The iPhone’s volume buttons will no longer work with Spotify Connect

Spotify users on iPhone will no longer be able to control the volume on connected devices using their physical volume buttons. In an update to its support page, Spotify said Apple "discontinued" this technology, forcing iPhone owners to use an annoying workaround.

This change only affects Spotify Connect, a feature that lets users use their phones to control Spotify on nearby speakers, game consoles, smart TVs, computers, and other devices. Now Spotify will require iPhone users to use an in-app slider to turn the volume up or down instead. Spotify says the change will go into effect on September 3rd, but some users are already seeing it.

When an iPhone user presses their physical volume rocker, Spotify will display a notification that says "Want to change the volume?" Users will then have to tap the notification and use the volume slider displayed in the app. Spotify will automatically display the slider if users press the volume button while the app is already open.

Spotify blames the change on Apple, saying the company won't give it access to the same technology that lets Apple Music play on third-party devices. As a result, controlling volume with the iPhone's physical toggle has "become unstable" for connected devices, causing volume to spike during playback and other bugs. Spotify says the change will result in "persistent, high-quality" volume control. The Sonos app has also stopped letting iPhone users change the volume of their devices using physical buttons for similar reasons.

"We've made requests to Apple to introduce a similar solution to what they offer users on HomePod and Apple TV for app developers who control non-Apple media devices," Spotify says in its update. "Apple has told us that they require apps to integrate into Home Pod in order to access the technology that controls volume on iPhones." The Verge reached out to Apple with a request for comment but didn't immediately hear back.

Since the launch of the HomePod in 2018, Apple has never let users directly connect Spotify and many other third-party music streaming services to the smart speaker. Instead, users have to use AirPlay to play songs from Spotify - though, a workaround in iOS 17 made this process a little easier by allowing users to ask Siri to start an AirPlay session.

Spotify, which has been fighting with Apple for months over what it can and can't include in its iOS app, says Apple has "restricted interoperability," unlike companies like Google and Samsung. It adds that this could be a violation of the EU's Digital Markets Act, which requires "digital gatekeepers" like Apple to open up their platforms to third-party services.