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Spotify iPhone Users Can No Longer Change the Volume on Device

By Laura Tucker
Spotify Iphone Volume Buttons Featured 2

Spotify and Apple are the perfect example of strange bedfellows. The two don’t get along with each other, but they’re forced to work together. The situation became more strained recently when Apple changed its technology so that Spotify users on iPhones can no longer charge the volume with the buttons on their phones when using Spotify Connect.

Apple Changes Volume Button Usage for 3rd Party Apps

Previously, if you had an iPhone and were using Spotify Connect to stream to a connected device, you could use the volume buttons on your phone to adjust the volume up or down. You also had the option to change the volume via the Spotify Connect app or the connected device.

Apple made a change recently that took the first option away. You can no longer change the volume with the on-device volume buttons and need to either use the app or your connected device, such as earbuds.

Spotify Iphone Volume Buttons Spotify Connect
Image source: Unsplash

Other third-party apps are said to work the same. However, if you’re using Bluetooth or AirPlay to connect, you can still connect as you would before. Spotify is instructing users to use the new in-app volume slider after the three-day weekend.

It’s definitely a hassle to have to keep opening your iPhone to change the volume on the app if you have headphones in, but you could use Siri at that point to change it.

Interestingly, one company Spotify does appear to get along with is Google. You can listen to your Spotify music while using Google Maps or Waze.

Spotify Believes Apple is Violating the DMA

Notably, this is upsetting to not just Spotify customers, but Spotify itself. This could cause them to lose some customers who don’t want to be inconvenienced and decide instead to just use Apple Music on their devices. Spotify and Apple were just beginning to get along again, too, after Apple decided to break its own rules for the streaming service.

Spotify claims this change may be violating DMA, the European regulations, that require the big tech companies to support interoperability. A section of the DMA states that the “gatekeeper” should allow third-party services to have the same “effective interoperability” with the same hardware and software features as the gatekeeper’s apps or devices.

Spotify Iphone Volume Buttons On Device
Image source: Unsplash

When Spotify asked Apple to provide the same solution for their users that HomePod or Apple TV users get, Apple bounced back and said that it requires apps to integrate with HomePod to access that technology.

Spotify added that in their experience, using the Apple share feature was often buggy. It led to things like the volume spiking while users are listening to it. Even though it’s a hassle, they claim using Spotify Connect will make it more consistent and seamless

If not being able to use the volume buttons while using Spotify Connect to connect to earbuds, headphones, etc., is a hassle for you, check out these Spotify alternatives and learn how to delete your Spotify account.

Image credit: Unsplash

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Laura Tucker Avatar
Laura Tucker
Laura has spent more than 20 years writing news, reviews, and op-eds, with the majority of those years as an editor as well. She has exclusively used Apple products for the past 35 years. In addition to writing and editing at MTE, she also runs the site’s sponsored review program.

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