Cannot play or load anything

[Etenic]

Plan

Doesn't work on either plan

Country

Slovakia

Device

Asus VivoBook X512UF

Operating System

Windows 11 home

My Question or Issue

Spotify cannot play any music or load things like playlists, profile or library. I tried to reinstall multiple times. I assume my internet connection is not the problem because apps like Discord or Edge are working fine. 

[Joan]

Hi there @Etenic,

Thanks for reaching out. Could you please provide us the following:

• What's the exact behaviour? Does the app not respond? Does it crash? Do you get any kind of error message?
• Is this on all devices or only on PC? How about the webplayer on the same device?
• When did this start happening?
• Does it happen on different networks?
• Screenshots or a video of the behaviour

With this information, we’d be happy to investigate.

Keep us posted.

[Etenic]

Hi, thanks for replying,

Download for the video (it's more than 5mb so i couldn't attach it here): https://www.mediafire.com/file/j1p6g35iz3ctmbi/2023-05-18+17-03-58.mp4/file

I recorded a video for you to see what's the problem. The app doesn't really crash but i do get error messages after trying to open a playlist or my profile as shown in the video. It only happens on my PC. I also have spotify on my phone where im logged onto the same account and there it works perfectly. It started happening when i uninstalled an old version of spotify i had previously and installed the latest one three days ago. At that time i didn't have premium and it didn't work. Now i do have premium and it still doesn't work. I didn't try it on a different network because i don't have the opportunity.

[AlejaR]

Hey @Etenic,

Thanks for your reply and for the info shared.

Unfortunately, we couldn't visualize the video you kindly sent us. Would you mind sending us the video recording again? You can also upload it to YouTube or Google Drive and make it public, so we can visualize it.

On another note, we understand you've reinstalled the app multiple times, but, just to confirm, did you try performing a clean reinstall? You can see the steps to do it here. By doing that, the app can be up-to-date, and you can make sure the cache is not leading to this inconvenience. You can see the steps for a clean reinstall here.

If possible, you can also create a hotspot with a cellphone and connect the computer to it to see if you notice any difference if you switch the internet connection you're using. Give it a try, and let us know how it goes.

At the moment, it's possible to download the app from both the Microsoft Store and our Web page here. So in this case, if you install the desktop app from the web page, try to uninstall that version and try installing the one from the Microsoft one or vice versa.
 

Keep us in the loop!

[Etenic]

Hi,

Here is the video uploaded on Google Drive:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KfG4f5wyNKQyfrT8kOhO470VvVTahbIp/view?usp=share_link

I've done a clean reinstall and tried connecting to a hotspot and it didn't help. I also tried downloading the app from both Microsoft Store and your website but still nothing.

Thanks for helping.

[AndrewT29]

Having the same issue, there aren't any errors at all, but when I press play on any song it just doesn't play at all. I've been trying to find a solution for hours, and have been going through a lot of community posts but can't find any solution that works.

[AlejaR]

Hey folks,

Thanks for your replies and for the info shared. 

@Etenic, we could visualize the video, thanks so much. As a next step, can you please try running the app in Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking to rule out any issues with your default Windows settings and basic device drivers? Give it a try, and let us know how it goes.

On another note, just to confirm, do you use a VPN? If yes, try switching it off.
 

@AndrewT29, in this case, would you mind sharing with us the make/model and OS of the affected device, along with the Spotify version you're running there?

It'll really help us if you share with us if perhaps you've already followed some of the troubleshooting you've found so far. If you haven't yet, we'd suggest, as a first step, a clean reinstallation of the app on the affected device.

If the above doesn't do the trick, as mentioned above, if you install the desktop app from the web page, try to uninstall that version and try installing the one from the Microsoft one or vice versa. Give it a try, and let us know how it goes.

We'll be on the lookout!

[Etenic]

Hi,

I tried running the app on safe mode and safe mode with networking. However the app didn't even turn on when i tried to open it. Also i wasn't able to log onto a WiFi even with safe mode with networking.

Have a nice day.

[Joan]

Hi @Etenic,

Thanks for the reply.  Just to confirm, can you still log into Spotify in a browser on the same device? Can you access your account page for example? And does the webplayer work properly?

Let us know how it goes.

[Etenic]

Hi,

I am able to access my account page but when i try to go to open.spotify.com it shows me an error saying that the connection was refused by the website. (ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED)

[Susan_GP]

Hi @Etenic,

Thank you for your reply and the info provided.

In this case, we recommend disabling the Antivirus and Firewall on your computer. You could also add Spotify as an exclusion to Windows Security. You'll find the steps to do it on the Microsoft Support page. Additionally, you can try accessing the Web Player from a different browser to check if it works.

On another note, let us know if you're using a VPN and if this happens on a personal or work device. 

Keep us posted!

[Etenic]

Hi,

It unfortunately didn't help. I tried disabling the Firewall, i also added Spotify as an exclusion to Windows Security and tried to open the Web Player on Chrome (i normally use Edge). I don't use any Antivirus beside Windows Security. Also i don't use a VPN.

The only problem that i can think of is that i probably didn't delete some file that i have from the old version. I don't know how to search for all files with  "spotify" in their name. When i try to search for "spotify" in my storage it won't find anything even with subfiles turned on in the search settings. I did delete the files from appdata though

Thanks for helping out.

[AlejaR]

Hey @Etenic,

Thanks for all your help and for the info shared.

Next, you can check your hosts, here's how to do so:

1. Open Notepad as an Administrator (right-click - Open as Administrator)
2. Go to File > Open and navigate to
   • C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc
3. Choose "All Files" instead of "Text Documents" next to the File Name box. You'll see a handful of files. Pick hosts and click on Open.
4.  The file is opened. You will see a block of text with # in front of each line and might see entries like
   • 0.0.0.0 website.com
   • 127.0.0.1 website2.com
5. Check for any entries with spotify or fastly in the address. Examples may look like:
   • 0.0.0.0 weblb-wg.gslb.spotify.com
   • 0.0.0.0 spclient.wg.spotify.com
   • 0.0.0.0 prod.b.ssl.us-eu.fastlylb.net
   • * (and any variations inbetween)
6.  If you do find any, you can delete the line. You can also add a # in front of the line, that's 'commenting out'.
7. Save your changes. Restart Spotify.

Give it a try and let us know how it goes.

Keep us in the loop!

[Etenic]

Hi, I tried deleting the entries but it didn't help. However i am now able to go to open.spotify.com but it cannot log me in.

Have a nice day.

[OscarDC]

Hey @Etenic,

Thank you for keeping in contact and for the info you've shared. 

To check if the issue could be device-related, would you mind checking on a different computer (if possible) using your own account to see if the issue persists? 

Also, could you confirm if changing the source where you're downloading the app makes any difference, as mentioned previously by @AlejaR? In case you haven't tried yet, try to reinstall the Spotify version from the Microsoft Store (if you have the version downloaded from our page) and vice versa to check if the issue persists. 

Lastly, include in your next response the Spotify version you're currently running to continue investigating the case.

We'll be on the lookout.

[Etenic]

Hi, sorry for responding a bit late,

I installed Spotify on my old laptop and it works perfectly as you can see on the screenshot. As i said, I tried installing the app from both Microsoft Store and the website. The Spotify version is 1.2.12.902.g1924b088

Have a great day.

[Susan_GP]

Hi @Etenic,

Thanks for keeping in touch and for following all our recommendations. 

We recommend checking that your OS is up-to-date. If not, make sure to update it to the latest version available.

On another note, open the Spotify app and click the three dots on the top left corner > View > disable 'Hardware Acceleration' > Click OK and restart Spotify. Lastly, check if the sound drivers on your PC are updated.

Keep us posted!

[Etenic]

Hi, thanks for the reply,

I always update my OS when available. I tried disabling Hardware Accelaration but it didn't help. I updated my sound drivers about 2 weeks ago and i don't think the problem is caused by my audio, because things like profile, playlist info and liked songs also cannot load.

Have a nice day.

[AlejaR]

Hey @Etenic,

Thanks for your reply. 

As the next step, we'd recommend trying to flush your DNS cache. To do it, you can follow these steps:

1. Press the Windows key + r.
2. Type CMD, or command prompt, in the Windows search bar.
3. Now run the command prompt with administrative rights.
4. Next, type ipconfig/flushDNS and run the command by pressing the Enter key.
5. Wait for the DNS cache to be flushed and exit the command prompt.
6. Afterward, open Spotify and verify if this behavior persists.

Give it a try, and let us know how it goes. Please keep us in the loop!

[Etenic]

Hi, thanks for the recommendation,

Flushing my DNS cache unfortunately didn't fix the issue. I'm not sure if it'll help, but the Web Player also doesn't work.