If Spotify’s shuffle mode keeps surprising you with unexpected songs or reactivates itself when you don’t want it to, you’re not alone. With over 626 million users in 2024, Spotify serves a massive audience across both free and Premium tiers—many of whom are just as confused by the evolving shuffle system. This guide explains exactly how to turn shuffle on/off on Spotify and regain full control over your playlists.
Growing a Spotify playlist takes more than just great music — real followers boost credibility and help your playlist get noticed. Instead of waiting for listeners to find you one by one, you can build momentum faster with a steady stream of organic-looking followers. Our Spotify Followers service helps increase visibility and trust at a price that makes sense. Try it today and let your playlist speak for itself.
Understanding Spotify's Shuffle Modes
There are two types of shuffle you’ll encounter on Spotify:
- Regular: Simply randomizes the order of your songs.
- Smart Shuffle: Mixes in Spotify’s recommended songs with your existing playlist.
The issue is that the same button now cycles through both. A single tap might not do what you expect—it could activate Smart Shuffle instead of regular one, or vice versa.
How to Turn Off Shuffle on Spotify
On Mobile (Premium only):
Next to the play button, you’ll see an icon with two crossing arrows. Tap it until it turns grey—this means the playlist will play each song in order, one by one.
On Desktop/TV (Free or Premium):
Click the button in the playback bar until it is grey. On the TV, you will have to open the playback bar by clicking it in the bottom left corner. It cycles through three modes: randomized order, Smart Shuffle, and off. You’ll need to tap or click slowly—fast clicks often confuse the app.
Free Users:
We’ve broken down how to turn off shuffle on Spotify for both mobile and desktop versions, but what about free users? You can’t turn off shuffle on mobile for most playlists unless they’re “Made For You” mixes. But desktop and TV give you more freedom, even on the free plan.
How to Turn On Shuffle on Spotify
To activate, turn on shuffle on Spotify again:
- Mobile: Tap the shuffle icon once (regular shuffle, glows green) or twice (Smart Shuffle with recommendations, glows green and has a sparkle icon to its left).
- Desktop: Same as above—just click until you reach the mode you want.
If you don’t see the shuffle icon, start playing a song first—it only appears in the Now Playing view.
How to Turn Off Smart Shuffle Recommendations on Spotify
The easiest method is to keep tapping the shuffle icon until the sparkle icon is gone. Now you can turn off Smart Shuffle permanently with this method:
Settings > Playback > “Include Smart Shuffle in play modes”
Turn this off, and Smart Shuffle will be completely removed from your toggle options and then you will only alternate between off and regular.
This setting is rolling out slowly. If you don’t see it yet, you can try updating the app or use a workaround—like going into offline mode before playback, which blocks it from working.
Workarounds for Free Users
The feature is enforced more strictly on mobile for free users, but there are tricks:
- Use desktop to gain full control.
- Create a custom playlist—some album restrictions don’t apply to playlists you make yourself.
- Go offline to block Smart Shuffle from loading.
- Reinstall the app if controls aren’t appearing or working as expected.
And if you’re hoping your playlist gets discovered by others, organizing it into a custom format can also help you gain playlist followers.
Fixing Shuffle Problems
If the button won’t turn off, tap slowly. If Smart Shuffle keeps turning back on, check the setting mentioned above. And if downloaded songs aren’t playing, make sure Smart Shuffle is disabled while you’re still online. Offline mode helps prevent it from auto-restarting.
No button at all? That’s usually a UI bug or test. Try reinstalling Spotify or updating the app.
Conclusion
Spotify’s shuffle setup can be confusing, especially with Smart Shuffle sneaking in recommended songs. But with a few taps—and possibly a settings change—you can fully manage how to turn off shuffle on Spotify, and how to turn it on. And if you’re on Premium, you’ll avoid most of the restrictions entirely.
