Apple Watch: Stops playing after one song

[qt06550]

I’m having trouble with Pandora on my Apple Watch. I use Pandora when I go for my run outside. The problem is that Pandora will only play one song; it will not advance to the next song automatically. Here’s my hardware:
iPhone 13 ProMAX
Apple Watch Ultra
All OS up-to-date
Pandora Watch App: 2411.1, Pandora Phone App: 2411.1

If I double tap my Airpods, Pandora will go to the next song, but I have to keep doing it. This is a new development with the Apple Watch Pandora app. I’ve been running the same route for six months with no issues.

It’s not a matter of buffering; my Apple Watch is linked to my iPhone which I carry with me. This is with cellular data, and I am in a 5-bar service area (VZW). Buffering should not be a problem.

Here’s what I did to rectify the problem, but these steps did not work:
• Removed Pandora app from Apple Watch.
• Turned Apple Watch off.
• Removed Pandora app from iPhone.
• Rebooted iPhone.
• Reinstalled Pandora.
• Rebooted Apple Watch.
• Reinstalled Pandora app on Apple Watch.

I only use Pandora for my run. If you can’t help me with this in an expedient fashion, I will cancel my service with you.

Moderator Edit: Format, Edited title for clarity

[AdamPandora]

@qt06550 Sorry to hear about the trouble.

Could you explain what's happening in more detail? The more information you can provide, the better I can help.

When this issue occurs: 

• Is the app still open in the background where you're able to press play and resume music or do you need to close and relaunch the app to continue listening?
• Are you listening to a station, album, playlist, or podcast? 

Thanks for your help!

[qt06550]

It get "stuck." Have to manually skip to next song. How complicated is that?

listening to my station ("Run_BB"), but it happens with Pandora stations as well

Moderator Edit: Merged comments

[AdamPandora]

@qt06550 Thanks for providing that info.

I've passed this along to the appropriate parties for further investigation. We'll follow up with you if we need any additional details.

Thanks for your patience in the meantime!

[qt06550]

Need to close, but then the app doesn’t want to open again

Excuse the brevity; sent from my mobile device --
Bill Bates

[Seattle_boater]

I’m having the same issue, I need to"wake" the watch, and then it will advance to the next song. I do not have to touch it, the watch face just needs to wake up, and then I will advance

[qt06550]

No response yet from Pandora. Duh

[Slwf]

Same issue on my Apple Watch series 10. It is very frustrating I must wake my watch for the app to continue to the next song. The app is running when my watch sleeps. Listening to the 80s station. Once I wake the watch, swipe up, all apps, find pandora, start app again. Then the app will continue to the next song. Connected to my iPhone and WiFi.

[MariaPandora]

Hi @qt06550 , thanks for the information provided. At the moment we have no further steps or suggestions for you, however, the info you've provided is helpful and we've made sure to pass it along to our engineering team for further investigation. They are currently working in this. 

We will follow up here in case there's an update on this case.

@Seattle_boater , thanks for posting and sorry to hear you're having trouble listening. Can you tell me a bit more about your Apple watch?

• What iPhone model do you have?
• What version is your Apple Watch on? (Open the Watch app on your phone and go to General > About> Version)
• What happens when you open Pandora?
• Is there an error message (if yes, what exactly does it say)?

@Seattle_boater and @Slwf , can you please try the following steps? If you have already tried, please let me know along with the questions posted down here:

Is it possible that this might be happening because there is not enough storage on your Apple Watch?

To check how much space is available on your Apple Watch, from your iPhone go to the Watch app then General > About > Available.

Let me know what you see.

If it doesn't appear to be storage related, let's try reseting the download process on your Apple Watch:

• Power off and restart your iPhone and Apple Watch.
• Confirm your iPhone and Apple Watch are connected via Bluetooth and to the same Wi-Fi network.
• Allow Pandora to refresh in background (Watch app on iPhone > General > Background App Refresh).
• Dock your Apple Watch on its charger.

If the issue continues after waiting some time for the download process to begin, delete the app from your Apple Watch and then reinstall.

Let me know.

[Slwf]

Rebooting both the phone and the watch seems to have fixed it for me. One or the other did not help.

In case my answers to your questions help anyone else:

Watch version: 11.2 (22S101)

Watch Space 54.21GB

Both devices are on the same WiFi and connected via Bluetooth

Background refresh has always been switched on

Watch is brand new from a Christmas present 2024.

Pandora used the same day that I received the present a little more than a week ago

iPhone 14 pro with 300gb available

iphone is current with iOS updates (18.1.1)

Pandora is installed on both watch and iPhone

I did not need to uninstall pandora and reinstall. 

thank you for the quick response!

[Seattle_boater]

Thanks for the follow up

iPhone 15 Pro Max. iSO 18.2
Watch SE (GPS + Cellular) iSO 11.2
AirPods Pro A3048 iSO 7B21

I use the watch with Pandora strictly cellular with AirPods. Rebooted all devices, no change?

Seems to have started a few days ago.

[MariaPandora]

 @Slwf , thanks for sharing this info with us. 

We are glad to hear it is working now.
__

@Seattle_boater , thanks for providing that information.

I've passed this along to the appropriate parties for further investigation. We'll follow up with you if we need any additional details.

Thanks for your patience in the meantime!

[qt06550]

It's been a week - - no sign of a resolution. Hello? Hello?

[Seattle_boater]

Nope

[oak2207]

Rebooting them both will only help for a period of time, then the problem will resurface again eventually. Waking the watch doesn't work for me, I have to manually advance it.

Iphone 15 Pro - 18.2.1

Watch Series 9 - 11.2

In addition. this is purely a watch problem because it only happens for me when I'm streaming from the watch directly and I've left the phone at home. Rebooting is NOT the answer because like most folks you're probably exercising or on a run and rebooting the watch is not an option.

Please fix this Pandora!

Moderator Edit: Merged comments

[Slwf]

I don’t have the cellular watch so it depends on my phone being nearby. I’m playing from the watch without Pandora open on the phone. I’m working on an art project so it isn’t trying to track working out etc. So far the app has not needed a reboot yet.

I agree it likely is an app issue. For my current issue the reboot helped. 

[RebeccaTx]

This Blows 😞 I use it for running. I will try to reboot both. 

[qt06550]

It's been doing this for about a month. Wonderful (not!) support from
Pandora. They should be ashamed. Been subscribing for more than 5 years. 😡

[TannerPandora · Accepted solution]

Note: This message has been Accepted as a Solution to flag the current steps and/or status of this thread. This post will be updated with more information as it is provided to the moderation team.

---

Pandora Update: 1/17/2025

Thank you for sharing your experiences with Apple Watch.

Please know that your feedback is being taken seriously and has been reported to our engineering team for further investigation. We completely understand how frustrating it can be when things don’t work as expected. It may take us some time and effort across teams to further investigate, so I can't give you a specific timeline on the issues you've already shared with us. In any case, we apologize for the inconvenience around this function. Updates will be posted in this thread as they are provided to the moderation team. We thank you for your patience in the meantime.

For those new to this thread:
If you’re experiencing playback stopping on your Apple Watch, please help us by sharing the following details to ensure we can accurately report your situation:

• iOS version:
• Pandora version:
• Apple Watch OS version:
• Are you connected to cellular on your Apple Watch (Standalone version)?
• Or is your Apple Watch connected to your iPhone in order to listen?

[qt06550]

• iOS version: 18.2.1
• Pandora version: 2501.1
• Apple Watch OS version: 11.2
• Are you connected to cellular on your Apple Watch (Standalone version)?
Or is your Apple Watch connected to your iPhone in order to listen?
Watch has VZW cellular connectivity, but to ensure good signal, I always
run with iPhone 13 Pro Max. Problem is relatively recent. I've been running
in same neighborhood for 5 months with Ø problems. I have uninstalled and
reinstalled Pandora app on phone and watch numerous times. It MIGHT help
for few days, but then problem comes back.