Bizarre bug causes some Google Pixel phones to crash when using Spotify

Ben Schoon | Jul 2 2024 - 10:55 am PT

In a super unusual issue, some Google Pixel owners have noticed that their phones are crashing while playing music from Spotify.

A growing number of Google Pixel owners are reporting (via Reddit) that, suddenly, their phones are crashing while using Spotify. Specifically, when starting to play a song, their phones get stuck in a loop where the system is crashing. The phones don’t seem to turn off, but the system crashes with a message saying that “system UI is not responding” and, in some cases, going back to the lockscreen.

Rebooting the device manually (by long-pressing the power button) stops the crashing loop.

The issue appears to be affecting Pixel 6, 7, and 8 series devices, but it’s unclear which software versions are affected. In our testing on the latest Android 14 update and Spotify v8.9 on a Pixel 8 Pro, we’ve been unable to replicate the issue.

Some have found that clearing app data and cache on Spotify fixes the problem, at least temporarily. That implies that the Spotify app is the cause of the problem.

In a post on its forums, Spotify says it is aware of user reports and looking for a solution. Android Authority points out that Spotify just started rolling out an app update today, July 2, which is potentially the culprit, but user reports started popping up on July 1, so it’s hard to say for certain. Some users also note that similar issues have popped up in the past, but not as widespread.

A fix is likely not too far away, but in the meantime, you can try uninstalling Spotify and sideloading an older version of the app or a beta version to see if that works on your device. Some have also found that turning off Spotify notifications at least temporarily fixes the problem, for some reason.

If you’re seeing this problem, let us know in the comments below.