Spotify Stops When Opening Other Apps? Quick Fix (Solved)

If you have been using Spotify for a while, you may have noticed that your music pauses when you open another app. This can be frustrating and is often unexpected, especially when you’re trying to perform other tasks on your device while listening on Spotify

If you’ve recently found yourself vexed by this discovery, then you have come to the right place.

In this article, we will cover everything to do with why your songs keep pausing on Spotify when opening other apps and how to curb it.

Here’s Everything You Need to Know about Spotify Stopping When Opening Other Apps:

Spotify may stop when you have not disabled data saver mode on your device. When there are too many apps running in the background over an unstable network, Spotify stops playing. The app you are opening has taken over the audio. You have not given permission to Spotify to run in the background.

Why Does Spotify Stop When I Open Another App on My iPhone?

It is expected behavior that Spotify will pause the music or podcast that you’re listening to when it detects that you’ve opened an app with another audio source, like Twitter or Instagram, which have been set to play videos automatically.

You would need to go to that app’s settings and turn off video autoplay.

Spotify has a feature which allows you to limit your data usage called the Data Saver Mode.

This feature limits streaming and the quality thereof if you’re using data, and results in Spotify pausing.

To disable this feature on iOS, you will need to:

1. Open ‘Spotify’ on your device.
2. Select the ‘Settings’ icon located in the top right corner.
3. Tap on ‘Data Saver’
4. Turn it ‘Off’.

Another occurrence is that extended Spotify usage over time causes more data and files related to the app get stored on your device.

This can result in broken links and missing files, because of which Spotify stops playing.

It’s a good idea, then, to clear your device’s cache. We have instructions on how to do this further down in the article.

Why Does Spotify Stop When I Open Another App on My Android Phone?

Having too many apps running in the background may cause Spotify to pause due to your device’s performance becoming slower and your battery draining faster.

When your device’s performance is slower, your apps begin to lag, which can cause Spotify to buffer at a slower rate and can result in short pauses in your music while you weave through your different apps.

Another noteworthy reason is that if the power setting on your android device is at Power Saving Mode. This function reduces the amount of battery life needed for all your open apps to run efficiently.

Here are steps to turn off this function:

1. Tap ‘Settings’ on your device.
2. Select ‘Battery’
3. Click on ‘Power Saving Mode’
4. Turn it off and confirm

How Do You Get Spotify to Play Over Other Apps?

Spotify does not have a simple feature, as yet, where you can tap and control it playing over other apps.

However, there are certain steps you can take to help your music experience and overall functionality of Spotify on your device.

All smartphones come with a feature called battery optimization. This function helps to increase your battery’s life, but hinders how your apps work.

So, it’s a good idea to disable this setting if you are having issues with Spotify stopping.

To disable battery optimization on your device, you’ll need to:

1. Open Your Phone’s Settings.
2. Select ‘Battery’.
3. Look for ‘Low Power Mode’ and toggle it off.

Once you’ve done that, the next step would be to clear the Spotify cache. A cache file is a temporary ‘memory’ file used by an app to provide optimal functioning for its users.

Cache files help an app work properly, but they can accumulate and take up space over time.

They can also become corrupted and cause your Spotify app to not work efficiently. The removal of these cache files is easy and won’t cause data loss or harm app usage.

Follow these steps to clear the cache:

For Android:

1. Open Phone Settings.
2. Tap on ‘Apps’ and select ‘All Apps’
3. Select ‘Spotify’
4. Tap on ‘Storage’ and click on ‘Clear Cache.

For iOS:

1. Open the Spotify App.
2. Click on the ‘Settings’ icon.
3. Tap on ‘Storage’
4. Select ‘Delete Cache’

From here, the next step would be to restart your device.

Spotify may slightly glitch due to some bug or your device’s firmware. Restarting the device helps in fixing these minor glitches.

Can You Listen to Spotify While Browsing the Facebook App?

Spotify and Facebook have partnered together to afford their users the ability to listen to their music and podcasts on Spotify while browsing through Facebook.

A miniplayer function on Facebook allows Spotify subscribers to share and discover songs without having to switch apps to access their content.

Spotify Premium users can access full playback directly from Spotify, and Free users can still enjoy the same experience via shuffle mode while never leaving Facebook.

Spotify for Android should background regardless of the app you switch to. It will generally only run into issues with specific apps that might override its settings.

But, if you’re having issue with this feature, check out our article about why Spotify stops when you open Facebook.

What Apps Typically Cause Problems with Spotify?

There are certain apps that occupy the audio output channel even while running in the background.

To get Spotify playing without interruptions from other apps, it’s advised to close as many apps as possible, especially those that use the audio output.

These apps are known for their usage of the audio output channel:

• Apple Music
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Netflix
• YouTube
• Snapchat

Numerous Spotify users have reported that certain driver apps like Google Maps, Uber, Waze will pause Spotify while they are open.

Check also: Uber Eats demographic break down.

These apps use a voice prompt function, which automatically overrides other sounds or audio on the device, like your Spotify music.

So if you want to stream Spotify songs while driving and using these apps:

1. Open ‘Spotify’
2. Select ‘Settings’
3. Tap on ‘Car Mode’ and switch it on.
4. Slide the ‘Keep app open on screen’ to green

Spotify has also provided some official suggestions for dealing with this issue:

1. Open the Spotify app.
2. Go to ‘Home’. Tap ‘Settings’
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the Settings page and select ‘Log Out’.
4. Restart your device.
5. Log back into your Spotify account.

How Do I keep Spotify Running in the Background Across All Apps?

Every app that is installed onto your device requests certain permissions to access different aspects of your device. For example, Spotify can request access to your device’s microphone for voice command-related features.

Check out Should Spotify Have Access To The Microphone for an in-depth explanation.

To give your Spotify permission to run in the background of your Android device, you simply need to:

1. On your device, open ‘Settings’
2. Select ‘Apps’
3. Scroll and tap on ‘Spotify’
4. Navigate to ‘Permissions’. Here you will see what permissions have been allowed and denied.
5. Exit and hold down the Spotify app icon, then click on ‘App Info’
6. Select ‘Battery’
7. Select ‘Run in the background’ and confirm.
8. Restart your device.

Here are the steps to grant Spotify permission to run in the background of your iPhone device:

1. You need to enable the background app refresh by: Open ‘Settings’
2. Now, ‘Select ‘General’
3. Click on ‘Background App Refresh’
4. Turn it ‘On” and confirm.

Can You Make Spotify Overrule Sound Settings from Other Apps?

At this time, Spotify doesn’t have administrator audio access. This means that the Operating System on your device will prioritize the app that is in the foreground that also requests multimedia access.

For better overall functionality, you should ensure that the autoplay function on social media apps is turned off.

We suggest that you go back to your phone’s settings and double-check that you have given Spotify the necessary permissions to run in the background and that the battery optimization on your device is disabled.

Some Quick Fixes To Solve Spotify Stopping When Opening Other Apps:

When you have tried the above, and your Spotify app is unresponsive, we recommend that you perform a clean reinstall of the application.

This will ensure that old or corrupted files can be deleted and Spotify can function optimally.

Here’s how to run a clean reinstall:

Steps for iOS:

1. Open Settings > General > iPhone Storage.
2. Select ‘Spotify’
3. Tap on ‘Offload App’ and confirm, this deletes the app, but the document data will be kept.
4. Now, select ‘Delete App’ and confirm. This will delete all the remaining document data.
5. Switch off your device and wait for a few minutes.
6. Turn your device back and reinstall the Spotify App.

Steps for Android 6 and above:

1. Open Settings > Apps.
2. Select ‘Spotify’
3. Select ‘Storage’ and ‘Cache’
4. Tap on ‘Clear Storage’
5. Once complete, go back and tap on ‘Uninstall’
6. Open ‘File Manager’ and toggle to Internal Storage\Android\Data.
7. Look for com.spotify.music and delete it.
8. Turn off your device and wait a few minutes.
9. Switch on your device and reinstall the Spotify App.

Another thing to consider is updating your device. Keeping your firmware up to date is the best way to keep your device operational for a long time.

Here’s how to update your Android device:

1. Open Phone Settings.
2. Scroll to ‘About’
3. Select ‘Software Update’.
4. Check for any new available updates.
5. Click on ‘Install Now’

Here’s how to update your iOS device:

1. Open Phone Settings
2. Tap ‘General’
3. Select ‘Software Update’
4. Select ‘Download and Install’ if there is an available update. 

Resetting your device should be your last resort for solving the Spotify issue. It will remove all your saved data, changes to settings and downloaded apps. 

You can reset your phone using these steps:

For Android:

1. Open your phone’s settings.
2. Click on ‘System’ or ‘General Management’
3. Select ‘Reset’
4. Click on ‘Factory data reset’
5. Confirm the reset by entering your lock PIN or pattern.
6. Tap on ‘Delete All’

For iOS:

1. Go to your phone’s settings.
2. Select ‘General’
3. Scroll to ‘Reset’
4. Tap on ‘Erase all content and settings
5. Enter the device’s passcode and tap on ‘Confirm’

Please also read our article about why Spotify queue keeps resetting our disappearing – with solutions.

Final Thoughts

Spotify is a world-class music streaming app on any smart device. But there will be times, due to the app or your device, when it will not function at its peak.

This may sour your experience, but fortunately, there are measures you can take to remedy your music stopping when opening other apps.

Sources

Why Does Spotify Stop When I Open Facebook

Should Spotify Have Access To The Microphone

Updating Your Android