Troubleshooting Methods
You must start with the basic ones.
Restart your device
Rebooting your phone/PC often helps organize the operating system and fix any minor occasional bug that may have caused an app not to perform as intended.
Check your internet connection.
This is another common issue that plagues almost every Spotify user out there. When you are trying to play music on the Spotify app, and it is not playing, check whether the internet connection is okay.
Attempt to launch other apps that need internet access. If these apps are also slow to load, the issue is likely with your internet connection. You can either reconnect to your WiFi or switch to a different network. Alternatively, contact your ISP for more information about the problem and request a prompt resolution.
Free Storage on Your Device
This usually happens when you are running the Spotify app from your smartphone. If you are trying to download the tracks from a playlist to enjoy offline, but your device is short on storage, the music may not play.
So, you need to go to your device Settings app and then, under Storage, check for available space and delete the files that you do not require.
Update Spotify App
If any bug is plaguing the Spotify app, then it is wise to install any available update on the Play Store/app store.
Android Users
- Launch Play Store app
- Tap on the hamburger button
- Next, tap on the My Apps & games
- Check if Spotify is waiting for an update along with other apps in the list
- You should see an Update button beside the app
iOS/iPadOS users
- Open App Store
- Tap on the profile picture
- Then scroll down to see which app is waiting to install an update
- Check if Spotify is on the list.
- If it is there, then tap on the Update button beside Spotify
Clear Cache of Spotify app if Music Doesn’t Play
If you are using the Spotify app from your smartphone, then maybe the cache of the app has accumulated a lot of temporary files which is creating clutter and eating up the memory. So, you need to refresh and clear the cache. On your Android smartphone, you can clear the cache. This is how you do it
- Go to Settings
- then under Apps & Notifications tap on See All Apps
- Navigate to Spotify under the App info section
- Tap on Spotify to open > then tap on Storage & Cache
- Then tap on Clear cache
- After that close the Spotify app if it is still open
- Re-launch the app
- Now, try to play music and check whether the music is now streaming smoothly or not.
You cannot clear an app cache if you use Spotify from your iPhone or iPad.
Disable High-Quality Streaming Option if Can’t Play Music on Spotify app
If your internet connectivity is not stable enough then the music you are trying to play will stutter if you choose to stream in high-quality. To fix that,
- Launch the Spotify app
- Then tap on the Settings
- Scroll down to the Music Quality tab
- under that tap on the drop-down menu beside the Streaming option to select from various qualities of streaming.
- If you have set to Very High change it to Low or Automatic (recommendable)
NOTE: The highest quality of music streaming option is only available to the premium users of Spotify.
Disable Hardware Acceleration
If you have older hardware running on your PC then enabling hardware acceleration will ensure hardware-software compatibility. Spotify exclusively provides an option to enable/disable the hardware acceleration. It is enabled by default. However, hardware acceleration may cause a song to lag while playing. So, try to disable it and then check whether it solves the problem or not.
- Open the Spotify app on your desktop
- Click on your username in the upper-middle section
- Then click on Settings > scroll down and click on Advanced Settings
- Go down to the Compatibility section.
- Under that click on the toggle to disable the Hardware acceleration option.
- Then re-launch the Spotify app
Uninstall and Re-install Spotify
While you may keep this troubleshoot for the last, this definitely works to fix the issue. You have to uninstall and reinstall the app. I have mentioned how to do it if you are using Spotify from your PC, Macbook, Android smartphone, or iPhone.
Windows OS
- Simply start typing Spotify on the Type here to Search box
- Then as the Spotify shows up in the result, scroll down to the Uninstall option in the menu
- Click on Uninstall
macOS
- Launch Finder
- Click Go > click Option > select Library
- Access Caches and under that delete the folder com.spotify.Client
- Under Application Support delete the Spotify folder
- Again, under Finder select Applications
- Look for the Spotify app and drag it to the Trash
For both Windows and macOS, you can reinstall Spotify by visiting the official website of the music playing app and install it.
Android
- On the Spotify app long-press
- From the mini-menu that shows up select Uninstall
To reinstall the app, go to the Play Store > search for Spotify > tap on Install
iOS
If you are using the latest iOS 14 on your iPhone, then swipe right on your home screen to access the app library. There look for the Spotify app. Long press on the app to trigger a menu. Tap on the option Delete app.
To reinstall the app,
- open Apple App store
- Search for Spotify app
- tap on Get
So, that’s all the workaround you can implement to fix the issue when Spotify is not playing the music. I’m sure this guide will solve the problem. Let me know in the comments if you have any doubts about the guide.
