Spotify Desktop App doesn't open without internet-access (Windows 10)

[kachelstacktus]

Plan

Family Plan

Device

Desktop PC

Operating System

Windows 10

My Question or Issue

Today my internet didnt work for about 2h. Since I could not access the web-player (which I normally use), I decided to open the Desktop app. I have about 1000 songs downloaded there, so the fact that I'm offline shoudn't be a big issue.

However I coundn't do anything. The program opened, but it just showed a black screen with the three option-dots in the the top-left-corner. I tried setting it to offline-mode, but that didn't help either. Multiple restarts also didn't do anything.

As soon as the internet came back, I just had to restart it again and everything worked as it should.

Whats the point of having a song-download function if you can't open the app when offline?

[frikanih]

I have the same problem and I see it hasn't been fixed yet, so here I am too... yes, I've tried EVERYTHING that has been mentioned in this post. No, I still can't play my music if I don't have my computer connected to the Internet. Yes, I have a premium account and all music was previously downloaded. I guess this is never going to be fixed because honestly Spotify is one the worst payed apps I've used in my whole life (sorry any mods or CMs reading this, I know it's not your fault). FIX THE GOD DAMN APP.

[MJ177]

Hi again.  It's done it about 4 or 5 times since my last post.   It did it today on both my active laptops.  I had them connected last night, and put into offline mode before I left the house today, just because I had a feeling one might not work... yah both didn't.    

So... where's the software engineers, IT, maybe some management type people?  ANYONE with an actual title willing to step up and discuss this incredibly frustrating problem??

I will direct message my phone number. I will setup a virtual call. 

I will do whatever you want to get this fixed besides "try a fresh install". I'm done reinstalling. 

When will an actual Spotify employee reply that's not a mod on the website.  No disrespect but again, we're so so SO past this "interment" issue that I'm starting to evaluate other services. I don't want to.  I enjoy the Spotify product.   That's why I'm here bitching about it and not just canceling my subscription.

But to be honest, the amount of time left for me to continue to pay for a product that is not delivering it's product fully is starting to dwindle.

[Goodman]

Hi everyone. Thanks for reporting this and helping us troubleshoot further.

Our developers haven't been able to reproduce this on newer versions, but they'd still like to look into this further.

When troubleshooting it often helps to have a look at the log file and see what's going on under the hood.

To allow us to dig a little deeper, it would help if you share a log file with us. (This is for Windows, specifically.)

• Important: if Spotify is running, make sure you completely close it (considering the nature of this issue it shouldn't be running, but we like to be thorough)
• Open the Command Prompt by pressing the windows key and typing command. This should bring up Command Prompt (app); open that.
  Alternatively, you can press the Windows key and r simultaneously, then type cmd and hit the Return/Enter key.
• Now copy/paste what's below and hit the Return/Enter key. It should open the Spotify app and generate a log file on your desktop.
• Lastly, just post the log file as an attachment to your post. If it exceeds the allowed limit, you can also upload it to Google Drive and share the link to it.
  

  if exist "%APPDATA%\Spotify" (
      cd "%APPDATA%\Spotify"
      start Spotify.exe --log-file="%USERPROFILE%\Desktop\Spotify.log"
  ) else (
   start Spotify.exe --log-file="%USERPROFILE%\Desktop\Spotify.log"   
  )​

[smrave]

I am experiencing the exact same issue when in offline mode on an MSI laptop. At some point within a day or two of being disconnected from wifi, I get the "Something went wrong" message and black home screen. Can only play the active playlist through the player controls in the menu or taskbar until I go online with the app again. 

I tried disabling the auto-start option in the Spotify app settings under Startup and window behaviour, and so far this seems to have helped. We'll see if the problem presents itself again in a few more days.

[smrave]

The problem has not returned for over a week--it never worked in offline mode more than a couple days before changing this setting. Hoping this resolved the issue for good.

[Mixlikeagirl]

Nope, it sure fraking didn't. 

[Lizergic]

Same issue here. Clean boot, no intenet, spotify will not load my downloaded music on an MSI as well. Yall lucky I have Tidal because Spotify radio sucks and ignores my blocked artists if they paid to appear on certain playlists 🙃

[Lizergic]

I can also play via the keyboard controls but cant change the playlist or browse at all

Edit: So when the internet came back, the software would still not load after clicking reload the page. I had to restart the software entirely. It seems like in some cases the program will first look to check for an internet connection before loading home. If you try to check Work Offline it will attempt to make an http request to the server to let them know youre working offline which is the dummest ive ever seen. Idk but it seems like an anti-abuse thing so ppl will not abuse the offline feature and go months without paying. 

[rivercity2012]

Over the last 12 months I have the same issue, not loading in offline mode until I connect to the internet. Happens with both Mac and PC desktop apps, and on old and new PC's. I refuse to follow the advice "complete a fresh install" anymore. I think Spotify is more than aware there is an issue and either cant or wont fix it. Looks like I will be spending my money elsewhere. How on earth has this passed any kind of User Acceptance Testing (UAT)??

[Big_Boi]

Throwing in another name to this issue. It has been over a year now. Fix the problem. Spotify needs to start actually listening to the feedback instead of just having a bunch of moderators try to quell all of the complaints.

[TURSTY]

Another user with this issue here. I own a boat and am frequently out of internet coverage. Here is what I have found.

1. If I download a bunch of playlists and shut down the app, then come back to the boat a week or two later and sail off to a no coverage area and start the boat PC with no coverage, Spotify will not function - stuck on the "something went wrong" and black screen page.
2. If I download the songs and change the setting to offline mode while I still have coverage, then shut down the app and sail off to no coverage, sometimes it will load up in offline mode and work. Sometimes it wont.
3. If I download the songs and change to offline mode, leave the app open and loose coverage, it will keep working offline.

I honestly believe there is some code somewhere in this app that needs to check into the home server before allowing it to function. No doubt it will be related to someone getting paid - i.e. playout metrics etc).

[OscarDC]

Hey @TURSTY,

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

We appreciate the testing and troubleshooting you made to report this issue. We'll make sure to pass this info on to the correct team to continue investigating that behavior. We also appreciate the workaround you found as other users may find it and make it work while we have an official fix.

If you have any additional questions, don't hesitate to ask, the Community will be here for you.

[TURSTY]

Hi OscarDC, 
Just to clarify, the above is not a suitable work around. Power is at a premium on an off grid boat, so running a PC the whole time so the advertised Spotify Offline feature will actually work is not acceptable. Neither is hunting out coverage so I cant start the app, then switching it to offline mode, while its actually online. That's ridiculous!

Spotify need to fix this issue or stop charging people for offline capability. 

[TURSTY]

I dont understand why you cant replicate this error. It happens every single time on every PC I have.
Here is how you replicate it:

1. close spotify
2. disable your ethernet adaptor, on unplug the cable - i.e. disconnect from the internet
3. Start spotify - it will come up with the "Something went wrong" error 

I can repeat this over and over again on any PC.

Below is the log file requested:
Its pretty obvious that its not happy not having an internet connect. Should be pretty easy to fix right!!

[TURSTY]

Interesting.....I just ran a uninstall and a reinstall using the file from Spotify's website, rather then the windows store install.
Old version - 1.1.91.824.g07f1e963

New version installed - 1.1.91.824.g07f1e963

So the same version was uninstalled and reinstalled.

Now when I disable my ethernet adaptor it loads up in offline mode and works as it should.
I will try this on the boat PC later this week and see if that works on that PC as well. If so, does that point to an issue with installations from the Microsoft store being the problem?

[SuperSpasm]

This has repro'd for me as well, at the most inopportune times 😞

This feels like it has something to do with cache invalidations, either periodic or one-off.

Perhaps somehow related to auto-updates that have been installed but the app not opened while connected?

Just a stab in the dark here.

Spoitfy, you should give the community some feedback that an engineer has seen and is checking their issues!

Every time I look at a Spotify bug repoprt or feature request it feels like being in a government office, waiting hours for your turn just to be told "Sorry, can't help you."

I'm sure being a company this size is super challenging, but there's no way pawning off issues on volunteer moderators (no disrespect, this isn't their fault) is the best way to handle this.

What abouut having some support engineers who can actually examine issues more technically?

[ophelan]

I've experienced this issue a number of times lately, including on a 12-hour flight that really could have used some tunes (admittedly not as annoying as it must have been for the Antarctica dude). I concur that this needs to be escalated to a software engineering team; this isn't a support issue, but a long-standing bug that needs addressed.

I, as a user, would like my downloaded offline music to be available to listen to at all times. It is not always feasible to manually enable offline mode prior to losing connectivity. Spotify should recognize that it has no connection available, and either automatically enable offline mode or prompt the user to do so. Displaying a vague message "something went wrong" and failing to work is unacceptable.

[Utieshell]

Another premium user here experiencing the same issue w Windows 10. “Something went wrong / try reloading the page” screen when booted offline. Offline mode/ reboot does not help. No controls or downloaded content available. 

[OscarDC]

Hey @Utieshell,

Welcome to the Community and thank you for joining the conversation.

This issue is commonly related to some damaged cache stored on your device from previous updates. In case you haven't tried yet, we'd recommend performing a clean reinstall of the app by following the steps in this article. This is often an overlooked step, but it's more thorough than a quick one and can be helpful in getting rid of any cache that might be causing trouble.

If the issue persists, include in your next response the troubleshooting you've done so far, the OS version of your device and the Spotify version you're currently running to continue investigating.

We'll be on the lookout.

[Mixlikeagirl]

Tried this "fix" the better part of a dozen times in the months and months
and months since you all have been touting that as a solution. As a matter
of fact, the failure of this solution (found via troubleshooting tree
chart) to solve anything was the impetus for me to post my original
question that we are currently commenting under. Unless you have a patch
fix in a VERY recent (in the past 3 weeks to a month) update- then this is
not a viable solution. And because of Windows auto update nonsense I'm
about to take my work laptop back to Windows 7, I'm not excited about the
can of worms that that's going to open with the Spotify desktop app.
Hopefully I can find a copy of the old legacy one that ran rock solid. I'm
sure I'm not the only person that would like to see the pre windows 10
version make a reappearance 😹