can no longer control music through steering wheel

[Shel_15]

This has been going on for me for well over a year now, I can play Spotify through my usb cable when it’s plugged into my car but since over a year ago I am unable to use the steering wheel controls to skip a song and the song title no longer displays on the dashboard. I’ve uninstalled Spotify etc. I have to skip a song manually which is obviously not very safe. Any help would be most grateful. I have an iPhone 8.

[Peter]

Hey @Shel_15.

Thanks for reaching out to us about this in the Community 🙂

Could you confirm for us the make and model of your car, as well as whether you're connecting your phone to your car via the Connect feature of via Bluetooth?

Once we have that, we can take a closer look.

Thanks! We'll be looking out for your reply.

[Shel_15]

Hello

It’s is a 2013 KA ford.
I connect my phone from usb as I always have done, used to work fine showing up the song name and allowing me to control through the steering wheel. But now it doesn’t, although you can still listen through usb.
Michelle

[Peter]

Hey @Shel_15.

Thanks for getting back to us 🙂

This should now be fixed, as mentioned in this thread.

Let us know if you're still experiencing problems and we'll take a closer look 😉

[Shel_15]

Thank you, it is not however. I have an iPhone, as mentioned when plugging my phone into the USB port in my KA the song title would come up on the dashboard and I was able to skip tracks using the steering wheel. I can still play music through the usb but no longer can skip tracks.
Michelle

[Peter]

Hey @Shel_15.

Thanks for getting back to us.

We've created a new Ongoing Issue thread and we're continuing to investigate this issue.

Make sure to head here - we'll keep you posted in the thread.

Thanks!

[JET1987]

Same, been having the issue for a while and it bums me out 

[Licklesparkle]

Did this ever get resolved for you Michelle?
I'm having the exact same issue..

[Shel_15]

Never! I’ve had the problem for about 3 years now!

[Licklesparkle]

How frustrating is it! I've had to start skipping songs manually. I thought it was my phone lead at first but that's all functioning normally. My songs have stopped appearing on the dashboard too like yours.. I was hoping it was some software issue with spotify but if it hasn't been resolved in three years I don't have much hope!

[JET1987]

No it did not, it works for Bluetooth but not for the iPod/usb route in my
car

[nadg63]

As of last week I now have this issue, has been working fine for months, until the App ran an update last week! I am running Spotify on an Android headunit via a WiFi hotspot from my iPhone.

Note:- When playing back from my iPhone via Bluetooth all the steeering wheel controls work fine, (as they do with EVERY other function of the headunit - but Spotify NOPE!) 

Skipping tracks backwards/forwards via the wheel controls has gone. Looks like the update needs an update to fix the issue!? 😞 

[LILLYSMAW]

I'm having the same issue. Nothing fixes it. It stopped working around May for me. I can connect via Bluetooth but can't skip any tracks using the controls on my steering wheel. It's sending me bonkers!!

[binaryf8]

Still nothing from Spotify. This has been happening for 3 years now for me. They broke something a very long time ago and refuse to acknowledge that it is still broken. There are thousands of BMW’s, MINI’s, VW’s, and other makes out on the road with no working steering wheel controls. This is major safety issue and they don’t even acknowledge that it’s still an issue. Will someone from Spotify PLEASE give us a real update on this issue. If someone is working on it, a detailed reply as to what the issue is would be helpful. So far, all you’ve ever said is that it’s an ongoing issue (for 3 years!?!) or that its fixed (it is not).

I have a 2015 Mini Cooper S. when connected via USB and I press the "up" or "down" arrow on the steering wheel, the track that is playing displays on the instrument cluster (normal behavior) but another press should bring up the previous or next track on the display, allowing you to then press "OK" to select it. however, this does not happen or it displays "Not Possible". This is usually the same while connected to bluetooth, but sometimes it just displays "Not Possible" altogether. This was not the case years ago, then an update broke it.

Please Spotify, PLEASE, open up a line of communication of why this happening. If you could give us some technical details as to why this is the case, it would at least give us an idea as to why it is happening and that you guys are aware. Even if you can’t fix it, please tell us why! I have personally provided you with over $700 in subscription fees over the years, I and others deserve an explanation.

[Caperbro]

I am also experiencing the exact same issue.  It’s very unsafe to have to manually change the song while driving.  I also have an iPhone 8 and own a 2018 RAV4.  My problem is not with changing via bluetooth( that works fine). It’s using the USB cable.  It also will not change song or display the art on my car screen.   Very very annoying.  

[dan_kwc2000]

Still having this issue in my 2017 BMW 1 series.

[binaryf8]

I’ve literally tried everything to contact Spotify about this. Getting the idea they just don’t care about it 😕

[blindsta]

if you want to continue use the steering wheel buttons and hard buttons, then, need to install the spotify apk version: 8.4.78.513 or lower...

i hope that the spotify team will solve this problem...

[Shel_15]

How do you install a lower version? Assume you would lose all music that you’ve downloaded since that version?
Michelle

[Licklesparkle]

I also wonder this, I wouldn't even know how to backdate my spotify app on iPhone..
Also, for those of you who have successfully connected your phone via bluetooth and manage to have the skip song buttons working - how did you do it?

Mine sometimes connects via bluetooth when I have a call, but i've never managed to have it work with Spotify 😞

Any help would be appreciated!

Paula