How To Fix Spotify When It Keeps Skipping On Its Own

Sometimes tuning into the right Spotify playlist can work wonders, enabling you to quickly get into a productive zone. But being interrupted midway through because the Spotify app starts skipping, with the audio cutting in and out, can be enough to completely break your focus. Generally speaking, this shouldn't happen. as the Spotify app is pretty consistent.

Even so, the industry-leading music streaming app shouldn't disrupt your listening experience. Unfortunately though, if you pair it with a technical problem, there's no way to fix it unless you snuff out the source. Usually, the problem actually traces back to a connection made by the hardware or software.

This typically happens in two ways: either your network is having problems and can't stream the app properly (it can't keep up with the buffering), or you're actually struggling to keep your Bluetooth connection stable — in which case it's not a problem created by the app, but rather by your linked headphones or speakers. A common fix for Bluetooth connections is simply re-pairing your listening peripheral to the app or computer that's running Spotify. Still, sometimes that isn't enough, as the culprit may be an intended feature, like Spotify Jam, that conflicts with the connection, or simply a general compatibility issue with the app.

Before panicking, you can try repairing the app's cache by clearing it, then letting the Spotify app rebuild it. If you're on a smartphone, this is easy, as many apps can have their cache managed manually in your settings — unless you're on iOS, where the simplest option is to offload the app, delete it, or clear it through the app.

Otherwise, Android devices usually have a "clear cache" option in storage settings in Apps or Applications. If you're using the Spotify app on your computer, it has a built-in clear cache option in Storage or Data-saving and offline settings (for the mobile app). Note that this option is also available in the Android and iOS app.

If you're using an iPhone or iPad, the audio skipping could be due to your Bluetooth settings conflicting with the app — this is usually because of Spotify Jams, which can keep looking for other devices even while you're connected. The easiest fix is to turn off Bluetooth permissions for the Spotify app in your iPhone or iPad settings. Some users have also reported that turning off Game mode on their devices also fixes the stuttering issues.

The other culprit for Spotify skipping issues might actually be your listening peripherals, which all depends on whether you're using wireless or wired headphones. Wired headphones depend on the electrical signal from the different lines on the plug, which include a tip, ring, or sleeve; sometimes these components can wear out, get dirty, or simply not be secured in place — this can trigger a phantom button press or disconnection. In a situation like that, the best fix is to clean the jack (the port) or plug, or replace them.

For wireless ones, common problems usually stem from Bluetooth; check that the connection is stable and the device isn't pairing with another device while using the app (this can happen with multipoint headphones). Lastly, inspect that there isn't an accidental audio codec mismatch with the app — you'll need to use developer mode on your listening device to fix it.

Another simple check if this occurs when using your phone is to see if any third-party apps are conflicting, like a custom equalizer that might change how the app perceives audio — disable those conflicting apps temporarily to test whether the problem goes away.