Local/downloaded files grayed out

[Dr-ver]

Plan

Premium

Country

United States of America

Device

Sony Xperia 1 III

Operating System

Android 13

My Question or Issue

Hi friends. I think a couple of us are experiencing this same issue, but I would also like to add my perspective on the issue as well. I have utilized Spotify's "Local files" feature and my home wi-fi to be able to store my local files on my portable 1TB SSD using my laptop and using Spotify's download feature to synchronize the files onto my phone, taking advantage of the SSD's safety and storage. The exact process on how I do this can be found in this guide I posted to Reddit here.

Although this method yields great success, there is an issue that has unfortunately been persistent. Sometimes, for reasons I cannot identify, when I try to listen to one of these songs, I will get an error message saying the song is unavailable. When this happens, the song will be grayed out and the download icon will be replaced with an exclamation point icon. The song will also be skipped if it is next in a playlist, and queuing options become unavailable. Oddly enough, the song can still be played if I tap on it directly.

The only fix I've relied on so far is having to redownload the song when my laptop and phone are connected to my wi-fi network, but I obviously can only do this while at home. All of my files are .mp3 files and have been recently purchased and downloaded from official sources, primarily Bandcamp, Beatport and Traxsource. I think this problem is very annoying, and I would greatly appreciate it if someone has a solution they'd be willing to share with me. Thank you for your time.

[MihailY]

Hey @Dr-ver,

Thanks for reaching out.

Please note that the feature allowing you to sync local files between devices is being deprecated and the only supported method of adding and playing them on multiple devices is the one outlined here.

In short, you'll need to copy the files to your phone and add them through the mobile app to your playlists.

We hope this helps.

[Dr-ver]

Although I am aware this method exists, the primary purpose of my method is being able to take redownloaded versions of the songs with me on the road while keeping the source files safe at home on my SSD. I'm paranoid of losing my phone and all the music I've downloaded over time with it. I suppose another solution would be to duplicate the files on both my SSD and phone, but I would prefer to keep storage usage to a minimum. Thank you.

[Maria]

Hey @Dr-ver,

Thanks for the reply and for sharing some more details with us! 

Right now, the best way would be to have them stored on both devices, so you don't lose any of your tunes. However, we'll keep your feedback about Local Files in mind for the future.

Should anything else appear, we're just a post away.

Cheers!

[Dr-ver]

I just might have to give that a try. However, I've seen from other users that despite the local files being directly on their phone, the files still gray out sometimes as mentioned above. I will hope that Spotify quickly identifies and resolves this issue that has been plaguing us local file users for so long. Thank you.

[JBmove]

I followed all steps on other solutions, and I have some songs in the spotify folder of my phone’s files, but they wont play. There are some older local files that work, but the ones I just added all won’t play.

[Lance256]

Plan

Premium

Device

(iPhone 13)

My Question or Issue

Recently, I have been experiencing this issue regarding local files where some downloaded files from downloaded playlists are unplayable, as seen in the screenshot. However, they can still be played in the Local Files playlist. What is the issue here?

Unplayable Downloaded File on its Downloaded PlaylistDuplicate Downloaded Files in the Local Files playlist. The top Special Stage (JP) is unplayable, but the bottom one is perfectly playable.

[noorsheikh]

the tracks in my local files wont play. they're not greyed out, but when i click it, it says 'song not downloaded' even though it is. it does play on my mac just not on my iphone. I've done a clean reinstall of the app and im using the latest version of spotify.