iOS: Playlists stop playing after few songs

[amyhandsome]

My playlists stop playing, sometimes after just a song, sometimes after an hour or 2 of play. It happens every time.

• Phone: iPhone 16 Pro
• iOS version: 18.5
• Carrier: Verizon
• Pandora version: 2506.1

More details:

1. Yes I have tried completely removing my Pandora app and reinstalling it, two times separately over the past month.
2. This problem only happens with my playlists, not stations. It happens with all my playlists.
3. It happens both when streaming my playlists and when listening to them in offline mode.
4. It happens on both wifi and 5G. It happens on both my home wifi and also my work wifi (at an office).
5. It happens regardless of whether I hit play from the start of the playlist or use shuffle.
6. If I'm playing and then hit pause and come back to it after a 30-60 min, it will play a few songs then completely stop. Sometimes it will only play one song and then stop, as though it just played a cached song. After it stops, if I go to Pandora again, the app opens to the home screen as though it is opening fresh. The controls have also disappeared from the lock screen.
7. Even when the controls remain on the lock screen, when I hit play it often won't work - I have to open the app, then hit play, and it will play to the end of that song and stop. Sometimes when I go to hit play, the pause button shows in the app as though it were playing, but it isn't.

Please help! So annoying, especially when I'm using a playlist to meditate and it just stops. Over the years I've had this problem before and reinstalling the app fixes it. Not so this time.

[MariaPandora]

Hi @amyhandsome, thanks for posting and sorry to hear about the trouble.

Could you tell me more about this? When this issue occurs: 

• To clarify, do you need to close and relaunch the app to continue listening? Or do you only need to press Play (or pause and then play when it shows as it was still playing)?
• Are you using a Bluetooth connection?

Thanks for your help!

[amyhandsome]

I've just tested it and the last few times it's happened, I've had to relaunch the app to restart playback. Playback stops, my phone screen is blank (no play button), I open Pandora again, navigate to the playlist, hit play again. Pandora has completely shut down - eg, the last song isn't ready to play on the screen.

Yes, I'm using a bluetooth device to stream the audio.

[LeonPandora]

@amyhandsomeThanks 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!

[amyhandsome]

Hi Leon, any update on this issue? I again tried deleting/reinstalling the app and logging out/in...no luck.

[ashleyyjoyee]

I am having this same issue for a few weeks now. I have an iPhone. I use a Bluetooth speaker. I have uninstalled the app for a few days and added it back and still no change. 

[MariaPandora]

Hi @ashleyyjoyee , thanks for posting! 

Sorry for the trouble you are experiencing. Could you tell me more about this? 

• To clarify, do you need to close and relaunch the app to continue listening? Or do you only need to press Play (or pause and then play when it shows as it was still playing)?
• Is your phone screen locked or the app on the background?
• Is this happening with a particular Playlist? Playlists in general or with any content? 
• Does it always stop after the same song? Or the same number of songs? Or does it changes?
• Is it when you listen offline, online or both?

Thanks for your help with this!

[amyhandsome]

I just wanted to let you know that I started a trial with Spotify, and the problem is not happening there. I also was hoping the new iOS upgrade would help, but it didn't. Sadly after 17 years as a Pandora user (15 or so of which were paid), I am probably going to leave.

[kaiavictoria]

I have this same issue. Has there been any updates on solving this? It is so annoying and I have also tried everything to fix it as well. Thinking about switching if it persists. 

[MariaPandora]

Hi @kaiavictoria , thanks for  posting!

Can you tell me more about this? 

1. Is the app back grounded or the screen locked when this happens?
2. Does this happen only with Playlists?
3. Does it happen with all of your Playlists?
4. Can you give me some examples of the content that you experience this with so I can take a look at them please?
5. Are you connected to Wi-Fi or mobile data?

Let me know!

[Javajunk-e]

1. No the app in NOT in the background.

2. I have only tried on my playlists.

3. YES! All playlists, including my daughter’s iPhone. (We have the family premium plan)

4.this happens on ALL my playlists I have downloaded over WiFi

5. This happens when I’m in offline mode. 
only plays one song, then stops playing.

[LeonPandora]

@Javajunk-e Welcome to Community!

Let's try some troubleshooting steps to see if we can resolve the issue.

First, I recommend rebooting the device by shutting it down entirely, then turning it back on and trying Pandora again.

If you're still having issues, try uninstalling and reinstalling the app (not to worry, we'll keep track of your profile and collection for you).* To do that:
1. Hold down the Pandora icon on your Home screen until all the icons start "shaking."
2. Then tap - in the upper left of the Pandora icon, and confirm that you want to Delete app.
3. Then re-install Pandora via the App Store on your device.

*Please note: Pandora Premium and Premium Family listeners may need to re-download some of their offline content after reinstalling the app. Pandora Plus users, however, should receive that offline content again automatically. If you have any trouble with your offline stations after reinstalling, please let us know.

If you continue having troubles, please let me know.

[ph06]

I have the same issue and have tried all of your suggestions, deleting app, allowing app refresh in settings etc etc. It only happens when I'm in offline mode and out of service, plays one song and then shuts off, super annoying. This **ahem** but I agree with one of the posters, will probably have to switch to Spotify unless this is fixed.

[MariaPandora]

Hi @ph06 , thanks for posting!

Sorry for the trouble! Is it possible that this might be occurring because there is not enough storage on your device?

Pandora will never use the last 500MB of storage, so we will only download as many stations as we can before we hit that limit.

If it doesn't appear to be storage related, I'd recommend signing out of the app and signing back in, which will reset the download process. Then, make sure to keep Pandora in the foreground of your device while the download completes.

If you continue to have trouble, check the download icon for the content you are attempting to download. The two rotating arrows indicate that the content is still in the download process and the highlighted downward pointing arrow means the content has successfully downloaded.

If the icon is not highlighted, try downloading the content again and keep the app in the foreground while the offline music downloads. Keep in mind that stations and large playlists take a longer time to download.

Lastly, if you are having trouble downloading stations, try downloading a single track for offline listening to see if that works.

I hope this helps. Let me know how it goes.