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Please read below for troubleshooting Spotify on your Android device. This guide contains fixes for most common issues as well as detail on how to create a new topic if you still are having problems.
First thing to do before trying anything else is reboot your device then check if the issue re-occurs. If so, try logging out of the Spotify app and re-logging in to refresh your account on the device. If after these 2 steps you are still having issues please read through the rest of the guide.
Clean install & getting the cache onto SD Card
This is the core step in any troubleshooting and will help resolve the majority of issues relating to offline cache, random crashes or degraded sound quality.
To obtain a clean install please follow the below process:
NOTE: You will lose all preferences & offline playlists in doing this!
In some devices it appears the folder on the ext_sd (SD card) are not able to be removed and appear to be locked by the system (Android 4.4.2+) . In this case make sure to use the stock built-in file manager as it has additional permissions. If you have no stock file manager or still cannot remove the folders you will need to backup the contents of your SD card and then format it either in the phone or on a PC (make sure to uncheck 'Quick Format') in order to remove these folders.
Other common issues
- Backup your SD card and then try to format it in the phone before installing Spotify. If you've taken the SD from a previous device there may be old conflicting files which can create issues and cause the Spotify app to Force Close
- At the bottom of the settings screen in the Spotify app there should be an option 'Storage'. Open this and select the storage location you want your cache, if changing location the app will transfer existing cached data to the new storage. Note that if your device does not have an SD Card or the SD is unreadable the 'Storage' option will not be visible in the settings screen.
- If you have upgraded your device to Android 6.X Marshmallow or greater then make sure your SD Card is not formatted as 'Internal' memory. Unfortunately formatting an SD Card to be used as Internal memory called 'Adoptable Storage' creates issues with the Spotify cache as well as possibly causing an SD card to fail quicker. If you have done this then you will need to re-format the SD card. More details about Android Adoptable Storage can be found here. Also check the permissions for the app and ensure the Spotify app has all the required permissions. Please see the official Android guide to updating permissions on Marshmallow here.
- Some devices such as the CAT B15Q running kitkat seem to have issues creating the necessary folders on the SD Card, if after the above you still don't have your cache going to the SD Card try the below steps:
- Cache cleaners such as 'Clean Master' are known to clean the Spotify cache. Please ensure you add the Spotify folder '/ext_sd/Android/data/com.spotify.music' to any whitelist/ignore list if possible. Also note that Clean Master contains a process killing feature which can also close Spotify. If you are using this, also enable a whitelist or disable this feature.
- Similar to the Clean Master process killer mentioned above you may have a task, process or battery manager installed; these can interfere with the running process Spotify uses. A lot of task killers (and Android's own) are more agressive when the screen is off or an application is running in the background for an extended period. Try seeing if you can add Spotify to it's ignore list.
Android Nougat has brought about enhanced power saving, making the Doze feature first seen in Android Marshmallow even better... However this can have adverse affects; especially if using apps with the screen off or in the background such as Spotify.
You can customise which apps are affected by this doze feature by following the steps below:
1. Open the Settings app on your phone (Pull down the notifications shade, and tap the gear in the upper right corner, or find “Settings” in the App Drawer.)
2. Tap Battery.
3. Tap the menu button and choose “Battery optimization.”
4. Tap the dropdown menu at the top of the screen and select “All apps.”
5. Scroll down to Spotify - tap it and select "Don't Optimize"
If the menu layout on your phone is different - head over here for a brand specific guide.
Now Spotify will not be controlled by the Android system's power saving enabling it to run in the background.
- If your device is using an SD card; try removing it and then seeing if the app runs without issue. Try a complete format of the card and if it still fails it may be time to invest in a new SD card.
- Is the SD Card mounted and readable by the system? Go to phone settings - Storage and scroll down to SD Card. Try un-mounting the re-mounting the card.
- First of all check that you are logged in under the same account as your premium subscription/playlists are created as. For Spotify you can potentially have 3 separate accounts depending on how you signed in. For instance you may have originally signed up and have premium against a Spotify account (one created using your email), but then on another device you may have logged in using a Facebook login which could put you as a 'new' user.
- You can have 10, 000 offline tracks per device. Check you haven't reached this limit (Note; local synced content is unlimited)
- You can recover playlists that have been removed or accidentally deleted or remove old offline devices on your account page at www.spotify.com/account
- You can only have 5 devices set to hold offline tracks
- Syncing local files from your desktop not working (phone not recognised or stuck at 'Downloading'?). Make sure you are on the same wifi network, UPnP is enabled on your router, check any firewall to ensure its not blocking Spotify (windows firewall, antivirus, Internet protection etc), also make sure if using Windows that network discovery is enabled in your network settings.
- Some users have had luck syncing local files by using their mobile device to create a WiFi hotspot then connecting the desktop/laptop to this Access Point. Once connected Open the Spotify app on your mobile device and see if it syncs.
- When you add any kind of local music to spotify it tries to analyze what the Spotify repository has to offer, and if it finds the song, it will play it from Spotify, NOT from your local file.
- Some artists songs cannot be streamed from Spotify, but they ARE listed. They are just "greyed out"/unplayable
- If you add properly tagged songs, it finds them in the Spotify repository, and tries to play them from there, but they are unavailable, causing the initial problem. Try changing the artist name slightly so that the algorithm cannot match your local track to the Spotify version
- Spotify classes a tablet as anything 7 inches or greater. Anything under this will only have shuffle play in a free account.
- Spotify needs to identify each tablet using its ID in the build.prop of your tablet. If you are using a lesser known tablet it may be that it has not been matched in the database. Please contact support using the contact form here and let them know your device model, Android version and display size stating that you only have access to shuffle play.
- Try selecting 'New User' and then enter your Facebook account details, sometimes this works when selecting 'Existing User' doesn't. Don't worry, it's still linked to your account so you'll get your playlists, artists etc.
- If still not able to access try removing Spotify from your Facebook Applications then perform a clean install as detailed above.
This can be caused by a few things:
If you cannot access the Play Store version or are in another country you can download the installer file directly from the Spotify server here.
You can also try downloading another app, or go to 'My Apps' and uninstall/reinstall one of the apps already on your phone to force it to re-connect.
You may need to allow the IP range and ports that Spotify is using in your firewall or router manually: Open the firewall for 78.31.8.0/21 and open port 4070 for TCP as well as port 80 for TCP.
This seems to be related to the use of ipv6 over ipv4. If you can, edit your mobile APN in Android Settings - Mobile Data - Access Points and change the protocol to ipv4/ipv6 (you may have to manually create a new APN and delete the existing one, details below). There is an idea for adding support to ipv6 to the Spotify app here.
If you need to create a new APN please find the details from your network provider, once obtained expand the below to create it in your device:
Sometimes this can be be caused by conflicting apps such as headphone controllers or music widgets (JAYS Headset Control is a known offender). Uninstalling these can remedy this issue.
It may just be that the app has been sent to the background; for example if driving and using a navigation app. After a while the Spotify app may be closed by the Android system rendering controls and the sending of metadata to stop even though the music stream is still working. Bringing the app to the foreground can refresh this and get things working again.
Running Android 5.0>? You may need to change your Sound & Notification setting to show ALL content on notifications instead of 'Hide sensitive notification content' when device is locked. Then you can specify which applications contain sensitive data and by default everything else will be displayed on the lock screen. By default Spotify (along with all your other apps) will not be considered sensitive.
Unable to see the track info on your stereo? Try this: AutoAudio - Bluetooth Helper
Want to start/stop Spotify playing when you connect to your stereo? Try this: Bluetooth connect & Play
I'm still not fixed, what should I do?
If after all this your problem is not resolved then please follow the steps below:
There's a template below for the best way to create a new topic in the Troubleshooting Guide here.