Desktop File Sync to Android...yet again

[xyrcncp]

Plan

Premium

Country

US

Device

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G

Operating System

Android 11

My Question or Issue

Before you ask, yes, I've searched and read the countless threads about local files from a desktop not syncing to a mobile device.  I've tried many of the "solutions" to no avail (even though many are from years ago for outdated app versions).  The last one I tried was the solution outlined here:  https://community.spotify.com/t5/Android/Play-quot-local-files-quot-on-my-mobile-device/m-p/80481?_g...

It did not work.  My local files in my desktop (folders are properly set for the Desktop app to see them) will simply not sync and play on my mobile, they're just grayed out.

Please, is there an actual solution to this years-long question?  Why can't it be easier to sync?  Is the last resort basically just forgetting about syncing and just literally drag and drop the files from my Desktop to my mobile's internal memory and just play them that way?

[Hartmanlh73]

Unfortunately you can’t, you’ll have to put the stuff your trying to sync manually on the device. Spotify isn’t meant to add local files to their streaming database. When you do the local files option it’s just acting as a player like (windows media player) it can’t take the file and play it in another device. That’s because it doesn’t exist on that device. They do this to protect copy rights for artists and so it not putting viruses into the the uploaded content for anyone to get. If your old enough to remember limewire, that was a big issue for that. Spotify is a streaming service. The downloads you do for offline mode don’t actually download to your phone. It’s a file imbedded into the Spotify hardware that leaves once you uninstall the app. 

[xyrcncp]

I see.  I do remember Limewire, Napster, etc... and I get the potential risk factor to Spotify's end. 

So basically the "sync desktop files to mobile" is no longer a valid function right?  If a subscriber wants to listen to their own files from their desktop in their mobile device, then they just need to do it the old fashioned way and copy those files into the mobile device's internal memory.

If this is listed in an official Spotify FAQ I might have missed it.

[MafeG]

Hi folks,

Thank you for reaching out to the Community. 

@xyrcncp With Local Files you should be able to sync and play the tracks on your phone even if they're stored on your computer, that's the purpose of the feature. If you haven't been able to do this, there are some things we can look into. 

To start, it's a good idea to change the source of the local files on your computer. Simply create a new folder in a different directory on your PC and move your local files to this folder. Now you can try importing the files again. 

Also, could you make sure your files aren’t DRM-protected? We’d recommend reading this article to find out how.

Let us know how this goes.