United’s seatback screens can now play your own Spotify account, logged in by QR code

Your own playlists, half-finished podcasts and saved audiobooks no longer have to stay on your phone when you fly United. Spotify has started rolling out personal account streaming on the airline’s seatback screens, beginning with planes that carry Starlink Wi-Fi.

It is the part of the deal that was promised but missing. When the two companies first teamed up in June 2025, passengers got a free channel of curated Spotify content, and logging in with their own account was pencilled in for 2026, as TechRadar noted at the time. Now that step is arriving.

Logging in avoids typing a password on a shared screen. You join the plane’s “United” Wi-Fi network (no paid pass or MileagePlus login needed), tap the Spotify tile on the seatback display and scan a QR code with your phone, then confirm the pairing in the app. Your Home feed, Your Library, DJ and music videos then appear on the screen, and the phone can work as a remote so you don’t have to lean forward to skip a track.

Audio keeps playing while you check the flight map, with a mini player for control. Both free and Premium users can sign in, though features depend on the plan and country. When the flight ends, the screen logs you out and resets for the next passenger. A login that cleans up after itself is the right default for a screen that hundreds of strangers will use.

Spotify says the feature will reach more aircraft through 2027. Until it does, the older free channel with about 450 hours of curated content remains available across the whole United fleet.

Reported by Spotify, TechRadar. Compiled with AI tools.