Error Message: "Are you still listening?"

[Lemonlookout]

Is there a way to turn this off or extend it? I have it playing for guests at our condo and sometimes it turns off before they get there 

[AdamPandora · Accepted solution]

@Lemonlookout The "Are you still listening?" message appears when we detect that there has not been any interaction with the player for a while.

This is in place to avoid playing music to empty rooms and helps reduce our streaming costs. Since we pay full royalties on every song we play, having a timeout interval enables us to prevent streaming endlessly to unattended devices. Ultimately, it allows us to offer a free radio service and to maintain the current prices of our subscriptions.

When you encounter the timeout message, simply click or tap anywhere on the Pandora music player to continue listening.

To limit timeouts you can upgrade to Pandora Plus or Pandora Premium, which allow you to listen for longer periods without interruptions. Pandora Plus subscribers have longer timeout periods than free listeners, and Pandora Premium subscribers have longer timeout periods than Pandora Plus subscribers.

To learn more about the benefits of upgrading, visit this page.

Hope this helps!

[Ssaen_Nails]

I love free Pandora radio, but after 4 hours the app will pause playing the music to ask if I am still listening. I am, or I was... I have to stop what I am doing at work to get the music playing again. Every time this happens my speaker loses the perfect connection it had and will start to skip. I wind up having to close out of the app completely and reboot for the speaker to work correctly again. It sets me back at work.

It was already answered in someone else's previous question that I can upgrade my account to plus or premium for longer music playing periods and less timeouts, but the answer didn't describe just how much longer the timeout will be for a plus or premium account.

I don't mind upgrading and paying a monthly fee, but I would like to know which subscription is right for me.

[AdamPandora]

@Ssaen_Nails Thanks for writing back and sharing your feedback about the timeout policy.

We actively test various approaches to better gauge whether or not we're playing to an empty room.

While Pandora Premium subscribers benefit from our longest period of uninterrupted listening, the only way to eliminate timeouts completely is by subscribing to Pandora for Business. This option is not an ideal solution for home use, as it involves a higher subscription fee that includes music licensing costs and must be played through special equipment.

If that still interests you, you can get more information about Pandora for Business through our partners at Mood Media.

For now, we've passed your thoughts along to our product team. We will keep them in mind as we re-evaluate the timeout policy.

Thanks again for writing!

[Akara]

I am a Pandora + member and lately after it plays one or two songs it ALWAYS asks if I am still listening.  It has never done this before. I have always been able to put it on for my son to go to sleep to and now I cant. Very frustrated and thinking of canceling.  Any ideas?

[AdamPandora]

@Akara Could you tell me a bit more about what is happening? Are you listening to Pandora on a computer or on a device?

1. If you are on a computer, are you listening from:
• A Mac or Windows computer?
• Our website, or the desktop app? If you're listening from our website, what browser are you using?
2. If you are on a device, what is the make and model (and carrier, if applicable)?
3. Can you provide me with a screenshot of the error message you're seeing as well?

Thanks for working with me on this. 🤝

[dragonlipz]

Hello

I have a plus account (and have been a subscriber for years) and this past week it has started posting this pause message again. I understand it doing it on free. But it hasn't been doing on plus for a while and just started doing so again. 

A am logged in properly but usually leave the browser open. I have a tablet that only plays pandora for me. So I wake up, start my music, then start working. I don't necessarily restart the browser even. So some days it goes 2 hours then asks. Others it goes most of the day then asks. At the end of the day (or if I'm leaving) I pause the music and don't leave it just going if I'm not here to listen.

This is a recent change from prior. And again I am and have been a subscriber for a long while. (Because I hate commercials) So something has been adjusted recently that is causing this to again occur on Plus accounts.

thanks

[AdamPandora]

@dragonlipz The next time this happens can you please grab a screenshot of the error that appears, and send that in a reply to this message?

Please also provide me with the date and time the message appears for you.

Thanks for working with me on this. 🤝

[dragonlipz]

@AdamPandora 

Here's the image. Happened in the last hour. I was focused on a problem so didn't notice right when it sopped this time. But between 11:00-12:00CST 2021-09-08 and other system details are below.

Thanks

Google Chrome is up to date

Version 93.0.4577.63 (Official Build) (64-bit)

OS Name Microsoft Windows 10 Pro

Version 10.0.19042 Build 19042

System SKU Surface_PRO_1

[AdamPandora]

Thanks for following up, @dragonlipz. 🤝

I've passed your feedback along to our engineering team.

Moving forward, I recommend making sure you close out your browser when you are done streaming Pandora.

[Reyg81]

My pandora times out when I don't have pandora open on my screen how to fix it. Is it a setting or an actual issue please help.

[AdamPandora]

@Reyg81 I moved your post over to this existing thread: Error Message: "Are you still listening?"

Check out the accepted solution for more information around the Timeout Message.

Hope this helps!

[deathblade]

how do i block it for free

[AlyssaPandora]

Hi there, @deathblade. 👋

I don't quite understand your message.

Could you share a bit more about what is happening?

Let me know and I'll be happy to help. 🎧

[deathblade]

this dumb thing

[GeraldPandora]

Hi @deathblade 👋

I moved your post over to this existing thread: Error Message: "Are you still listening?"

Check out the accepted solution for more information around the Timeout Message.

Hope this helps!

[abbraxxes]

How long before the timeout on Pandora Plus (and why is this info so hard to find)

[AdamPandora]

@abbraxxes We actively test various approaches to better gauge whether or not we're playing to an empty room.

Upgrading allows you to listen uninterrupted for longer periods of time. Pandora Plus subscribers have longer timeout periods than free listeners, and Pandora Premium subscribers have longer timeout periods than Pandora Plus subscribers. While you will experience fewer timeouts, the timeout policy does not go away.

While Pandora Premium subscribers benefit from our longest period of uninterrupted listening, the only way to eliminate timeouts completely is by subscribing to Pandora for Business. This option is not an ideal solution for home use, as it involves a higher subscription fee that includes music licensing costs and must be played through special equipment.

If that still interests you, you can get more information about Pandora for Business through our partners at Mood Media.

For now, we've passed your thoughts along to our product team. We will keep them in mind as we re-evaluate the timeout policy.

Hope this helps!

[TxWildGirl]

So how long is the period between time-outs on Pandora Plus versus Pandora Premium?? We have the free version and the timeout occurs after 1 hour. My elderly mother, who lives with me, is vision impaired. She likes to listen to the music through the tv app (Directv Stream) for long stretches at a time, but can’t see the buttons on the controller to press ‘ok’ to get rid of the message and restore the music. We are both retired, so funds are limited. I need to know it will be worth our while to upgrade our subscription. We don’t really care about the other features. We would just like to limit the number of timeouts in a given day. Thanks.

[Tubatunes53]

Hello.  I read the “Accepted solutions”, but it still does not say how much longer between timeouts if upgrading to Plus or Premium.  Can you please answer that for us?

Why will they not tell us how much more time we get with the upgrades?