Android: Playback stops when screen Locked or App Backgrounded

[Marcia13]

Pandora randomly stops playing on Android

Has this problem ever been resolved?  It seems lots of folks have had this same problem but I couldn't find a definitive reason why or a solution.  I have a Pixel 4A 5G and just started a paid subscription a few days ago.  I can listen for about thirty minutes or so, and then for no apparent reason, it stops.  The only way to get it started again is to exit the app and then try again.  This glitch needs to be fixed...please!

mod edit: changed title for clarity

[datgurlbrizy9]

Hello Tanner,

As stated in my original post, I've done all the suggested steps. Please advise with something else I can try. 

Model: Galaxy S21

Carrier: ATT

Android version (Settings > About Phone): 13

Pandora version: 2306.1

If you can open Pandora, go to Profile, then select Settings. Scroll to the bottom of the screen for the version number.

If you can't open Pandora: from Android Home screen > Android Settings > Applications > Manage Applications > Find Pandora

Are you connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data when this is happening? Both

Have you identified any other patterns or notable information? See original post

Moderator Edit: Merged posts

[datgurlbrizy9]

Model: Galaxy S21

Carrier: ATT

Android version (Settings > About Phone): 13

Pandora version: 2306.1

If you can open Pandora, go to Profile, then select Settings. Scroll to the bottom of the screen for the version number.

If you can't open Pandora: from Android Home screen > Android Settings > Applications > Manage Applications > Find Pandora

Are you connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data when this is happening? Both

Have you identified any other patterns or notable information? See original post

Moderator Edit: Merged posts

[TannerPandora]

Sorry to hear that didn't help, @datgurlbrizy9. Thanks for providing you device information.

Unfortunately, we've exhausted all our known solutions at this time. I've gone ahead and passed this along to our engineering team for further investigation.

Thanks for your patience in the meantime.

[datgurlbrizy9]

Hello again Tanner,

Whatever you guys did behind the scenes worked temporarily. I had to restart my phone since then and it stopped working again. If your team can do anything else it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[Christweety]

Something I'm android when screening goes to sleep music will stop till I turn screen back on

[Chuck5665]

I just installed pandora and wsnt it to play in the background. 

[TannerPandora]

Hi @Chuck5665! Welcome to community.

I moved your message over to an existing thread: Android: Playback stops when screen Locked or App Backgrounded

It sounds like playback is stopping when Pandora is in the background. This can be caused by the battery optimization settings found within your Android.

When updating the OS on Android devices, the battery optimization on all apps may be automatically turned back on by default. This can cause performance issues or interfere with playback when the app is backgrounded.

Please try the following steps to see if they will help.

• Open your device Settings and then Apps.
• Scroll to find Pandora or use Search in the upper right hand corner.
• Select Battery
• Next select Unrestricted.

Due to the numerous models of Android devices, we are unable to provide step by step instructions for every device. Please look up the steps to manage battery optimization for the specific make and model of your device and disable this for the Pandora app if the above does not apply.

[AlyssaPandora]

Hi, @Christweety. 👋

Thanks for posting about your experience.

I moved your post over to this existing thread to keep everything organized: Android: Playback stops when screen Locked or App Backgrounded

Please check out the accepted solution for this thread. Let us know if you continue to have trouble. 🎧

[datgurlbrizy9]

Hello all. It turns out my VPN was causing pandora to stop auto-playing between songs. I've turned off my "app tracking protection" for pandora and I haven't had the issue since. I use duckduckgo. I hope this helps!

[TannerPandora]

Thanks for the follow up, @datgurlbrizy9! Glad you were able to resolve this and get back to listening. 🙌

---

For listeners that may be using a VPN, unfortunately, this is not supported while streaming Pandora. We recommend checking if you can make an exception for Pandora in your VPN settings, or if you can safely disable any VPN connections while listening to Pandora. If you continue to have trouble, we recommend contacting the support team of your VPN for further assistance.

If you are not using a VPN and playback continues to pause then we recommend trying the steps from the accepted solution to ensure that any battery optimization settings have been disabled.

[robertgarcia_ab]

Why do I have to keep unlocking my phone for the next song to start.It's  making me want to get rid of pandora!

[Sweettea2]

I am having the similar problem with my Samsung is 21 Ulta when I try to play it through my phone or through Android auto it just stops out of nowhere usually after playing one song and then when I try to hit the play button it does nothing there is no error information nothing to go by I cleaned out the cash in Pandora and an Android auto hoping that that would help and it did nothing

[AlyssaPandora]

Hey, @robertgarcia_ab. 👋

Thanks for posting about this. I've seen mentions of a similar experience in this thread: Android: Playback stops when screen Locked or App Backgrounded

If you haven't already, I would recommend checking out the accepted solution to help adjust your background optimization / sleeping app settings.

Feel free to let me know if you continue to have trouble with this. 🎧

[AlyssaPandora]

Hi, @Sweettea2. 👋

Sorry for any trouble this has caused. I moved your post over to this existing thread: Android: Playback stops when screen Locked or App Backgrounded

Based on your message, it sounds like you've run through these steps: Android Troubleshooting

Please check out the accepted solution to help adjust your app settings. 

Let me know how it goes. 🎧

[bergerpjr77]

Same issue here. Disabling "app protection" for the Pandora (and Calm application) in the DuckDuckGo VPN App Tracking Protection - did the trick. no more audio disconnects when the screen is off/locked.

[drjh]

"Loading" after each song causes up to 3 mins of silence between songs.

Since the most recent update for Android specifically. When the screen turns off the next song will not play right away or ever. I refresh the screen songs starts to play after unlocking screen. It happens regardless of wifi or 5G. Strangely it does not happen when running maps while traveling and the screen never sleeps or locks. Every time I start the app it Always tells me to retry again regardless of wifi or 4or 5G and then it will start. Please fix. I have had a family plan for 13 years and am considering dumping this unless you can fix it. I have done all the usual suggestions dump cache clean up data bla bla bla and nothing has fixed it for longer than 1 song.

[AdamPandora]

@drjh I moved your post over to this existing thread: Android: Playback stops when screen Locked or App Backgrounded

It sounds like you've run already run through these steps: Android Troubleshooting

Please check out the accepted solution to help adjust your app settings. 

Thanks for working with me on this.

[ragoo43]

Pandora stops playing when goes into screen lock. It will finish playing but then stop. I have tried the battery optimization, app restrict. Uninstall and install, clear cache. Nothing is working

[AlyssaPandora]

Hey, @ragoo43. 👋

Sorry for any trouble you've encountered. To keep everything organized, I moved your post over to this existing thread as your issue seems related: Android: Playback stops when screen Locked or App Backgrounded

Based on your message, it sounds like you've run through these steps: Android Troubleshooting

Please check out the accepted solution to adjust your settings to see if this resolves your issue. 

Let us know if you continue to have trouble. 🎧

[ragoo43]

I have tried all the troubleshooting. That hasn't helped.

[sbap]

Hello - Same, or similar, problem as the others here - Pandora will play the rest of whatever song it is playing when the screen of my tablet turns off, but then won't play another song unless I tap the screen to wake it up.

I've completed all of the setting recommendations regarding app sleeping, battery and data usage in this thread and in the android troubleshooting threads.

Model:  Samsung Tablet S8+, SM-X800

Android Version: 14

Pandora Version: 2310.1