Search does not work

[iamthekyle]

Plan

Premium

Country

US

Device

Nexus 6

Operating System

Android Oreo

My Question or Issue

The search function in the Android mobile app has stopped working. After exhaustive searching and trying all suggested solutions, it continues to not work. Steps taken to resolve include clearing cache, clearing data, reboot, uninstall and reinstall and several variations and combinations of the above mentioned. Any real solutions or assistance is much appreciated.

[Noah]

Hey @iamthekyle,

Welcome to the community!

Do you currently have any adblocker or antivirus software on your device? 

Also, could you let me know the exact version of Spotify and the exact version of the operating system you're running?

Keep me posted 🙂

[iamthekyle]

Spotify version 8.4.81.558

Android 8.1.0

Yes I do have an ad blocker. The search not working is a recent development. I've used the same as blocker for a couple years.

[Noah]

Hey @iamthekyle,

It sounds like the adblocker might be causing this issue. If possible, could you try adding spclient.wg.spotify.com or anything related to Spotify to your whitelist, then reboot your device, and see if that helps?

If that's not possible, could you try temporarily disabling your adblocker, then rebooting your device, and see if that resolves the issue?

Keep me posted 🙂

[iamthekyle]

That appears to have been the problem. Strange that it suddenly became affected by the blocker. I'll monitor in case search stops working again. Thanks for your help! It's been driving me crazy.

[Noah]

Hey @iamthekyle,

I'm glad to hear that everything worked out! If the issue returns, or you need a hand with anything else, just give me a shout 🙂

spotify:user:spotify:playlist:2PXdUld4Ueio2pHcB6sM8j:small

[iamthekyle]

So it appears that search functionality returns immediately after reboot but then stops again a few minutes later. I'm going to disable the ad blocker temporarily to see if that works.

[Noah]

Hey @iamthekyle,

Thanks for letting me know!

I'm still fairly sure that the adblocker is causing this issue. Definity try disabling the adblocker for a while to see if that resolves the issue or even try temporarily uninstalling the adblocker entirely for a while.

Keep me posted 🙂

[iamthekyle]

Unfortunately that did not work. I'm at a loss and frustrated of course. 

[Noah]

Hey @iamthekyle,

Thanks for getting back to me.

Don't worry; we'll get to the bottom of this issue. I'll keep looking into this.

Could you check if you're experiencing this issue on any other devices such as on another mobile device, web browser, or desktop app?

Keep me posted 🙂

[iamthekyle]

I appreciate your help with this issue. And no I do not appear to have this issue anywhere else.

[Noah]

Hey @iamthekyle,

Thanks for letting me know!

I'm going to keep looking into this and check with a few other Rock Stars and Spotify staff.

I'll get back to you tomorrow with some more troubleshooting steps.

Have a great day 🙂

[Noah]

Hey @iamthekyle,

Please try the following, and let me know how it goes:

• Check the app's permissions and make sure they have all relevant options toggled on / allowed.
• Go to your offline devices list and remove all of offline devices listed. Then, look for the Spotify app on your device's list of apps > Storage > Clear Data.
• Make sure you're not using VPN
• Make sure that your device is on the latest software update.

If that doesn't do the trick, could you try creating a new account or logging with another account on your device to see if the issue persists?

Also, do you have an SD card installed, and if so, is the app or any Spotify data saved on the SD card?

Let me know how it goes 🙂

[iamthekyle]

Ok so I removed all offline devices then cleared data. Search worked. I checked for an update, there was one, and I installed it. Search continued to work for a couple hours. But I noticed the bottom nav bar was the old version, not the new version with only 3 options. I just rebooted to see if the new nav bar would appear and it did. But search is once again broken. 

[Noah]

Hey @iamthekyle,

Thanks for getting back to me!

Could you try creating a new Spotify account or logging in with another Spotify account on your device to see if the issue persists?

Let me know how it goes, and I'll see what I can suggest next 🙂

[iamthekyle]

So it turns out I had a VPN in use I had forgotten about. Problem solved. But now my question is how do I set up Spotify to work with the VPN?

[Noah]

Hey @iamthekyle,

Unfortunately, Spotify doesn't officially support the use VPNs. However, you could try using a different VPN client, and see if the problem persists.

Let me know if you have any questions. Happy listening 🙂