[COMPLETE GUIDE] How to fix most Android issues

[Daniel]

Please read below for troubleshooting Spotify on your Android device. This guide contains fixes for most common issues as well as detail on how to create a new topic if you still are having problems.

First thing to do before trying anything else is reboot your device then check if the issue re-occurs. If so, try logging out of the Spotify app and re-logging in to refresh your account on the device. If after these 2 steps you are still having issues please read through the rest of the guide.

Clean install & getting the cache onto SD Card

This is the core step in any troubleshooting and will help resolve the majority of issues relating to offline cache, random crashes or degraded sound quality.

To obtain a clean install please follow the below process:

NOTE: You will lose all preferences & offline playlists in doing this!

Spoiler

1. From the Android home screen, tap Settings > Apps.
2. Find Spotify in your list of apps, tap it and clear the storage, including the cache and data.
3. Once done, select Uninstall.
4. If you are using an external SD card to store your downloaded/offline music from Spotify,it's best to delete the file com.spotify.music. You can spot it using your device's File Manager > SD card > Android > Data.
5. Once all this is done, switch your device off and wait a couple minutes.
6. Switch your device back on.
7. Open the Google Play Store then search for and install the Spotify Music app.

In some devices it appears the folder on the ext_sd (SD card) are not able to be removed and appear to be locked by the system (Android 4.4.2+) . In this case make sure to use the stock built-in file manager as it has additional permissions. If you have no stock file manager or still cannot remove the folders you will need to backup the contents of your SD card and then format it either in the phone or on a PC (make sure to uncheck 'Quick Format') in order to remove these folders.

Other common issues

• Using an external SD card to store your cache

Spoiler

- Backup your SD card and then try to format it in the phone before installing Spotify. If you've taken the SD from a previous device there may be old conflicting files which can create issues and cause the Spotify app to Force Close

- At the bottom of the settings screen in the Spotify app there should be an option 'Storage'. Open this and select the storage location you want your cache, if changing location the app will transfer existing cached data to the new storage. Note that if your device does not have an SD Card or the SD is unreadable the 'Storage' option will not be visible in the settings screen.

- If you have upgraded your device to Android 6.X Marshmallow or greater then make sure your SD Card is not formatted as 'Internal' memory. Unfortunately formatting an SD Card to be used as Internal memory called 'Adoptable Storage' creates issues with the Spotify cache as well as possibly causing an SD card to fail quicker. If you have done this then you will need to re-format the SD card. More details about Android Adoptable Storage can be found here. Also check the permissions for the app and ensure the Spotify app has all the required permissions. Please see the official Android guide to updating permissions on Marshmallow here.

- Some devices such as the CAT B15Q running kitkat seem to have issues creating the necessary folders on the SD Card, if after the above you still don't have your cache going to the SD Card try the below steps:

Spoiler

1. Stop Spotify (Settings -> Apps -> Spotify)
2. Manually create /storage/sdcard1/Android/data
3. Copy 'com.spotify.music' and all subdirectories from internal storage to '/storage/sdcard1/Android/data'
4. Open Settings -> Apps -> Spotify then tap 'Clear Data'
5. Restart Spotify and log back in again
6. Set Download quality to 'Extreme'
7. Try downloading a large playlist

• Cache Cleaner or Task/Process or Battery Manager installed

Spoiler

- Cache cleaners such as 'Clean Master' are known to clean the Spotify cache. Please ensure you add the Spotify folder '/ext_sd/Android/data/com.spotify.music' to any whitelist/ignore list if possible. Also note that Clean Master contains a process killing feature which can also close Spotify. If you are using this, also enable a whitelist or disable this feature.

- Similar to the Clean Master process killer mentioned above you may have a task, process or battery manager installed; these can interfere with the running process Spotify uses. A lot of task killers (and Android's own) are more agressive when the screen is off or an application is running in the background for an extended period. Try seeing if you can add Spotify to it's ignore list.

• Tracks stop playing when screen is off or the Spotify application is in the background

Spoiler

Android Nougat has brought about enhanced power saving, making the Doze feature first seen in Android Marshmallow even better... However this can have adverse affects; especially if using apps with the screen off or in the background such as Spotify.

You can customise which apps are affected by this doze feature by following the steps below:

1. Open the Settings app on your phone (Pull down the notifications shade, and tap the gear in the upper right corner, or find “Settings” in the App Drawer.)
2. Tap Battery.
3. Tap the menu button and choose “Battery optimization.”
4. Tap the dropdown menu at the top of the screen and select “All apps.”
5. Scroll down to Spotify - tap it and select "Don't Optimize"

If the menu layout on your phone is different - head over here for a brand specific guide.

Now Spotify will not be controlled by the Android system's power saving enabling it to run in the background.

• Tried a clean install but still the Spotify app crashes

Spoiler

- If your device is using an SD card; try removing it and then seeing if the app runs without issue. Try a complete format of the card and if it still fails it may be time to invest in a new SD card.

- Is the SD Card mounted and readable by the system? Go to phone settings - Storage and scroll down to SD Card. Try un-mounting the re-mounting the card.

• No longer showing as Premium, missing playlists/Your Music, unable to download offline, can only shuffle play etc

Spoiler

- First of all check that you are logged in under the same account as your premium subscription/playlists are created as. For Spotify you can potentially have 3 separate accounts depending on how you signed in. For instance you may have originally signed up and have premium against a Spotify account (one created using your email), but then on another device you may have logged in using a Facebook login which could put you as a 'new' user. 

- You can have 10, 000 offline tracks per device. Check you haven't reached this limit (Note; local synced content is unlimited)

- You can recover playlists that have been removed or accidentally deleted or remove old offline devices on your account page at www.spotify.com/account

- You can only have 5 devices set to hold offline tracks

• Syncing Local Files (own tracks/tracks not available on Spotify but stored locally on PC)

Spoiler

- Syncing local files from your desktop not working (phone not recognised or stuck at 'Downloading'?). Make sure you are on the same wifi network, UPnP is enabled on your router, check any firewall to ensure its not blocking Spotify (windows firewall, antivirus, Internet protection etc), also make sure if using Windows that network discovery is enabled in your network settings. 

- Some users have had luck syncing local files by using their mobile device to create a WiFi hotspot then connecting the desktop/laptop to this Access Point. Once connected Open the Spotify app on your mobile device and see if it syncs.

- When you add any kind of local music to spotify it tries to analyze what the Spotify repository has to offer, and if it finds the song, it will play it from Spotify, NOT from your local file.

- Some artists songs cannot be streamed from Spotify, but they ARE listed. They are just "greyed out"/unplayable

- If you add properly tagged songs, it finds them in the Spotify repository, and tries to play them from there, but they are unavailable, causing the initial problem. Try changing the artist name slightly so that the algorithm cannot match your local track to the Spotify version

• Free account on a tablet only allowing shuffle play

Spoiler

- Spotify classes a tablet as anything 7 inches or greater. Anything under this will only have shuffle play in a free account.

- Spotify needs to identify each tablet using its ID in the build.prop of your tablet. If you are using a lesser known tablet it may be that it has not been matched in the database. Please contact support using the contact form here and let them know your device model, Android version and display size stating that you only have access to shuffle play.

• Unable to login using a Facebook account

Spoiler

- Try selecting 'New User' and then enter your Facebook account details, sometimes this works when selecting 'Existing User' doesn't. Don't worry, it's still linked to your account so you'll get your playlists, artists etc.

- If still not able to access try removing Spotify from your Facebook Applications then perform a clean install as detailed above.

• I'm premium but tracks only seem to be shuffling

Spoiler

This can be caused by a few things:

1. Firstly, check you are correctly showing as premium as per the above topic "No longer showing as Premium, missing playlists/Your Music, can only shuffle play etc."
2. When opening an album playlist you won't see a big 'Play' button like you do for 'Shuffle'. This can be confusing, to play an individual track you just need to tap on the track itself.
3. The big green 'Shuffle' is different to shuffle on the 'Now Playing' screen as it uses a different algorithm. Open your 'Now Playing' (will be the track currently displayed an a banner at the bottom of the Spotify app) and check to see if the little crossing arrows are showing as green. If so, tap it to turn it off.

• Uninstalled Spotify and can no longer install from the Play Store

Spoiler

If you cannot access the Play Store version or are in another country you can download the installer file directly from the Spotify server here.

1. Go to your device's main Settings menu, then touch Apps > All > Google Play services.
2. Press 'Force Stop' then 'Clear Data'
3. Do the Same for Google Play Store & Google Service Framework
4. Restart your device
5. Open Play store and try again

You can also try downloading another app, or go to 'My Apps' and uninstall/reinstall one of the apps already on your phone to force it to re-connect.

• Issues connecting on WiFi

Spoiler

You may need to allow the IP range and ports that Spotify is using in your firewall or router manually: Open the firewall for 78.31.8.0/21 and open port 4070 for TCP as well as port 80 for TCP.

• Cannot access Spotify on mobile data

Spoiler

This seems to be related to the use of ipv6 over ipv4. If you can, edit your mobile APN in Android Settings - Mobile Data - Access Points and change the protocol to ipv4/ipv6 (you may have to manually create a new APN and delete the existing one, details below). There is an idea for adding support to ipv6 to the Spotify app here.

If you need to create a new APN please find the details from your network provider, once obtained expand the below to create it in your device:

Spoiler

1. From any Home screen, tap Apps.
2. Tap Settings.
3. Tap Mobile data.
4. Touch Access Point Names.
5. If available, tap the existing APN (the bullet point fills with green). If not available, tap the Menu key, and then tap New APN
6. Enter/Update the APN settings as provided by your Network Provider
7. Tap the Menu key.
8. Tap Save.
9. Tap the APN profile you just created.
10. The bullet point fills with green next to the APN profile.

• Lockscreen controls, Bluetooth controls, Metadata or Widget not working/refreshing

Spoiler

Sometimes this can be be caused by conflicting apps such as headphone controllers or music widgets (JAYS Headset Control is a known offender). Uninstalling these can remedy this issue.

It may just be that the app has been sent to the background; for example if driving and using a navigation app. After a while the Spotify app may be closed by the Android system rendering controls and the sending of metadata to stop even though the music stream is still working. Bringing the app to the foreground can refresh this and get things working again.

Running Android 5.0>? You may need to change your Sound & Notification setting to show ALL content on notifications instead of 'Hide sensitive notification content' when device is locked. Then you can specify which applications contain sensitive data and by default everything else will be displayed on the lock screen. By default Spotify (along with all your other apps) will not be considered sensitive.

Unable to see the track info on your stereo? Try this: AutoAudio - Bluetooth Helper

Want to start/stop Spotify playing when you connect to your stereo? Try this: Bluetooth connect & Play

I'm still not fixed, what should I do?

If after all this your problem is not resolved then please follow the steps below:

1. Search the forum
2. Determine the most appropriate board for your question. Have an idea or suggestion of how to improve the Spotify app? Please search the Ideas board and see if a similar idea already exists; if it does add kudos; else create a new idea. Found a bug? Check if it's already reported in the bugs forum. Got an issue with your account, subscription, billing or service then post there... you get the idea.
3. You've tried all the steps above, searched the forums and still cannot find the answer to your issue... Then create a new topic and someone will try and help you.

There's a template below for the best way to create a new topic in the Troubleshooting Guide here.

[darcyrenee08]

I havent tried that. Ill try that now. Thank you soooo much!!

[nicolesterley]

I have tried to do a Deep clean as you have instructed and have come up with  2 files which I am ot able to delete - com.spotify.music and spotifycache.  What do I do now?

I pay for Spotify and while I can still use it on my PC I am not able to use it on my hone (Samsung Galaxy Note 3).  It used to work on this phone and then I had to reset the phone to factory settings and now when I download it, it downloads and installs, but when I open the app, I just get a black screen and then an error message.

Please help.

Thanks

[Daniel]

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@nicolesterley wrote:

I have tried to do a Deep clean as you have instructed and have come up with  2 files which I am ot able to delete - com.spotify.music and spotifycache.  What do I do now?

I pay for Spotify and while I can still use it on my PC I am not able to use it on my hone (Samsung Galaxy Note 3).  It used to work on this phone and then I had to reset the phone to factory settings and now when I download it, it downloads and installs, but when I open the app, I just get a black screen and then an error message.

Please help.

Thanks

---

Have you tried the suggestions underlined in point 2 which reference exactly this?

"In some devices it appears the folder on the ext_sd (SD card) are not able to be removed and appear to be locked by the system (Android 4.4.2+) . In this case make sure to use the stock built-in file manager as it has additional permissions. If you have no stock file manager or still cannot remove the folders you will need to backup the contents of your SD card and then format it either in the phone or on a PC (make sure to unchecked 'Quick Format') in order to remove these folders."

[nicolesterley]

too confusing!  What is the stock built-in file manager - is that the Application Manager through settings?

This is insane!  All so I can play music occassionally on my phone - might just be easier and quicker to download a different app!

There must be an easier way!

Nicole

[Daniel]

Hi, on Samsung it's called 'My Files' and is just an ordinary app in your app drawer. Just uninstall Spotify, open this app and navigate to then delete the folders.

If that fails a wipe of your SD card will be required. Unfortunately this is something that the update to Android 4.4.x caused and you would probably find similar issues with another player. However, you'll still have the Spotify cache on your SD card taking up space.

I assure you, this should clear the issue up if you persist and we work together we can get this working for you.

[nicolesterley]

Ok, I deleted the files as instructed (it workd, thanks for that and for your patience) - then I reinstalled Spotify and it seemed to get a little further, but then still reverted to the black screen and error message 'Unfortuntely, Spotify has stopped.

So do I need to do the wipe of the SD card?  Sorry I'm a technophobe when it gets complicated - no idea how to back this up or indeed start with it... will it take long to do as I'm limited on time right now.

[Daniel]

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@nicolesterley wrote:

Ok, I deleted the files as instructed (it workd, thanks for that and for your patience) - then I reinstalled Spotify and it seemed to get a little further, but then still reverted to the black screen and error message 'Unfortuntely, Spotify has stopped.

So do I need to do the wipe of the SD card?  Sorry I'm a technophobe when it gets complicated - no idea how to back this up or indeed start with it... will it take long to do as I'm limited on time right now.

---

Making progress at least. To backup your sd card just plug your phone in to your pc and copy all the folders on the sd card  to your pc. The main ones you want to keep are those with your photos in and other personal stuff. Once done and you are happy everything has copied over then uninstalling Spotify, format your sd card from 'phone settings - storage'. Then reinstall Spotify again. 

You can then restore your pictures and other personal files in the same way you removed them. 

[Andreasfurbo]

Hi there. 

I just got a 32 GB SD card, but the app won't save the music on it.

I tried to do the clean install. But after deleting the chache in the app and deleting the app, there aren't any folders or such. When I have the app install it puts empty folder on both the phone and SD card. Reinstall - put the quality to extreme, and then it fills my phone up again.

I do not have any card reader available, so I cannot do a format. Is that the last thing I can do?

[Daniel]

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@Andreasfurbo wrote:

Hi there. 

I just got a 32 GB SD card, but the app won't save the music on it.

I tried to do the clean install. But after deleting the chache in the app and deleting the app, there aren't any folders or such. When I have the app install it puts empty folder on both the phone and SD card. Reinstall - put the quality to extreme, and then it fills my phone up again.

I do not have any card reader available, so I cannot do a format. Is that the last thing I can do?

---

Can you try formatting in your phone? 

[Chummers]

Hello,

I'd be massively grateful to anyone that can help. I have tried everything!

I have an HTC One M8 running KitKat 4.4.4 and a SanDisk 64GB Memory Card.

I have tried hard resetting the phone a total of about 8 times now with different permutations of formatting the SD card and not formatting, installing and uninstalling spotify - nothing has worked.

Any help greatly appreciated.

One thing I have noted is that I have tried using USB and windows Explorer (show hidden files enabled) and also ES File explorer and I cannot see the spotify folders mentioned here at all.

Spotify is definetely saving data to the internal memory and the App information confirms this, so I would expect to be able to find the file location but I just can't.

My last bastion of hope is that if I could see where it was storing the files, I may be ablet to delete the folder and get it to save to SD.

Any thoughts??

Thanks in advance 🙂

[Daniel]

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@Chummers wrote:

Hello,

I'd be massively grateful to anyone that can help. I have tried everything!

I have an HTC One M8 running KitKat 4.4.4 and a SanDisk 64GB Memory Card.

I have tried hard resetting the phone a total of about 8 times now with different permutations of formatting the SD card and not formatting, installing and uninstalling spotify - nothing has worked.

Any help greatly appreciated.

One thing I have noted is that I have tried using USB and windows Explorer (show hidden files enabled) and also ES File explorer and I cannot see the spotify folders mentioned here at all.

Spotify is definetely saving data to the internal memory and the App information confirms this, so I would expect to be able to find the file location but I just can't.

My last bastion of hope is that if I could see where it was storing the files, I may be ablet to delete the folder and get it to save to SD.

Any thoughts??

Thanks in advance 🙂

---

Hi there, sounds like you have the same setup as me. What if you follow the Clean Install guide and try using the stock HTC file manager (unsurprisingly called... 'File Manager') to check if these folders exist?