All Devices: Recently Played not being updated across platforms

[EntropicLynx]

I use multiple methods to listen to Pandora, including the website through MS Edge (which is a Chromium-based browser, like all are these days), the mobile app on my Android phone, and through my Amazon Echo Dot using the Pandora Skill for Alexa.  And just today, I also downloaded the Desktop App for Windows to try that instead of the website to see if it would work any differently.

Here's the problem:  My Recently Played entries (stations and playlists) in my Collections are not being updated on *any* of those platforms except for the mobile app.

This is, in most cases, an annoyance, but not a major problem.  Using Alexa, however, does not list my full collections and also refuses to allow proper searching, and as such, I rely on the Recently Played list almost exclusively when I'm using Alexa, but that doesn't work correctly when that list no longer updates.

How can I get my Recently Played list to correctly update on *all platforms*, especially Alexa?

Moderator Edit: Changing title for clarity

[TannerPandora]

Hi @EntropicLynx 

Could you share a screenshot of what you're seeing on your Alexa app? You can include a picture(s) directly here on community. Be sure to upload the pictures on a web or mobile browser, you will not be able to include them through the email notification you may receive.

You should see your playback history under the Pandora section in your Alexa App, tapping Browse will expand this. The Recently Played section within the Alexa App, is local to your Alexa device.

Similarly, the Recently Played should be updated on web/desktop and mobile. Feel free to share a screenshot from those as well. Please include the date and time you took the screenshot. I can take a closer look at what may be happening.

Thanks!

[EntropicLynx]

Following are current screenshots, all taken today.  Three were taken on my phone, including Pandora mobile app, and two from Alexa, the other two were taken on my PC.  Each one should have captions labeling what is being shown.

As you should notice, when comparing them, is that only Pandora Mobile is showing the "League of Legends" radio station, and one of the Alexa ones isn't showing "ADP - Power Puff Punk Metal".  It's also worth noting that I have listened to "ADP - Seeds of Darkness" more recently than "Dark Wave", but all of the lists are showing "Dark Wave" to the left of "ADP - Seeds of Darkness" as though it were the more recent one.

Since the list is not correctly and fully updated on multiple apps and platforms, including official Pandora apps, with the Pandora Mobile app being the only one with a *nearly* correct list (at least it has all of the entries, even if they aren't in the right order), this very strongly suggests that it's a problem with Pandora and the Pandora API.  I'm hoping someone can give me a way to force it to correctly update all of the Recently Played lists on all of the platforms, but especially for Alexa.

Sorry, one other thing that might me worth noting:  This is a recent problem.  All platforms, including Alexa, used to update correctly, including updates that occur on one platform (such as Pandora Website) being updated on other platforms (such as Alexa) within a few minutes.  The problem with the lists no longer correctly updating started a couple of weeks ago (I don't remember exactly when).

Alexa Music - Pandora BrowseAlexa MusicPandora Mobile (Android)Pandora WebsitePandora Desktop

[TannerPandora]

Hi @EntropicLynx 

Sorry for the delay, I was out of the office with a cold.

Thanks for the screenshots, I see what you mean now. Unfortunately, since this is across platform, there isn't any troubleshooting steps I can offer that I believe would help to resolve this.

I've gone ahead and reported your experience to our engineering teams so that they can review further.

Thanks for letting us know!

[EntropicLynx]

Thanks, I appreciate it 🙂

[shelbing]

I am having the same problem (Alexa app not updating most recently played on Pandora). That was a really useful feature. 

[AdamPandora]

@shelbing 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!

[shelbing]

It seems to be working now. Thanks!

Best,
Mary

[dmagy]

I'm still seeing the issue. For me the website is not updating after I play one of my stations in Collections. I am also not seeing updates in Alexa.

[TX_Maniac]

Desktop App: Recently Played artwork hasn't changed in months

PLEASE DO NOT MARK THIS AS SOLVED, UNTIL IT ACTUALLY IS.

This issue is ongoing as of 01/09/2025 2pm Central.

I use Pandora nearly every day on my desktop at work and at home. However, no matter what I play, my recently played artwork/info has not changed in about 2 months, maybe longer. It's become quite the inconvenience, as I am constantly finding new artists I like and now I have to write down or remember every single one when I come across something new. Bummer. I now feel like I've been paying months for a service I can no longer use as I want to and I'm considering dropping it because it's now a task.

Yes, I cleared the cache.

Yes, I reset the app data.

Yes, I tried uninstalling and reinstalling.

The problem persists. I see others have posted the same issues months ago, ETA on an actual solution? Thanks.

Moderator's edit: Title changed for clarification.

[LeonPandora]

@TX_Maniac Welcome to Community!

Sorry to hear you're been having troubles. I'd like to report this issue to our engineers for further investigation. Could you help by providing a little more info?

1. Make and model of your device:
2. Mode: Desktop or Tablet?
3. Network (Wi-Fi or 3G/4G/LTE):
4. Pandora version (under Pandora Settings on the bottom left):
5. Windows version & build:
6. Are you able to stream Pandora normally through a web browser like Chrome or Firefox?

Also, are you running a Preview Build of Windows? If so, are you in the fast ring or slow ring?

Thanks for your help with this

[TX_Maniac]

@LeonPandora Thanks!

1. At work it's a Lenovo ThinkCentre(M900 I think), at home it's a HP Envy.

2. Both desktops.

3. Work is WiFi only. Home is mostly WiFi with occasional Ethernet.

4. The info isn't in that location, but the app on my phone says 2411.1.3, although I understand we're talking about the desktop app. Where else can I find that info?

5. Both Windows 11, not Pro, whatever the latest version is. Work PC recently updated, and the home HP is new.

6. Yes.

No Preview Build used.

[AdamPandora]

@TX_Maniac Thanks for following up with that info.

I moved your post over to this existing thread: Recently Played not being updated across platforms

Your feedback has now been added to the ticket we have open with our engineering team.

Thanks for your patience in the meantime.

[TX_Maniac]

@AdamPandora Sounds good, thanks. I eagerly await a resolution.

[EntropicLynx]

Hi all (especially Pandora Moderators and Community Managers, etc.),

I wanted to come post a brief update now that it's been over 2 months since my original post and I have learned something new.

First of all, I want to make sure that it is understood that the "solution" I marked does not mean that this issue is solved/resolved, but rather that having the engineering teams work on the problem is what is necessary to fix this problem.  As I had stated in my second post (the one with screenshots), the fact that this happens on multiple platforms, including Pandora official apps, is a clear indication that the issue is a problem with Pandora and/or the Pandora API directly, which is something that only the Pandora software engineers can address.  I perhaps should have made that more clear at the time that I did it.  In other words, the necessary solution (something from the engineers) is what I was told was being worked on, and I marked the post where I was told that it was being worked on by the engineers as the "solution".

Secondly, I have seen some Recently Played updates pushed to the various platforms that I use, but none of them have been a correct and accurate reflection of my actual use.  Pandora Mobile App on Android is still the most up-to-date and accurate Recently Played list for me, while Alexa is still the least accurate (which is particularly annoying to me since Alexa is the one that I need to have be the *most* accurate and up-to-date), but the Pandora Website and Pandora Desktop App are somewhere in the middle.

This makes it seem as though the problem is one of the frequency of updates and/or the data source that the updates are being pulled from.  It seems as though the Recently Played lists are being pulled from *backup data* rather than the most recently available data.  And while it is great that backups of such data are being kept, it definitely is not great that old data is being used by multiple Pandora platforms instead of the most recent and up-to-date data.

All Pandora apps and platforms should be getting their data from the most up-to-date source, or they should be directly updating each other's source as well as their own, and that doesn't seem to be happening.  Obviously, I don't have a detailed working knowledge of the Pandora network and data backends, but the behavior of the apps and platforms makes it appear as though Pandora maintains multiple datasets independently, and that those datasets do not correctly update one another, nor update in a timely manner.  If that assessment is accurate, then the problems would be found in the backend code that deals with dataset updates.  Maybe there is a very good reason why datasets for the various Pandora apps and platforms are maintained independently of one another, but if that's the case, then it makes it all the more important for the inter-platform updates to happen accurately and timely.

Hopefully this additional information will be helpful to the engineers.

Thanks.

[TannerPandora]

Hi @EntropicLynx 

Thanks for the follow up!

First, to address the post marked as a solution, I'm not sure when this happened, but it could have been done in error. I've since removed the solution from the post.

I've passed along your latest feedback to our engineering team. I can totally understand the sentiment you're sharing with us. It may take us some time and effort across teams to investigate, so I can't give you a specific timeline on the issue you've shared with us. In any case, we apologize for the inconvenience around this functionality.