Spotify using mobile data even when cellular data turned off

[rtufjcnfick]

Plan

Premium

Country

Canada

Device

iPhone 8

Operating System

iOS 12.4

My Question or Issue

Since updating the app last week, Spotify has started to use my mobile data to stream songs and podcasts even when they’re downloaded. This occurs when I am not on a wifi network. Cellular data use for Spotify is disabled through the iPhone settings, and the “use cellular data for downloads” option is turned off in the app. However when I play music or podcasts that are downloaded, my cellular data gets used, even though it is turned off through the iPhone settings. Switching the settings to offline mode through the app fixes the problem, but it’s annoying to have to toggle offline mode whenever I want to download a song. Is anyone else having this issue?

[tobiwankonobi]

This worked for me!

https://community.spotify.com/t5/Spotify-Answers/How-can-I-perform-a-clean-reinstall-of-the-app/ta-p...

[Ivan]

Hey there folks, 

Thanks for posting on the Community about this. 
 

@tobiwankonobi We’re happy to hear the clean reinstall fixed this for you. If you have any questions we're always one post away. 

@jojo-jojo Could you confirm if you experience the issue after trying a clean reinstall? This step will get you a new Spotify app updated to the latest version. Make sure you also restart your device during the clean reinstall. 

Hope this helps. Let us know how it goes.  

[AlexandreC81]

I had this problem happening yesterday for the first time. Performed a clean reinstall. It solved my issue but i will have to re-download all my playlist again. Annoying.

[parapet19]

I agree with this so so much. A like isn’t enough. FIX YOUR APP SPOTIFY

[Jeremy]

Hey there @parapet19,

Thank you for your post in this thread. 

Can you let us know if this got solved for you or not so that we can continue to assist you if you need us to?

If it's not solved, can you let us know what troubleshooting steps you've done so that we can help you the best way we can 🙂

We'll keep an eye out for your reply.

Take care!

[mjdb71]

I performed a clean reinstall and the problem was solved for 2 weeks. With  Download over mobile, Spotify did not download new songs for playlists when I had no wifi but only a data connection.

But now, after 2 weeks, the same issue occurs.

Download over mobile is still switched off and when i go outside my house and have no wifi but only data available Spotify directly starts downloading songs for my 60 playlists. This should never, ever happen. I am not going to turn Spotify into offline mode. With the current stupid behavior they should put an offline toggle directly into the UI so users don't need to dive into settings. This bug that it starts downloading while you are only having a data connection should be well tested on various devices so you take your customers serious. I have a Samsung Note 10 Plus running Android 11. Only for this annoying behaviour I am thinking to switch over YTM.

As numerous other users in this thread and on other forums mentioned: When there is a download button for Mobile data available and it is not turned on, Spotify should NEVER download or stream over a data connection. Every users expects this behavior, except the smart developers from Spotify. By the way, i am leading a software development team of 70 people and now how important it is to take your customers serious.

[Novy]

Hey @mjdb71, 

Thanks for reaching out about this. We'll do our best to help you sort this out.

Could you let us know if you tried any other troubleshooting steps? This will help us give you better suggestions.

Also, would you mind sending over the Spotify version you're currently running? 

We'll keep an eye out for your reply. 

[tikkadog]

This continues to happen for me, even with Spotify off line. It is erratic.
Sometimes the music will continue until I turn it off (not just a few songs
- it just keeps going) when I leave WiFI (I’ve challenged it). I am using
version 8.6.12.1032. Data is “Off” in settings. I am using an IPhone XR iOS
14.4.1 . I have just given up. I make sure Spotify is off when I leave the
house.

[Eni]

Hey there @tikkadog, 

Thanks for getting back in touch. 

Keep in mind that the setting Download using cellular only affects downloads, not data used for streaming.

If you don't want to use data when using the app, you need to activate the Offline mode after downloading your tunes. You can learn how to do this here.

If after following the steps the issue still persists, would you mind checking if the OS of you phone has any pending updates?

Keep us posted 🙂

[Juntaka]

Two problems with this solution. 1. The behavior is inconsistent with what people expect and that has a lot to do with what different people think 'download' means. My parents, for example, and others think everything is a 'download', including streaming. 2. The offline mode toggle is inconveniently buried in settings.

[tikkadog]

Hello. Thank you for your reply. For me, the issue really is that Spotify
is the only app I use that seems to ignore my iOS settings - cellular is
off for Spotify. Really, the app should never override that. Spotify needs
to fix their app so it recognizes this. I should not have to jump through
hoops to get this to happen.

[Jeremy]

Hey there folks,

Thank you for your replies and feedback.

There's currently an idea - [Mobile] Toggle to "Stream Using Cellular Data". You can leave a +VOTE and Subscribe to the thread for any updates.

Let us know if we can help you with anything else.

Take care 🙂