Some albums will not sync via local files to iPhone 5

[darkplatypus]

I recently tried to sync 3 albums to my iPhone 5 via local files and found that only one of them would sync properly.

The albums I tried to sync were:

In Rainbows by Radiohead

The Eraser by Thom Yorke

Amok by Atoms for Peace

Only In Rainbows synced properly. I also synced a few random tracks from other artists, and those worked fine as well. The playlists I created for Amok and The Eraser appear on my iPhone, and list the correct number of tracks from the list of playlists, but once I tap into the playlist, it's blank and tells me to add tracks. I have no trouble playing the local files within Spotify on the Macbook Pro I added the tracks from.

I know that Thom Yorke has pulled all music that wasn't created through his old Radiohead label from Spotify, but does Spotify go even beyond that and prevent uploading the music via local files as well? I can't think of any other explanation.

[Joe]

I'm pretty sure that's just coincidence. Could you try deleting the tracks from the playlists on your desktop then make sure they don't show the chainlink ("linked")symbol and drag them back into their playlists then try to synch again.

[user-removed]

I would love to find a solution to this, too. In fact, I have the same issue with the same 3 albums! In Rainbows syncs fine, but the other two don't. I have a question though, did you sync all 3 at the same time or at different points in time. I remember I synced In Rainbows using my private home WiFi with no issues, then had to leave home to work on a college campus. Then for some reason or another I had to reinstall Spotify and when I tried to resync everything, In Rainbows synced properly once again, but other local albums that I had added did not and I think it might have something to do with the University network I am using for Wifi...

[darkplatypus]

I tried to sync all 3 at the same time, on a private home network. Very, very interesting that you got the same results from the same 3 albums. Would love to get a response from Spotify on this.

As far as the files and the playlists themselves, I've tried deleting the tracks from the playlists, deleting the playlists and rebuilding them entirely, deleting the original tracks in iTunes and re-downloading them, converting them from default AAC to DRM-free MP3, and completely changing the ID3 info on the files to something completely different. Nothing seems to work.

[user-removed]

When you connect your iPhone to the same Wifi as your computer, does your iPhone appear under the Devices tab in your Desktop client? I haven't been able to get my iPhone to show up in Devices for the past couple of days but attributed it to being on University Wifi

[darkplatypus]

It definitely doesn't show up under devices on my network at the office. I'll need to check when I get home if it does on the home network.

[user-removed]

Cool, definitely let me know when you find out! I've been dying to figure this out.

[darkplatypus · Accepted solution]

So to answer your question about the device list, on my home network, my phone does appear there.

I was able to solve the issue with the playlists being empty (though I've since found a new issue).

What I've typically done in the past when trying to sync local files is to set up the playlist from the desktop, then look up the playlist on my phone and hit the Available Offline switch. The tracks usually download immediately to the phone.

However, since the tracks didn't appear appear there correctly for Amok and The Eraser, flipping the Available Offline switch didn't accomplish anything.

Accessing the device from the desktop allowed me to look up the playlists and check the sync box there (which normally hasn't been necessary in the past). At that point, the tracks suddenly appeared in the playlists correctly and the Available Offline setting immediately began downloading the tracks to the phone.

The new problem I've come across is with the In Rainbows playlist - as I mentioned earlier, all the tracks appeared in the playlist with no issue, but I found that the version of Reckoner it downloaded to the phone is a cover by Sebastian Codex instead of the actual Radiohead track that is available locally and in the desktop version of Spotify. No idea on this one....

[user-removed · Accepted solution]

Hey, I had the same issue with Reckoner, and I think Bodysnatchers and Nude being linked to a different version of the song in Spotify's catalog. To fix it I rightclicked each track in my desktop and selected "Unlink Track" which makes Spotify point back to your local file when you play it. Hope that helps!

[darkplatypus]

Perfect, vyxl! Thanks so much.