Local Files Won't Download on iPhone

[TacoJohn1267]

Plan

Premium

Country

United States

Device

iPhone 11

Operating System

iOS 13.6.1

My Question or Issue

I have a wide library of local files that I listen to through Spotify, and for months now I have been downloading them for offline listening on my iPhone. Recently (maybe 3 or 4 days ago), I tried to download them like I always do, and suddenly it wasn't working anymore. I did some troubleshooting of my own and I still cannot for the life of me figure out what is going wrong (again, I have been doing this for months and it always has worked). Was this feature suddenly removed? Could it be a bug in the latest Spotify update? I really could use some help, because most of what I listen to are from my own library. Thank you in advance.

EDIT: Whoops, I was just looking through my settings and apparently there is a new "Sync From Desktop" option that is by default disabled. I don't know why they added this or why it's disabled by default, but my problem is fixed.

[MichaelJerzak]

Glad to hear it!

[MattSuda]

For anyone else that comes across this thread,

The steps to sync local files from a computer to the iOS Spotify app have recently changed. Sorry for the inconvenience. 

You now need to go into the Spotify iOS app settings and turn on local file sync.

From the help article:

Note: Premium subscription is required

1. On desktop, import your local files (with the "Desktop" steps).
2. Add the files to a new playlist.
3. Log in on your mobile or tablet using the same WiFi as your desktop.
4. Go to Settings --> Local Files and switch on Enable sync from desktop.
   Note: You need to allow Spotify to find devices in the prompt that shows.
5. Download the playlist with your local files.

Didn’t work?

Make sure:

• You're logged in to the same account on both your desktop and mobile
• Your devices are connected to the same WiFi network
• The app is up-to-date on both devices
• Your device is up-to-date

Also, at first the Local Files playlist will show as empty in the iOS app. To be able to see the songs before they are synced over, go to Settings ---> Playback --> and make sure "hide unavailable songs" option is turned off. Now you can still see songs even if they are not available on Spotify or for local files -- not synced over yet.

Let me know how it goes.

[xalx]

I'm having this issue atm and I've turned on the setting on my iPhone but nothings gets downloaded no matter how many times I try it. FYI I'm using the Linux desktop app, does that matter?

I used to have 10-20 downloaded files on the iPhone, all of these stopped working suddenly.

[xalx]

I was able to fix this by switching from my 5GHz network to the 2GHz instead. Feels kind of crappy. I have turned on the option to download via cellular network as well but I guess that doesn't matter for local files....or?

[Tinponey1970]

Where is this "sync from desktop" in settings?

[Tinponey1970]

there is no "Local Files" in my settings on ios.

[Mario]

Hey there @Tinponey1970,

Thank you for your post.

Would you mind reinstalling the app to make sure you have the latest version of Spotify?

You should be able to see your local files in your IOS if you press the "" button.

If you don't see it, it'd be great if you'd share a screenshot of what the Settings menu looks like for you.

We'll keep an eye out for your reply.

Cheers!

[LuisdaM8]

Thank you! This worked