Bluetooth autoplay in car not working on S21 ultra

[DivideByZero]

Hi,

Previously I had an S8+ and when I got in my car, almost all of the time it would connect to my phone and start playing Spotify. As long as the spotify app was running on my phone, if it was disabled / off then it probably wouldn't but fair enough. 99% of the time it worked.

With my new S21 Ultra I have paired it with the car and if the last thing I was doing on the phone was playing spotify, then it will likely auto play. However, that's super rare (basically means I have not touched my phone since the last time I drove the car). So probably 99% of the time it doesn't work (it pairs up fine, can make calls and will play spotify if I start it from the handset - but it just doesn't start playing spotify automatically).

I have the autoplay option on in Spotify, same options in there as I had on my old phone.

I am wondering if there is anything else I am missing.

Is there a clever way to tell the phone that when it pairs with my car, it just opens and plays spotify - as that's all I ever want to do when in the car, always.

For longer journeys I have and use Android Auto by USB, but I don't like even having to get my phone out of my pocket for short journeys and I never used to have to.

Must be something I can do right? If it worked OK on the S8+.

Any ideas welcome.

Thanks

[xSteveuk]

Hi,
This page may be helpful to you

How to use Android Auto on Samsung device

https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/mobile-devices/i-am-having-difficulty-connecting-to-or-using-andr...

Have you tied on Spotify
Setup car thing
That may help also

[DivideByZero]

Steve, Android Auto works perfectly via USB (that's the only way my car can use it and has always been like that). The problem is with Bluetooth connections not auto playing music. It makes the bluetooth connection OK, I can make calls OK, but it won't play spotify automatically.

Full description of problem in my original post.

[DivideByZero]

I searched in settings and can't find this anywhere. I had a look on the internet and can see someone using this under the default assistant (google) app... but that's not what I am trying to do as such. I just want to auto play music when I connect via bluetooth.

Let me know if I am just checking in the wrong place for that setting please?

[DivideByZero]

I had a look at the Bluetooth options for the car, they are the same on the new and old phone. There are 3 options. Calls, Audio, Contact Sharing... again, same on old and new. I get more options for other devices, like headphones. But I clearly didn't need anything else on my old phone. Very confusing.

[Pugs1957 · Accepted solution]

Perhaps a Bixby routine could enable this.

[DivideByZero]

Maybe, but I never used Bixby on the old phone. Looking on that now it suggests that SmartThings may be able to assist, but I have already looked at that and don't see an obvious way of saying "when I pair with CAR, open Spotify and start playing" or something like that.

Again though, I don't have either Bixby or SmartThings set to do anything on my old phone and that works without issue. I'm pretty sure I must be missing something else, some other option/setting or app on my old phone... or maybe a new setting or option that is blocking it on my new phone. 

[Pugs1957]

True but your old phone probably didn't have Android 11 plus the fact Spotify is not fully compatible with Android 12 is why you are having issues. You are not missing anything, you have an app that doesn't work properly so until Spotify address this you need an alternative method from that previously used.

[DivideByZero]

Thanks both, I've set up a bixby routine and will see how that goes after the next few drives. Should know pretty quickly.

I Hadn't even thought about Android versions as I always keep everything updated to the latest I get offered, but that obviously wouldn't cover all major versions. I've worked in IT for 27 years... yet my brain can't seem to engage with phones for some reason. 

I didn't enable Samsung sync as I thought they had stopped doing that! I had many months of my S8+ telling me the Samsung cloud fes were going to be deleted if not moved to OneDrive. It was so annoying, and constant. So does it still work and is it here to stay then? What changed for my S8? Was it just file and photo storage that went?

[DivideByZero]

Yeah no, I haven't done that as my OneDrive has been basically full for years and I keep having to sort out space to receive emails (plus i didn't want the files in the Samsung cloud as they were copies).

One of a million things I have on my list to sort out that is too much like my job so never gets done. Maybe this year is the year 🤔