Spotify users are experiencing issues with ads appearing despite having a Premium subscription. Affected users have reported on the Spotify community forum, Reddit, and X that they are encountering unskippable ads.
Spotify users report ads despite Premium subscriptions
The streaming company’s support channel confirmed that its engineering team is looking into the issue. In a forum post, Spotify suggested that if the issue isn’t resolved, users should log in and out of their accounts 2-3 times to help the sync process. Additionally, users are advised to clear the app’s cache on their phones and relaunch it. The support channel on X has also recommended deleting and reinstalling the app, although its effectiveness remains uncertain.
However, many users reported that these workarounds have not resolved the problem. Reports indicate that customers on standalone, Duo, and Family premium plans are affected. One user expressed frustration, stating, “Also having the same issue today, have combed through all settings and logged in/out multiple times. Driving me absolutely mad. They better fix this soon.” Another user mentioned, “Same issue here – just started an hour or two ago. Have tried logging in and logging out, attempted on multiple devices, double checked that payment went through.”
Several users are inundated with multiple ads in succession. Affected users on Reddit reported instances, such as, “There were 3 ads in a row right now. I’ll switch to Apple music if ads are going to be on Spotify when you have subscription.” The ad problem reportedly extends beyond the mobile app, with users also noting similar issues in the web player and while streaming through smart home devices. Complaints have also surfaced regarding broken song skip and shuffle features.
As of now, Spotify has not provided a detailed explanation for the internal system issue, and no universal workaround has proven effective for all users. In related news, the company plans to launch its hi-fi streaming tier later this year and has opened its platform to AI-generated audiobooks. Competing service YouTube introduced a Premium Lite subscription in the US this week, which excludes access to YouTube Music Premium and features like background play.
Previous bug history
A month-long bug that impacted Spotify Premium subscribers with ads has been addressed, according to Spotify support. On February 5th, a significant number of Premium subscribers experienced an ad inundation, prompting a surge of bug reports in the Spotify Community forums. After claiming to resolve the issue after a week, Spotify faced continued backlash as complaints accumulated, resulting in a support thread that grew to 92 pages over 29 days.
Affected users were instructed to log in and out of the app multiple times to “force a resync,” which yielded mixed results. Spotify stated to TechCrunch that the ongoing Premium bug differs from the one that was patched in February, providing this clarification shortly before deploying a patch for the newer issue. The situation remains fluid, with users still advised to perform the login-logout process to mitigate the issue.
The nature of the bug appears to affect a broad spectrum of Spotify customers, and the support thread reflects feedback from desktop, mobile, and smart home users globally. Notably, many complaints originate from Premium Family subscribers, suggesting the issue is not confined to individual plans. Reports highlight a concentration of issues involving smart speakers such as Amazon Echo, Google Nest, and Sonos. Some users have considered removing their Spotify accounts from smart devices to prompt a resync, although the exact processes involved remain unclear. It’s also important to note that certain podcasts may still contain ads, despite a user holding a Premium account.
Premium subscription pricing context
Spotify raised its prices for the first time in July 2023, increasing the Premium plan from $9.99 to $10.99. A subsequent price hike in July 2024 further raised the monthly fee to $11.99. Spotify does not offer annual memberships except through gift cards, making the effective yearly cost of a Premium membership $143.88. The ongoing ad issues have prompted frustration among users who are paying for an ad-free experience, with some requesting refunds due to the lack of service. If recent patterns of price increases hold, users could see another rise as early as July 2025.
Spotify acknowledged the ad-related issues affecting some Premium subscribers through its customer service account on X, stating it is investigating the problem. The account linked to the Community website where users have documented the issue for the past month. While Spotify noted that a small number of users were affected and confirmed deployment of a fix, it has not officially communicated the resolution on the X account yet. Many users still report that suggested solutions, such as logging out, have not resolved their issues.
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