Pandora starts randomly playing on phone

I have an iPhone 6 and Apple Watch.. I Just added Pandora to the Apple Watch dock this morning, and within seconds Pandora opened on its own. It had never done that before. I figured it was maybe bc I had just added it to the dock, but when I went to close it on my phone it didn't appear as one of my opened apps.. so I opened the app and closed it. It's happened a few times since then. I just removed it from the dock. My guess is it has to do with the Watch update.

Same thing is happening to me, I have a iPhone 7 Plus and a Pebble watch. I've even removed the pandora app from my watch and it still happened again today. Always the same situation, it's when I get out of Bluetooth range.

Ok, just an update... I checked-in on the bug report I submitted to Pandora on March 1st, and here's what they told me today (3/29):

We’re certainly aware of the issue, and thanks for checking in about it. Unfortunately, I do not have a timeline available for a fix, but our engineers are diligently working on it.

Unfortunately, we receive many emails a day, so I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to reach out when it’s fixed. However, please feel free to reply back to this message anytime you would like a status update.

Thank you for your patience and support!

[Name Withheld] | Pandora
Listener Advocate
PANDORA

So we at least have a confirmation that they are aware of the issue. But resolution of it may be another matter. I can only suggest contacting Pandora to submit a bug report, in the hopes it raises the issue to top priority. They can be reached here: https://help.pandora.com/customer/portal/emails/new.

This just started on my iPhone 6S. I don't have an Apple Watch. Pandora has only suggested deleting and reinstalling but this didn't work. I may delete Pandora permanently if they don't fix their app. Pretty poor customer service on their part.

I got this from Pandora support today:

I totally understand. It’s not one of our favorites, either! 🙂

We’re hoping to address it rather soon, so be sure to look for any updates to the app.

Thanks for sticking with us!

Hopefully this means it's a higher-priority for them. But keep submitting those bug reports... I've seen this issue popping up in threads going back several years now, so hopefully this time it'll actually be fully addressed.

https://help.pandora.com/customer/portal/emails/new

I just upgraded my iphone 6 to ios 10.3. The problem seems to have disappeared. I have Pandora running in foreground and background on the iphone and installed in my Apple Watch (watch OS 3.1.3). I also have BeatX earbuds paired to the phone via Bluetooth. Very strange, since I always had the problem before upgrading the phone iOS. I will keep watching it.

I just upgraded my iphone 6 to ios 10.3. The problem seems to have disappeared.

Don't get your hopes up. Unfortunately, I ALSO upgraded to iOS 10.3 today (took forever), and within 2 hours of completing the update, Pandora was singing away again, totally absent of any input from me. And just as before, the application doesn't even show up as running, so I have to launch it in order to close the app.

Clearly this is a Pandora issue. I'm just glad they seem to be aware of it... Can't imagine what it's costing them in licensing fees (sometimes Pandora is playing for hours before I notice), not to mention people who quit the service just to avoid the headache and embarrassment of an app that plays music on its own (imagine if you're in church or at a funeral or in a big client meeting... yikes).

I think it's an issue with IOS 10. I hate doing updates so I put them off for a very long time until I feel that most of the bugs have probably been fixed. I purchased my iPhone 7 in early fall. It did not come with iOS 10 on it. My issue with pandora launching began a few days after I finally consented to the update.

I am a pebble 2 kickstarter wearer but removed the app from my watch a long time ago bc it didn't work well with the phone I had at the time.

Strange thing is that I kind of like it randomly launching on my iPhone. I have my pandora channel on classical and listening to classical randomly throughout my day is rather pleasant.

I am currently speaking with Pandora now. They wanted me to try some resetting and uninstalling, all of which I had done. They just asked me for some info regarding versions and when this happens, specifically, does it occur while on Wi-Fi or cellular and where does it occur?

I have and iPhone 7 with iOS 10.2.1 and a Pebble Watch.

Thinking about it, I don't think the issue occurs when using cellular data. I believe the issue has been almost exclusively while I have been at home on my own Wi-Fi, although it did happen a few times while at work. Has anyone else noticed any particular pattern as to what network they are on when this happens?

- Merg

About 2 weeks or so ago, I deleted Pandora from both my iPhone 7 Plus and my Mac computer. I then loaded the Pandora app back on my Mac and installed Pandora on my iPhone. Since that time the problem has stopped completely. Keeping my fingers crossed!!!!!

Interesting thing today... on three occasions when I walked away from my phone (while wearing my Pebble), I returned to find Pandora had started playing. My thinking is that each time, my Pebble went out of BluTooth range of the phone, and then when it re-paired, it started Pandora. Just a guess, but if that's all it easy, it seems like it would be a pretty easy fix... c'mon, Pandora.

I've had the same problem but I don't have an Apple Watch, I have a pebble. The weirdest thing is that I go to close the app and my phone doesn't show the app as being open. I'll open the app just so I can stop the music from playing. The only thing that seems to keep this from happening is to delete pandora and reinstall it the next time I want to use it.

Pretty much the same thing happens to me and my wife. It seemed to start when we both got Apple watches as well. Although, it just happened when I was in the shower with my watch on the shelf by the sink. This is the only time I can remember it happened when I wasn't wearing the watch.

I’m not sure if this will be helpful as we try to figure out the root issue here, but I’m finding at least one repeatable way of causing the issue. While wearing my Pebble smartwatch, if I leave my iPhone and go to another part of my office (which spans 3 floors), by the time I return to my desk—where my iPhone is still sitting—I’ll find Pandora to have re-started. I've been able to make this happen consistently 6 or 7 times. Is anyone here experiencing the auto-play issue who does NOT have some type of smartwatch? I think there might be something happening with the phone and watch going in or out of BlueTooth range.

SOLVED (maybe?)... received this from Pandora today:

We believe there is a fix for this in the latest update.

Once again, for a completely clean slate, let’s try uninstalling and reinstalling the app (not to worry, your stations and profile won’t be affected):

Hold down the Pandora icon on your Home screen until all the icons start “shaking.” Then tap the tiny “x” that appears in the upper left of the Pandora icon, and confirm that you want to delete the app. Then re-install Pandora via the App Store on the device.