Background audio stops after tab switch: Spotify stalls at a specific timestamp; reload fails; only closing/reopening the tab helps #9869
Description
Preliminary Checks
- I have read and understood the important section above.
- I have searched existing issues and avoided creating duplicates.
- I am not filing an enhancement request.
- I have checked that this issue cannot be reproduced on Mozilla Firefox.
- I have checked that this issue can be reproduced once I removed all my Mods and Custom CSS.
What happened?
When playing music on the Spotify Web Player in Zen Browser, audio stops after switching to another tab for a short time. Returning to the Spotify tab shows the timeline advancing, but playback is stuck: Play/Pause does nothing and reloading the page does not recover.
Only closing the tab and opening a new one restores playback.
New finding: the audio consistently stalls at a specific timestamp (the moment the sound first cut out in the background). If I drag the seek bar to a time before that timestamp, audio resumes and plays until it reaches that exact time again, where it stops every time.
Example: playing “Happy” (Despicable Me 2). Audio cut out at 00:09 after tab switch. Seeking back to 00:04 plays normally until 00:09, then stalls again.
This makes background listening impossible.
Expected behavior
Spotify should keep playing while I use other tabs. Controls should remain responsive; seeking should not hit a permanent stall point. Recovery should not require closing/reopening the tab.
Actual behavior
Audio cuts out after a tab switch while the progress bar advances. Controls (Play/Pause) are unresponsive. Reloading the page does not help. Seeking to a time before the stall timestamp plays until that same timestamp, then stops again. Only closing the tab entirely and opening a new Spotify tab restores playback.
Steps to reproduce
Open open.spotify.com in Zen Browser and sign in.
Start playing any track/playlist.
Switch to a different tab and browse for 1–3 minutes (timing varies).
Observe that audio has stopped in the background.
Return to the Spotify tab: timeline still moving, controls do nothing.
Note the current timestamp T where audio is effectively silent (e.g., 00:09).
Drag the seek bar to T − 5s (e.g., 00:04) → audio plays again.
When playback reaches T, it stalls again.
Reload the page → still stalled at/after T.
Close the tab entirely and open a new Spotify tab → playback works (until the sequence repeats).
Private window: no
Extensions:
1 uBlock Origin
2 Privacy Badger
3 cookies.txt
4 I still don't care about cookies
5 Return YouTube Dislike
6 Keepa - Amazon Price Tracker
7 Youtube-shotrs block
Mods: SuperPIns --> https://github.com/CosmoCreeper/Zen-Themes/tree/main/SuperPins
Screenshots and videos
No response
Version
1.14.11b
What platform are you seeing the problem on?
Windows - x64
What component is this issue related to?
Media Controler