A lot of Android users are complaining that Spotify doesn't work on their phone's lock screen. Ideally, when you are listening to songs on Spotify and lock your screen, you should be able to see a lock screen widget with a few details — album art, song title, singer, and buttons to control the playback.
During my research, I found that the problem is not specific to select phone models but can happen on any smartphone. That can be frustrating as most people like to listen to music when doing other stuff like working out, traveling and other activities. Unlocking the phone just to interact with the Spotify app seems tedious.
Let’s take a look at some potential solutions.
If you have any issues with the app, these steps can fix it: Restart the Spotify app; Log out and back in; Make sure the app is up-to-date; Check it’s not in Offline mode in settings. The Spotify Android app lets you choose between five sound quality settings: Low (24kbps), Normal (96kbps), High (160kbps), Very high (320kbps), and Automatic (dependent on your network.
1. Try to Log out and Log Back In
Some of our readers suggest that logging out and then logging back in helped them resolve this issue. After that, they were able to see the Spotify widget on their smartphone’s lock screen. To sign out, tap on the Settings icon on the upper right and scroll to the bottom of the screen to find the Log out option.
Then you can sign in using your email ID or Facebook account. Use the same method you tried the first time so that you don’t end up creating a new account instead. Check if you can see the Spotify music widget on the lock screen now and if the controls are working.
Also on Guiding Tech
- This really is disappointing that Nike plus app for Android hasn't integrated with Spotify. I have converted from an iPhone to Android Android Google pixel 2 phone and I boggles my mind that over a year has passed and still no Android update.
- Android version 9. My Question or Issue. Nike+ Run Club app integrates with Spotify but when I open the music portion of the app it says it should populate with the default music app on my phone. There is no way to set Spotify (or any other app) as a default music app.
How to Play Spotify Premium on Multiple Devices
Read More2. Notification Settings
Spotify Running App Android App
Every app that you install on your Android smartphone comes with its own set of notification settings that dictates what happens when the phone is locked. Let’s take a look at Spotify notification settings.
Open Settings and then tap on Notifications & status bar. Check that the Show notification icons and Show on Lock screen options are toggled on. Otherwise, you won’t see notifications or shortcuts for any app on the lock screen. Tap on App notifications.
Scroll to the bottom of the screen to find Spotify — the list is always in alphabetical order. Unlike before, these notification settings pertain to the specific app. In this case, Spotify. Make sure that Show notifications and App icon badge is toggled on.
There are two more settings left in the above screenshot. First is Playback which will allow you to control your music on the lock screen. Tap to open it and make sure that Show notifications option is toggled on. Other settings in this screen are optional. Similarly, the Show notifications should be toggled on for Spotify Music too.
Now open Spotify and play a song. Lock your screen and check if you can see the Spotify playback widget there.
Note: Samsung users have shared that setting the View Style to Detailed under Settings-Lock Screen-Notifications-View Style also helped them resolve the issue. If you have that option on your Android, then try it because I don’t. Manufacturers are known to alter stock Android with their spin for some reason!3. Power Saving Mode Off
Power Saving mode is a handy feature until it gets in the way of how an app functions. Power Saving mode keeps your apps in check and prevents them from consuming too many resources like CPU, GPS, and battery juice unnecessarily when they are not actively being used or when the phone is locked. They can often act like an overprotective parent leading to apps not working correctly.
![Android Android](https://s1.mzstatic.com/us/r30/Purple/v4/d9/a5/6d/d9a56d54-1353-a564-50d6-41053c31edd1/mzl.idelnlqb.png)
To check, open Settings and tap on Battery & performance. Again, your smartphone may have slightly different settings (it may be called Battery Optimization instead) depending on your make and model. Tap on Choose apps to configure individual app settings.
Either search for Spotify or open it by scrolling. Tap on it to open. Tap on No restrictions to stop your smartphone from preventing Spotify to function correctly in the background when the phone is locked.
4. Clean Reinstall
Spotify stores all your songs and playlists on its servers, there is no harm in uninstalling the app. But we want to do a clean install. First, log out of Spotify like you did in the first step above. Now open Settings and tap on Installed Apps. Find Spotify and open it.
Tap on Force stop to halt any running activity behind the screen. Tap on Clear data and select Clear all data. Download spotify premium apk for ios. That should remove all temporary files and folders from your phone.
Finally, tap on Uninstall on the same screen to remove Spotify from your smartphone. Go back to the Play Store and install Spotify again. See if you can see Spotify music widget on the lock screen now.
5. Lock Screen Manager
![Android Android](https://cdn.hiptoro.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/background-app-error-e1554977971608.png)
The good thing about the Android platform is that it is endlessly customizable. That means there is an app out there that can manage and customize your lock screen. Some of our users have had success with this method. We have already covered three lock screen apps for Android, so check them out. There are many others on the Play Store too.
Also on Guiding Tech
Google Play Music Vs Spotify: Android Music Apps Faceoff
Read MoreSpot It
Spotify is one of the best music streaming app out there. I love it because it makes it easier to follow other's curated playlists. While most of the time it works fine right out of the box, there are times when there is a conflict between app and system settings.
Next up: Do you use Spotify? Here are 21 Spotify Music tips and tricks to help you become a pro at it.
The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.Read Next21 Spotify Music Tips and Tricks You Must Check OutAlso See#spotify #streaming #music
Did You Know
WhatsApp is one of the most downloaded Android apps.
More in Internet and Social
A Guide to Scheduling Emails in Gmail on Mobile and Desktop
Nike Running App Spotify Android
How much data does Spotify use? It depends on the sound quality you choose. The higher it is, the more data the streaming service will burn through. In any case, Spotify uses way less data than video streaming services (more on this later) and probably less than most people think.
The Spotify Android app lets you choose between five sound quality settings: Low (24kbps), Normal (96kbps), High (160kbps), Very high (320kbps), and Automatic (dependent on your network connection). You can access these options by heading to Settings > Music Quality on your Android phone.
Don’t miss: After a week with YouTube Music, my heart is still with Spotify
To simplify things as much as possible, I’ve prepared an overview of how much data each setting uses per minute and hour as well as how long you’d have to stream music for to burn through 1GB of data. Keep in mind these numbers are approximate. Spotify can cache songs you’ve previously listened to, meaning they may not eat up the same amount of data the second time you play them.
Low (24kbps):
- Per minute: 0.18MB
- Per hour: 10.8MB
- How long until you reach 1GB: 92.5 hours
Normal (96kbps):
- Per minute: 0.72MB
- Per hour: 43.2MB
- How long until you reach 1GB: 23.1 hours
High (160kbps):
- Per minute: 1.2MB
- Per hour: 72MB
- How long until you reach 1GB: 13.8 hours
Very high (320kbps):
- Per minute: 2.4MB
- Per hour: 144MB
- How long until you reach 1GB: 6.9 hours
Now that you know how much data Spotify uses, let’s see how the numbers compare to video streaming. Watching HD content on Netflix uses up to 3GB of data per hour or as much as 7GB when the resolution gets bumped up to Ultra HD. Medium quality (SD) is a lot less data hungry, burning through 0.7GB per hour. Still, that’s almost five times as much as streaming music with the best sound quality available (320kbps).
Apple Music vs Spotify vs Google Play Music
For well over a decade, the music industry has been trying to figure out the Internet and they have failed more often than they have succeeded. Declining music sales and the rise of free sources …
What about Spotify’s competitors? Google Play Music and Deezer both offer a maximum audio bitrate of 320kbps, which uses approximately 144MB of data per hour. So does Tidal, although it also has a Hi-Fi plan with a bitrate of 1.411kbps for improved sound quality. It’s a lot more data hungry, using around 635MB per hour. Apple Music, on the other hand, has a maximum bitrate of 256kbps, which translates to around 115MB of data per hour.
An important thing to keep in mind is that Spotify — as well as other streaming services mentioned in this post — lets you download songs to your phone, which means you don’t have to use any data at all when listening to music.
Spotify For Android
How many hours per week do you listen to music on Spotify or other streaming services? Let us know in the comments!