One of thebest things about music streaming servicesis the ability to access music across all your devices. But music streaming isn’t all sunshine and roses. Almost all music streaming services have a device limit in place, and while the idea of this limit makes sense in principle, its execution leaves a lot to be desired no matter which service you use.
Why a device limit makes sense
These device limits apply to which devices can download and play music offline.Using Spotifyas an example, this limit makes some sense. You can’t listen to Spotify on multiple devices at once; a limitation was put in place to stop multiple people from sharing one account. A way around this would be to disconnect one of the devices from the internet and play offline media. So, Spotify only lets you download music to a set number of phones, tablets, or computers at any one time.
The problem
The core issue is the way these limits are implemented. YouTube Music offers a generous limit of 10 devices, but there’s a catch. When that limit is reached, registering a new device will automatically delist the oldest one on the list, but you’re able to only do this four times a year. I know most people won’t fill that list quickly, but for those like myself who constantly have to put new devices through their paces, it quickly becomes a problem. The same goes for anyone who flashes a lot of ROMs. Now, I was able to fix things by contacting Google Support and explaining that, due to my job, I need to register more phones. They obliged and reset my entire device list. Even so, I had to ring a call center, sit on hold, and spend 10 minutes explaining the issue. Even when it was resolved, I had to wait two days before the reset took effect.
Another thing to consider is replacement devices. This same limit was enforced on Google Play Music, and when I was a Pixel user, I once had to have my Pixel 2XL replaced on warranty four times. Each one took up a new slot on that list of registered devices, pushing me against the limit.
On paper, Spotify sounds like it has a better implementation, but this isn’t the case in practice. For starters, the limit is only five devices, so once you register your phone, tablet, smartwatch, and laptop for offline playback, you only have one free slot left.
Spotify lets you deregister a device in the app, but once you’ve taken those steps, it can sometimes take days before the change takes effect. Things are worse if you no longer have access to the device you wish to delist. If you’ve traded your old phone in without deregistering it first, you need to wait 30 days from the last time you used Spotify on that device before it’ll automatically be removed.
Apple Music takes this one step furtherby countinganythingassociated with your Apple ID toward the 10-device limit. If you want to remove a device, you have to delete its iTunes access.
The solution
The solution is simple. If you must limit how many devices can be registered to your service, make it easy for users to remove older phones and tablets without having to wait 30 days or call a helpline. It might not be an issue people run into often, but when they do, it’s usually at an inconvenient time, leaving them without the ability to listen to music until they jump through the necessary hoops. That was the case for me, as I only found out I’d reached the limit when mytrusty Pixel 8refused to play any music while I was in the countryside with no data connection. Small issue or not, it’s something that needs to be dealt with.
