topic Re: "Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it in Desktop (Windows)

Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it

lukaswil — Mon, 13 Sep 2021 17:40:19 GMT

Plan

Premium

Country

Device

Desktop

Operating System

Windows 10

My Question or Issue

When I try to play a song I get the following error message "Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it"

I have tried all the fixes I have seen:

Reinstalling app.

Using version from Microsoft store.

Disabled hardware acceleration.

Disabled crossfading.

Changed speaker options.

Deleted local files.

I've had this issue before and it was fixed by using the version from the Microsoft store but this isn't working now.

Spotify works on my phone and my laptop, web player also works only the desktop app doesn't work.

"Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it."

imbacatz — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 09:37:30 GMT

Plan

Premium

Country

Slovakia

Device

Computer

Operating System

Windows 10

My Question or Issue

I search for everything ..... but it doesnt work ....

I just now rebuild my pc with new mother board cpu an rams

And after i started pc i wanted to listen to spotify but it say this all time : "Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it."

On my phone its working . I tried every solutions what i found on internet rebooted pc reinstall spotify and other stuffs

Re: "Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it

eltoch — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 16:51:11 GMT

Hi! Are you trying to play songs located in the Local Files of your device? If so, the connection may have been interrupted between the files on your laptop and the Spotify player.

Try following these steps

Click then choose Settings.
Scroll down to Local Files and switch Show Local Files on.
Any files in your computer's My Music and Downloads folders are automatically selected. Switch off any sources you don't want Spotify to access.
Click ADD A SOURCE to select another folder.
You’ll now find music from that folder in Local Files in the menu on the left.

If the local files aren't downloaded to your laptop, that is likely the reason why you can only access them from your mobile device. Hopefully this helps!!

Did this work for you? If so please mark it as the solution. This helps other users find the solutions to their problems in the future!

Re: "Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it

imbacatz — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 17:07:56 GMT

Already fixed it by downloading it by windows store thank you

Re: "Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it

llcoole93 — Wed, 11 Dec 2019 20:11:59 GMT

That didn't work.

Re: "Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it

DeaGiXe — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 17:22:17 GMT

I have the same error but this(solution from eltoch) didn't work for me. my spotify keeps skipping every song. no matter if I ever downloaded the song or not

Re: "Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it

punane — Fri, 13 Dec 2019 09:47:42 GMT

I tried editing the host file, clearing the cache in APPDATA/romaing/spotify, playing with the app on android worked not on windows 10, tried to use the "play from this device" to switch, nothing worked.

I resorted to uninstalling spotify and reinstall it, worked like a charm!!

Re: "Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it

JimboDimbo — Sat, 14 Dec 2019 12:59:57 GMT

I switched from desktop to appstore version. But still does not work for me.

v1.1.21.

Re: "Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it

JimboDimbo — Sun, 15 Dec 2019 12:59:38 GMT

I also tried uninstall/reinstall - did not work

Switched to another Spotify account - did not work

Switched from desktop version to Windows App store version - did not work

(Spotify) Version I have is 1.1.21, Windows 10 1909.

Web player works. Roon works on same device. Amazon Music works on same device.

Spotify app can switch to playing via my HiFi or my Kef speakers, but not through the PC?

Always same error "Spotify cannot play this right now....." see screenshot, with device list showing.

Re: "Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it

JimboDimbo — Sun, 15 Dec 2019 13:23:45 GMT

@eltoch. This is NOT a solution. Your solution refers to playing local files which is not the issue. This issue is that Spotify does not stream to "This computer" when trying to play any Spotify track. The error "Spotify can't play this right now...." is displayed.

Re: "Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it

JimboDimbo — Sat, 03 May 2025 09:32:54 GMT

Fixed! (for me at least).

I reset my default device sound setting back to below 192000 Hz (Control Panel -> Sound -> Playback tab -> Properties -> Advanced tab) and Spotify sprang back into life! Above 192K Spotify Desktop will not play.

Looks like several things affect Spotify playback, so you may have to search through the forums if you are getting this error.

The App was playing to other devices for me, so that pointed to something specific on my PC (although Roon, Amazon and Web Player all worked).

Re: "Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it

HG71 — Thu, 15 Oct 2020 21:53:33 GMT

Awesome. You just helped another person. Big thanks.

Re: "Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it

Larsen9 — Sun, 22 Nov 2020 13:09:24 GMT

It really was this simple to fix it. I have tried to fix this issue for many hours now and you just saved my day. Thank you so much imbacatz!

Re: "Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it

Alex — Sun, 22 Nov 2020 15:42:19 GMT

Hey there folks,

If you've found a post on the Community helpful and it has resolved your issue, you can mark it as a Solution 🙂

This way other people who come across the thread can find it easier.

Don't hesitate to reach out again if you have questions.

Re: "Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it

Malte2411 — Sun, 14 Mar 2021 02:36:31 GMT

Can confirm this is still an issue. Why can't you use over 192KHz? Doesn't Spotify want to bring out a Hifi Service soon? They better fix this then or nobody is gonna listen

Re: "Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it

Alex — Sun, 14 Mar 2021 08:06:11 GMT

Hey there @Malte2411,

Thanks for reaching out in the Community!

Can you give us a bit more info about your situation. Where do you see the error message and on what devices?

Regarding Hi-Fi, you can check out this Idea Thread for more info.

We'll be on the lookout for your reply.

Cheers.

Re: "Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it

estes278 — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 15:21:12 GMT

Thank you so much! I dropped to 192 kHZ and Spotify came back to life! I was even able to go back up to 384 kHZ and no problems! Could not figure this out until I read your message! Thank you again!

Re: Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it

ControlTheNarra — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 17:46:42 GMT

same issue here...
works on all devices but the pc... also tried everything with no luck

Re: Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it

MafeG — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 18:44:57 GMT

Hi folks,

Thank you for posting on the Community and welcome.

Please follow these steps to clear the Hosts file from your computer and try to play music again. Does it make a difference?

If the issue persists, go to your app's settings and make sure "Hardware Acceleration" is disabled.

Let us know how this goes.

Re: Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it

lukaswil — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 00:07:08 GMT

There was no reference to Spotify in the hosts file and disabling hardware acceleration doesn't fix the issue.