Web Player won't play

[ecarl65]

I'm subscribed to premium but today the web player just stopped working. I've tried the things that I can do that are recommended here: different browsers, sign out everywhere and sign back in, make sure flash is working, etc. But nothing works. I'm on a work machine, so I can't use the app (it seems for some dumb reason the app uses different ports, which my company blocks), I saw that as a recommendation somewhere. Is there no way to get actual customer support if you're a paying customer?

[Sebasty]

Hey @ecarl65

Sorry to hear, but don't worry, I'm here to help. 🙂

First, please wipe your browser's cookies and cache.

Then try these:

1. There's that icon on the left of the volume bar, it looks like a desktop PC to me. Click on it and choose 'This web player'.

2. Click on your username below the 'Install App' link. Choose 'Full website' and click on any albums/playlists proposed under 'Looking for music?'.
If at first it doesn't work, go to your account page, click on 'Sign out everywhere', log into your web player and repeat this method.

Note: the web player doesn't use Flash. Instead of that, it uses a plugin called Windewine Content Decryption Module, which is for DRM-protected content.

Let me know how it goes!

[ecarl65]

Thanks for the help. Unfortunately none of those steps worked. I am able to browse and see the albums, but the web player section at the bottom does nothing. When I click to play an album the web player doesn't respond at all. 

[ecarl65]

So I came home and tried the web player on my browser on my windows machine (Firefox) and on my linux machine (Firefox and Chrome). The same behavior shows up on all of them. I can browse, but as soon as I click on play the web player does nothing. I was able to run the player from the desktop linux client. I haven't tried windows yet. But it's all a moot point, because my work blocks the ports of the desktop client so I need the web player to be able to listen to spotify.

[ecarl65]

Sorry, accidental redundant reply. Deleted comment.

[Sebasty]

@ecarl65

Maybe at this point you should check your DRM settings. Here's how:

a. on Firefox: go to about:addons, choose the plugins section and make sure there is a plugin called Widewine Decryption Module, and that it's set to always activate.
Also, go to about:preferences and make sure Firefox is allowed to play DRM-protected content. That setting should be under General.
b. on Chrome: go to chrome://settings/content/protectedContent and make sure those two switches are on.

VPN and internal network restrictions may cause issues too, including hosts file if it contains entries for spotify or fastly.

Restarting the router could help too.

Keep me posted 🙂

[ecarl65 · Accepted solution]

Thanks for the help! So, I saw your message, but before I went to check all of that stuff I tried opening the spotify desktop app on my home computer. As with the app on linux I was able to open it and play. I then happened to open the app on my mobile phone and it asked if I wanted to continue playing on the desktop app or on the mobile phone. I chose the desktop app. While I was in that app I did change a few settings, such as disabling the opening spotify from the web. At any rate, after that I was able to close those apps and then play music via the web player successfully. For what it's worth I did verify all the settings were correct that you mentioned, but they had already been correct as I didn't need to change anything. I'm not sure what was happening, but it looks like it got in a weird state and wouldn't let me select the device I wanted to play on (I tried that before you suggested it, but the whole bottom bar just didn't seem to respond to any of my clicks, more or less). So I can't say what the solution was, other than opening the desktop app that I'd used previously.