off mobile data completely. Nor do I want to move to offline mode. I want Spotify to use my downloaded songs to get me through the trip.

Thanks  

[Ver]

Hey @jeetmody,

Thanks for posting here in the Community 🙂

This could indeed happen in case you've downloaded your songs and start playback with an active internet connection. The app tries to play the most up-to-date versions of the songs on our servers. To avoid that you can turn on the offline mode. 

We always strive to improve our app and the experience with it and appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback with us. We will make sure to pass it on to the right team.

We'll be right here if you have any questions.

[JayRab]

How is this still an issue? How is this by design? I have had the same problem for years now and it is beyond annoying. Please fix this!