Revamp your Spotify experience with this simple trick.
With the advent of music streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music, enjoying tunes on your phone, computer, or portable device is a breeze.
These platforms offer instant access to millions of songs and the ability to create personalised playlists featuring your favourite tracks. However, sometimes these apps don’t function perfectly, and you might find yourself stuck listening to the same few songs repeatedly because your playlist isn’t shuffling properly.
Some Spotify users have noticed their playlists don’t shuffle as they should, leading to a repetitive cycle of tracks while others are left unplayed. But there’s a straightforward solution to this issue, found within the app’s settings.
A TikTok user named Francine shared a video where she revealed a hack she discovered online to solve the shuffling problem. She was amazed at how effortlessly it restored her playlists to full functionality.
Francine stated: “Whoever that girl was who posted the video saying that if your Spotify doesn’t shuffle your music properly you need to go into settings, go into playback, and turn off auto [play], I actually owe you my sanity.”
Her revelation about Spotify’s autoplay feature has been a real eye-opener for many. She shared how, for the last two years, her Spotify habit had turned into a repetitive loop.
She said: “For the last two years I’ve been putting my liked songs on shuffle and just listening to the same three or four songs on repeat. The amount of people that must have got into my car and thought ‘Fran really likes this song, she’s always listening to it’. No, Spotify was just gatekeeping half my music.”
Thrilled with her discovery, Francine explained: “Today, after I’ve done this [trick], I put my headphones in and went for a little walk – and I’m hearing songs I have not heard since 2019. I’m listening to songs that I didn’t even remember existed.”
In her video, Francine initially described the setting as “auto mix” but later clarified in the comments she was actually referring to Spotify’s autoplay function. While auto mix smoothly transitions songs without gaps, autoplay should be providing additional similar tracks once your chosen music ends.
Nonetheless, Francine and others found disabling autoplay improved their playlist experience.
The feedback from viewers of Francine’s tip was overwhelmingly positive. One person expressed extreme gratitude: “I now owe you my life.” Another echoed the sentiment of playlist frustration: “Oh my God yes! I’m sick of having a playlist with 20 hours’ worth of songs and only hearing the same five songs.”
A similar question was raised in the Spotify community forum last year regarding playlist shuffling. A spokesperson confirmed Spotify “prioritises” songs that users listen to the most, resulting in frequent repetition of the same songs when restarting a playlist.
Spotify stated: “We can confirm that the shuffle option prioritises the songs that Spotify perceives you listen to most, that’s why some songs can come up repeatedly.”
The community had been voting on introducing a “true shuffle” option, but as of May this year, there are no updates on the status of this idea.