Fix Spotify 'Keeps Pausing' Randomly (Background Issue)

Updated: 11/29/2025

You are listening to a playlist with your phone in your pocket. Suddenly, the music stops. You unlock your phone, press play, and 2 minutes later, it stops again. This is maddening. The culprit is almost always your phone's Battery Saver or Data Saver feature aggressively killing the Spotify background process to save power.

Table of Contents

Method 1: Disable Battery Optimization (Android)

Android is notorious for killing background apps.

Step 1: App Info

Long press the Spotify icon > App Info (i).

Step 2: Battery

Tap Battery. Change the setting from 'Optimized' or 'Restricted' to Unrestricted (or 'Don't Optimize'). This tells Android: 'Let this app run forever, even if it uses battery.'

Method 2: Sign Out Everywhere

If someone else is trying to use your account (or you left it open on a PC at work), Spotify will pause your phone whenever the other device starts playing.

  • Go to spotify.com/account in a browser.
  • Scroll down to the bottom.
  • Click 'Sign Out Everywhere'.
  • Log back in on your phone immediately. This kicks off all 'ghost' listeners.

Method 3: Clear Cache (Not Downloads)

A corrupted temporary file can cause the audio engine to crash mid-song.

Settings > Storage > Clear Cache

Do this inside the Spotify app settings. It removes junk data but keeps your downloaded songs safe.