Spotify keeps disconnecting from Chromecast Audio after a few songs, and as of a few updates ago.

[shaneshane]

Premium user for over 10 years

Country: USA

Devices

(iPhone XS, Mac Book, Mac Mini: all 2019 roughly)

Operating System

(iOS 14.4.2, Mac OS 10.14)

My Question or Issue:

This is a very clear cut case to look into. On the 2.4ghz network, all in close quarters to the modem. my iPhone's Spotify App can see my Chromecast Audio. the same goes for my Mac Mini's native Spotify Desktop App, as well as the Spotify Web App when Chrome casting to the ChromeCast Audio.

All 3 of those Spotify applications (iPhone, Desktop, and Web) disconnect after a few songs.

1) Spotify is no longer connected to the Wifi connected ChromeCast Audio (though it's fully on the same network).

2) Spotify pauses the music (which seems like a side effect of being disconnected in general).

I couldn't determine if the problem laid with Spotify or with the ChromeCast Audio until I tested it with Pandora's Web App playing in a Chrome tab that I Cast just like I was trying to Cast the Spotify Web App. Pandora has been playing successfully for 6 days straight without disconnecting from the ChromeCast Audio.

That pretty much indicates that there's some common code in all three flavors of Spotify that's disconnecting from the ChromeCast Audio (and I suspect any other wifi audio cast-receiving devices), while Pandora has no issues casting via Chrome w/o disconnecting like I have been trying to do with the Spotify Web Player unsuccessfully.

Of note: Spotify (native Mac OS App), had been working with the ChromeCast Audio about less than a year ago when I previously had it setup before I updated Spotify in Mac OS & iOS.

[Mihail]

Hey @shaneshane,

Thanks for reaching out to the Community.

Could you try resetting your router and giving it a go by connecting all your devices to another network? That way we can check if the cause for this behavior lies in the connection between the devices.

If none of these steps help, we recommend you log out everywhere and run a clean reinstall on all your devices, this involves deleting the cache files of the app and will force a account wide resynchronization of your info. You can have a look at this guide for the steps relevant to each device.

Hope this helps. Keep us posted on how it goes.  

[shaneshane]

Hello, I've reset my router, MacMini, MacBook and iPhone a couple of times
over. The problem remains with SpotifyDesktop, SpotifyWebApp, and
Spotify-iOS-App.
Meanwhile, I can Cast anything with audio in a Chrome Tab w/o fail. It's
only the 3 versions of Spotify that have this problem.
Of note, sometimes it disconnects after 1 song, and sometimes it takes
longer and disconnects after 10 or so songs.
Also oddly, SpotifyDesktop (again Mac OS) keeps disconnecting the quickest.
The iOS iPhone App hangs in there a little longer, and then the WebApp in a
Tab being Cast via Chrome last noticeably longer but still disconnects
after 6 or 10 songs.

It's really confusing how it can clearly connect initially and work for a
while, but then just stop working suddenly. I've now had Pandora
running for 8 days straight w/o interruption. I can only imagine that
there's something between all 3 versions of Spotify that's causing the
issue.

Thanks,
Shane

[Eni]

Hi there @shaneshane, 

Thanks for getting back in touch. 

Just to confirm, have you tried reinstalling the app on your devices following the steps @Mihail sent previously?

Also, it's worth trying with a different network, for example creating a hot spot on your phone and using that. This would also help us narrow down the possible cause of this issue.

Lastly, could you check if your Chromecast's firmware has any pending updates?

Let us know how it goes.

[shaneshane]

An update to the Mac OS Spotify App that came after I posted this issue has mostly fixed the disconnecting issue. It still disconnects at odd times like it never use to do as of a year ago.

Specifically, Spotify rarely "disconnects" from the ChromeCast Audio, but rather, just stops transmitting music even though the Spotify time bar is still moving. At least twice a day I need to quit Spotify and restart the music/connection.
Spotify's buttons also stop working...like you can't go back or forward or switch the song.

Clearly, this was partially addressed in the most recent update, since the behavior in Spotify noticeably changed. So in summary, Spotify still has freeze up/disconnection issues, that happen a couple of times a day when it never use to as of a year ago.

[CarlosE]

Hi again @shaneshane,

Thanks for keeping us posted.

We're glad to know that some of the issues were sorted out or diminished with the latest update.

Just to confirm, did you try using a different connection to see if that makes any difference? We'd also like to know if the app freezes in all your devices or just one in particular.

Keep us in the loop.