Does Spotify stop playing music when you open other apps like Facebook, Twitter, etc. on your phone? If yes, you are in the right place.
Just do one thing below to fix the problem right away.
Apps like Spotify or other music streaming apps stop playing the music when it detects other apps playing audio or the background music playing permission is disabled.
It can be extremely frustrating when you listen to your favorite song on Spotify, and as soon as you switch to another app like Facebook or Instagram, the music playback stops. Well, not anymore. Just follow the steps below.
Why Does Spotify Stop When I Open Another App on My iPhone?
When you open other apps, Spotify stops playing on your iPhone because it detects the other app is playing audio, and iOS prioritizes the app in the foreground. Spotify will also pause music when you open other apps if you have not enabled the permission to run in the background.
Spotify stops playing on iPhone when you open other apps is a relatively common problem. Well, the good news is that it is straightforward to fix.
If you have not granted permission to run in the background, head to Settings > General Background App Refresh and enable the background app refresh toggle for Spotify.
Why Does Spotify Stop When I Open Another App on My Android Phone?
If Spotify stops on your Android phone when opening other apps or minimizing the app, the permission to run in the background is disabled.
Head to Settings > Apps > Spotify and enable the permission to run in the background. Depending on the Android skin, the option name may vary.
Also, ensure you whitelist Spotify from battery optimization and power saving mode settings.
How To Fix Spotify Pausing When Opening Other Apps?
If Spotify pauses when you open other apps, you need to enable the permission to run in the background. On your Android phone or iPhone, enable the permission to run in the background and whitelist Spotify from battery optimization and power saving settings.
Enable The Permission To Run In The Background
The most common reason why Spotify pauses playing music when switching to a different app is because the permission to run in the background is disabled.
Allowing Spotify to play in the background should help fix the problem.
Depending on your smartphone, the steps to enable background permission for Spotify differ. Follow the steps to allow permission to run in the background on Android and iOS.
Enable Background Permission For Spotify In Android
On your Android phone, open Settings.
Tap on Apps/Manage apps or Apps & Notifications options.
From the list of installed apps, tap on Spotify.
Ensure the toggle that says “Allow background activity/Background Data” is enabled.
Depending on the Android skin of your phone, the option name may differ. Look for something that says permission to run in the background, background activity, or similar.
Enable Background Permission For Spotify In iOS
Open Settings.
Scroll down and select Spotify.
Ensure the “Background App Refresh” toggle is turned on.
You can also head to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and enable the toggle next to Spotify.
Upon turning on the background app refresh option, Spotify can play in the background even when you open a different app or lock the screen.
Exclude Spotify In Battery Optimization Settings
If Spotify is included in the battery optimization settings of your phone, the system will restrict various functions of the app, like stopping playing music when you minimize the app or open another app.
If you leave battery optimization settings turned on, you should remove Spotify from the list.
Open Settings.
Tap on Apps or Manage Apps option.
Go through the list of installed apps and tap Spotify.
Tap the Battery option.
Tap Battery Optimization.
Select the Don’t Optimize option and tap Done.
Restart Spotify, and the music should no longer stop when you open another app or lock the screen.
Turn Off Battery Saver
Did you enable battery saver or power-saving mode on your phone?
Battery saver is another reason why Spotify pauses when you open another app.
To save battery, the system will restrict various functions like auto-updates, killing apps in the background, etc. The system will stop playing Spotify in the background if a battery saver or power-saving mode is enabled.
The simple step to fix this problem is to whitelist Spotify from battery-saving mode.
Head to Settings.
Tap on Apps.
Select Spotify and see if you can find any option related to power saving or battery saving. If yes, tap on it and disable it for Spotify.
or
Open Settings and find the Battery Saver or Power Saving mode settings.
Look for an option that says whitelist apps or exclude apps and select Spotify from the list.
This will ensure Spotify has permission to play music in the background even when battery-saving mode is enabled.
Fix Spotify Stopping When Opening Specific Apps
Even if you enable the permission to run in the background and whitelist Spotify from the battery optimization settings, Spotify will still pause when you open certain apps like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Reddit, Twitter, and more.
This issue pops up when you open apps that play video or audio.
Spotify Stops When Opening Facebook
Most people encounter problems when using Spotify and Facebook together. Many people play music on Spotify and then open Facebook. As soon as they open Facebook, Spotify stops playing the song.
To fix this problem, you only need to turn off the autoplay videos option on the Facebook app. Follow the steps to see how.
Open the Facebook app.
Tap the Menu icon on the bottom right corner of the screen.
Scroll down and select Settings & Privacy.
Tap Settings.
Under preferences, select Media.
Under Autoplay option, tap “Never autoplay videos“.
Similarly, disable the option that says “Video start with sound” and “Stories start with sound“
Restart Spotify and Facebook.
The next time, if you minimize Spotify and open Facebook, the music playback will not pause. You can continue listening to your favorite song on Spotify while scrolling through your Facebook feed.
Spotify Stops When Opening Instagram
If Spotify stops playing when you open Instagram, it is because a video with sound is playing or you are viewing a story with sound.
As Instagram does not allow you to turn off the auto play, there is nothing much you can do to fix this problem. But there is a little workaround.
If you want to use Instagram and at the same time listen to Spotify, all you need to do is tap the little speaker icon on the lower right corner of the video to disable the sound.
Once you turn off the sound, Spotify will be allowed to play in the background without any interruption. If you tap on the video, the sound will be enabled, and Spotify will stop playing again.
As for stories with sound, there is nothing much you can do. If you open a story with sound, Spotify will stop playing the music.
Spotify Stops When Opening WhatsApp
Generally, Spotify should not stop playing when you open WhatsApp.
But if that happens, firstly, start by restarting WhatsApp and Instagram.
If that doesn’t help fix the problem, restart your phone and try again.
Make sure you are not playing any WhatsApp audio in the background. If yes, stop it first and then play Spotify again.
Similarly, do not play any WhatsApp video in the PIP mode. Doing so will make Spotify pause the music.
What’s Next?
No doubt, Spotify stopping when opening another app is very frustrating. In most cases, turning the permission to run in the background and allowing the app from battery optimization settings should fix the problem.
If you are facing a problem with a specific app like Facebook or Instagram, you need to head to the app’s settings and disable auto-play settings (if any). As you can’t play music from two apps simultaneously, you need to stop playing the video, mute the video or turn off audio to continue playing Spotify.