Pocket Casts slowing down in background after recent android update

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  emilyloris2812 · Member · May 19, 2026 at 3:28 pm

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  Hey everyone,

  I wanted to ask if anyone else has been noticing strange slowdowns with Pocket Casts lately, especially when multitasking between audio playback and other apps.

  Over the past few days, I’ve had episodes randomly pause in the background, delayed controls on the notification panel, and occasional stuttering whenever I switch between apps too quickly. At first I assumed it was just battery optimization settings, but even after changing those the issue still happens.

  What’s confusing is that the lag becomes more noticeable whenever I’m browsing heavier web apps or trying to use things with a download icon open in another tab during breaks. I’m not saying the site itself is the cause, but it seems like memory usage spikes hard whenever multiple background processes are active.

  I’m using a Samsung device on Android 14 and didn’t really experience this before the recent system update. I already cleared cache, reinstalled Pocket Casts, and disabled adaptive battery features, but playback interruptions still happen randomly.

  Has anyone else here experienced similar background playback or performance issues recently? Curious whether this might be related to Android memory management changes or something inside the latest Pocket Casts update.

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  staff-lynn · Staff · May 21, 2026 at 1:02 pm

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  Hi @emilyloris2812,

  Thanks for the detailed report, and sorry you’re running into this.

  In the meantime, a few things worth trying on your Samsung device:

  1. Go to Settings > Apps > Pocket Casts > Battery and make sure it’s set to Unrestricted (not just “Optimized”). Samsung’s One UI adds an extra layer on top of standard Android battery settings, so “Optimized” can still interfere even when adaptive battery is off.
  2. Check Settings > Device Care > Battery > Background usage limits and confirm Pocket Casts isn’t listed under “Sleeping apps” or “Deep sleeping apps.” Remove it from those lists if it appears there.
  3. Also worth checking Settings > Apps > Pocket Casts and making sure notifications are fully enabled, as this can affect media control availability in the notification panel.

  Could you also share a couple of details so we can pass them along to the dev team?

  • Your exact Pocket Casts version (found under Profile > Settings > About in the app)
  • Whether the stuttering and pauses happen with downloaded episodes, streamed episodes, or both

  That will help us tie your report to what the team is already investigating.