How to Get Spotify to Show on Lock Screen Android/iPhone While Playing

With the service now reaching 433 million monthly active users, it's only natural that users base this large would remain vocal on any bugs and poorly rolled out features.

When you play Spotify in the background and lock your phone, you can see and access a music widget with a few playbacks control on your screen. However, lots of Spotify users complain that Spotify doesn't show on lock screen Android and iPhone. Unfortunately, Spotify has provided an unsatisfactory answer to users.

Now Spotify users still don't get an appropriate answer to the issue that internal testers clearly overlooked. Ideally, when you are listening to songs on the locked screen, you should be able to see a lock screen widget with a few details, but Spotify does not.

Part 1. Steps to Allow Spotify on Lock Screen for Samsung

No matter whether you are using an iPhone or Android phone, you can try the above methods to solve Spotify stops playing when the screen is locked. However, if you find the Spotify app on your Samsumg mobile stops playing when the device screen sleeps or locks, you can also try the below steps.

1. Remove Spotify from Sleep Apps List

The sleeping Apps feature will monitor the apps that run in the background. It will kill these apps to spare more room and battery for your phone. This feature sometimes will influence the running of Spotify on lock screen. To solve the Spotify controls not working on lock screen Android or iOS issue, you can try to turn off this feature.

Step 1. Go to Settings > Device Care > Battery App > Power Management > Sleeping apps.
Step 2. Find Spotify from the list hold the Spotify app. Choose Remove to remove Spotify from this list.

2. Deactivate Spotify Widget

Another method to fix Spotify not showing on lock screen iPhone or Android is to disable FaceWidgets, which may replace the Spotify playback controls.

Step 1. Go to Settings > Lock screen > Widgets.
Step 2. Turn Music off and try to play Spotify music again to see if it is fixed.

3. Allow Spotify Background Activity

To make Spotify function properly, it's important that the app has permission to run in the background. If you don't enable the permission of Spotify, you won't be able to listen to Spotify when your lock screen is closed. Now go to allow Spotify to run in the background.

Step 1. Tap on Settings > Apps and find Spotify then select it.
Step 2. Tap on Battery and set Allow Background Activity on.

Part 2. Solutions to Put Spotify on Lock Screen for Android

If you encounter with issue with Spotify's lock screen widget, please try to adjust some associated settings on your Android phone.

Adjust Lock Screen Notifications Settings on Android Phone:

Make sure that your device's lock screen notifications settings are properly configured to display Spotify notifications.

1. Enable Notification Permissions for Spotify

Step 1. On Android, open the Settings app.
Step 2. Look for Apps or Apps & Notifications and tap on it.
Step 3. Scroll through the apps list and tap on Spotify.
Step 4. Find and select Notifications or App notifications, and make sure the toggle switch next to Show notifications or similar is enabled.

2. Check Notification Categories for Spotify

Step 1. On Android, head to Settings > Apps (or similar) > Spotify, and look for Notification Channels or Categories and select it.
Step 2. Make sure the channels related to the notifications are enabled, such as Spotify Music.

3. Enable Lock Screen Music Widget

Step 1. On Android, head to Settings > Lock screen or Lock screen and security and tap on it.
Step 2. Look for options like Lock screen widgets, Lock screen shortcuts, or Lock screen display and tap on it.
Step 3. Scroll through the list of available widgets or shortcuts and tap on Spotify, then enable the lock screen music widget for it.

Adjust Battery Optimization Settings on Android Phone:

On Android devices, there're some specific battery optimization settings can be turn off to allow Spotify to have unrestricted background activity. This can help ensure uninterrupted playback and notifications on your Android smartphone.

1. Set Not Optimize for Spotify App

Step 1. On Android, open the Settings app.
Step 2. Scroll down to select Battery or similar.
Step 3. Select Apps or All Apps.
Step 4. Scroll down to find and select Spotify in the list of apps. You should now see and access options related to battery optimization for Spotify.
Step 5. Choose Don't Optimize, Not Optimized or similar to allow Spotify to operate without restrictions in the background.

2. Turn Off Low Power Mode

Step 1. On Android, open the Settings app.
Step 2. Select Battery or similar.
Step 3. Look for a setting called Low Power Mode or Battery Saver and set it off.

Part 3. Solutions to Put Spotify on Lock Screen for iOS

You should try to adjust both lock screen notifications and battery optimization settings on your device accordingly.

Adjust Lock Screen Notifications Settings on iPhone:

1. Allow Notifications for Spotify

Step 1. Unlock the iPhone and head over to the home screen, then open the Settings app.
Step 2. In the Settings menu, scroll down and select Notifications.
Step 3. Scroll through the list of apps and tap on Spotify.
Step 4. Switch on the toggle next to Allow Notifications. Once enabled, more settings will be displayed.
Step 5. If there is an option for "Lock Screen" or "Show Previews", ensure it is set to "Always (Default)" or "When Unlocked" to display Spotify notifications on the lock screen.
Step 6. You can customize the specific notification settings with the app. Tap on "Spotify Notification Settings", and the app's Notification settings will open on the screen, from here choose to hear about news, offers, concert recommendations, artist updates, and more.

2. Enable Lock Screen Widgets

Step 1. On iPhone, open the Settings app.
Step 2. Scroll through the Settings menu and select Face ID & Passcode or Touch ID & Password on older iPhones with Touch ID.
Step 3. Enter the passcode or use Face ID/Touch ID to authenticate.
Step 4. Scroll down to the ALLOW ACCESS WHEN LOCKED, and look for the Lock Screen Widgets and the toggle.
Step 5. Toggle on the switch next to Lock Screen Widgets to enable this feature.

3. Disconnect Focus from Lock Screen

Focus is a featured introduced in iOS 15 or greater that allows users to customize the device's notifications and apps based on different contexts or activities. However, the focus connection can sometimes cause Spotify's lock screen widget to stop working on the device.

You can disconnect the Focus mode from the lock screen and ensure Spotify motivations and widget appear on the lock screen.

Step 1. On iPhone, open Control Center. For iPhone X or later, swipe down from the upper-right corner of the screen. For iPhone 8 or earlier, swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen.
Step 2. Tap on Focus.
Step 3. When a Focus is on, tap on it to turn it off.

If you wish to keep the Do Not Disturb mode, please follow these steps to allow Spotify to show on the lock screen:

Step 1. On iPhone, open the Settings app.
Step 2. Scroll to Focus, and tap on Do Not Disturb.
Step 3. Under ALLOW NOTIFICATIOSNS, select the Apps section and add Spotify and set it to Allow Notifications From.
Step 4. Back to the Do Not Disturb mode, and scroll down to Options and toggle the switch next to Allow Notifications to enable this setting.
Step 5. Even when the device is in "Do Not Disturb" mode, Spotify's music widget will be displayed on the lock screen.

Adjust Battery Optimization Settings on iPhone:

There are some battery optimization settings on your iPhone that can restrict app notifications to save power. If the Spotify app is being optimized or restricted in any way by the battery settings on your iPhone, you may need to exempt Spotify from battery optimization to allow it to display notifications or music widget on the lock screen.

1. Turn off Background App Refresh for Spotify

Step 1. On iPhone, open the Settings app.
Step 2. Tap on General, and tap on Background App Refresh.
Step 3. To turn the Background App Refresh setting for the Spotify app, scroll through the app list and toggle the switch next to Spotify to disable this setting.

2. Turn Off Low Power Mode

Step 1. On iPhone, open the Settings app.
Step 2. Tap on Battery.
Step 3. Toggle the switch next to Low Power Mode to disable this setting.

Now exit the Settings app, and press the power button to lock the screen and head over to check if Spotify's music widget is on the lock screen.

Part 4. Troubleshooting Steps to Fix Spotify Not on Lock Screen

There are several common troubleshooting steps to help you fix Spotify not showing up on lock screen.

Step 1. Log Out and Log Back In Spotify

Start by logging out and back in to the Spotify app with your account to refresh your Spotify session.

Step 1. On Android phone or iPhone, open the Spotify app.
Step 2. Tap on the Gear icon in the upper-right corner of the screen.
Step 3. Scroll through the Settings and tap the Log out button near the bottom.
Step 4. Reopen the Spotify app and log back in with your account.
Step 5. Play something on Spotify, and try locking the screen and check if the widget is on the lock screen.

Step 2. Clean Uninstall the Spotify App

If you find Spotify's lock screen widget still don't work, please try clean uninstalling the Spotify app on your device.

For Android - 6.0 or above:

Step 1. From the Android hone screen, open the Settings app > Apps > Spotify.
Step 2. Select Storage & Cache > Clear Storage.
Step 3. Once done, back to the Spotify settings and select Uninstall.
Step 4. Back to the home screen, and open the File Manager and navigate to Internal Storage\Android\data.
Step 5. Look for a folder called com.spotify.music and delete it.
Step 6. If you are using a SD card, repeat some steps to look for the folder called SD Card\Android\data and delete it.
Step 7. After that, restart your device and open the Google Play Store to install Spotify.

For Android - before 6.0:

Step 1. From the Android home screen, tap Settings > Apps or Applications > Manage applications > Spotify.
Step 2. Tap Clear Data.
Step 3. Back to the home screen and to Storage > Android > Data, then delete a folder called com.spotify.music.
Step 4. Switch your device off and back on.
Step 5. Open Google Play and install the Spotify app.

For iPhone:

Step 1. From the home screen of your iPhone, open the Spotify app > Settings > Storage > Clear cache.
Step 2. Back to the home screen, open the Settings app > General > iPhone Storage > Spotify > Offload the app. This will delete the app but its documents data will be kept.
Step 3. Then tap Delete App and confirm.
Step 4. Once the app is deleted, shut down the device and reboot it.
Step 5. Open App Store and install the Spotify app.

Part 5. Alternatives to Show Spotify on Lock Screen

As both Android and iPhone platform are endlessly customizable, you can manage and customize your lock screen with ease. But sometimes, the customization is useless. At this time, you can play Spotify music by using the built-in music player on your phone. Then the issue of Spotify not showing on lock screen will be solved completely.

If you want to listen to Spotify music with the built-in music player on your phone, you must convert Spotify music to unprotected audio files by using a third-party tool like Spotify music converter. ViWizard Spotify Music Converter could be the best choice for you. With this tool, even Spotify free users can download any track, album, or playlist from Spotify and save them forever. Now this tool with a free trial is open for free to download. Now follow the below steps to download songs from Spotify via ViWizard software.

1Add Spotify Songs to ViWizard Software

Open ViWizard Spotify Music Converter on your computer and then it will automatically load the Spotify app. You need to select Spotify songs you want to download. Then you can directly drag and drop your selected songs to the conversion list, or you can copy and paste the music link into the search bar on the converter.

2Customize the Output Audio Parameters

To customize the output parameters, you can click the menu bar on the top-right corner of the window and choose the Preferences option. Then there will pop up a settings window where you can set the output audio format, bit rate, sample rate, and channel. ViWizard software supports six audio formats, including MP3, AAC, WAV, M4A, M4B, FLAC, and you can choose MP3.

3Start to Download Music from Spotify

Click the Convert button at the bottom left corner and then ViWizard software will start downloading and converting Spotify songs. Wait till the conversion is completed, then click the Converted icon to browse those converted Spotify songs in the history list. Then you can move the downloaded Spotify music files to your phone and then start playing them on your phone.

Conclusion

After taking a look at those potential solutions, you may get an answer to the issue or not. Those methods maybe not be suitable for some Android users, and there still exists the situation that Spotify won't work on the lock screen. At this time, you could try to use the music player on your phone to play Spotify songs instead with the help of ViWizard Spotify Music Converter.