topic Re: Some local files don't play anymore in Your Library

Some local files don't play anymore

bikiniweekend — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 19:42:50 GMT

Plan

Premium

Country

Spain

Device

Operating System

Windows 11

My Question or Issue

Some local files (mp3) don't play anymore. they are some specific files that have been working for years, and suddenly, there's no way to play them anymore. It is not a format issue because I encoded them again with different tools and they don't work.

I tried to removed and add them again to the library. I tried to remove any file property that could cause the issue. Nothing works.

What's happening to your software?

Re: Some local files don't play anymore

Eni — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 23:32:59 GMT

hey there @bikiniweekend,

Thanks for getting in touch about this here in the Community.

Could you let us know if you're getting any error messages when trying to listen to those specific local files? If so, make sure to send us a screenshot of it so we can take a closer look. You can attach it to your next response by using the Insert image option in the post editor. Make sure not to send any private info.

On another note, could you let us know if this happens across devices with the same local files or does it only happen on your PC? We'd also recommend following these steps to see if they work for you.

Let us know how it goes.

Re: Some local files don't play anymore

bikiniweekend — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 20:53:49 GMT

Hi, thanks for the quick answer.

The error message is: "This content is not available"

This only happens in PC.

I have the same song in my android mobile and it plays fine.

In the first screenshot you can see the song above can be played without problem.

The song below is in grey and cannot be played (despite the player recognize its duration).

In the second screenshot you can see the song in my local files (and a second version re-encoded that neighter plays).

Re: Some local files don't play anymore

bikiniweekend — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 21:06:48 GMT

I added the same song again from the local files because I noticed the title is not correct and it keeps being unplayable.

Re: Some local files don't play anymore

Eni — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 23:50:29 GMT

Hey @bikiniweekend,

Thanks for your reply!

We noticed in the screenshot that the local files you're having issues with includes video. Keep in mind that local files should only work with audio. In this case, make sure that you're only using audio formats like MP3 or M4A on your PC to see if it makes the difference.

If the issue persists with those formats too, it's well worth running a clean reinstall of the app to get rid of any cached files that might be causing trouble.

However, if none of the above makes any difference, try creating a copy of the playlist you're having issues with by tapping the three dots > Add to other playlist > New playlist. Then, check if you can add the local files to it.

We'll be on the lookout for your reply.

Re: Some local files don't play anymore

bikiniweekend — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 18:14:40 GMT

Hello,

The file is a youtube video converted to MP3 (as I do with many ofher tracks).

I've done a clean reinstall and I still can't play the song.

But! the first attempt to play it, I got the screenshot message:

"The content cannot be played because you have enabled the exclusive mode. Disable it from the settings to play the track"

I don't find anything about exclusive mode in the settings.

After the first attempt, I don't get that message anymore and I keep getting the ones from previous screenshots.

Re: Some local files don't play anymore

bikiniweekend — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 18:58:38 GMT

Ok, I found where the exclusive mode is, and it wasn't enabled.

That's not the problem, the exclusive mode is disabled, but for some reason spotify thinks it cannot reproduce that track because the exclusive mode is enabled.

Re: Some local files don't play anymore

Eni — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 21:58:38 GMT

Hey @bikiniweekend,

Thanks for getting back to us.

Just to confirm, have you tried creating a copy of the playlist and adding the local files to it?

On another note, could try activating Exclusive mode > logging out > logging back in > deactivating Exclusive mode, then logging out > logging back in again and checking if the same happens?

Keep us posted on how it goes.

Re: Some local files don't play anymore

bikiniweekend — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 22:20:05 GMT

Wow, there have been some issues there.

- If the exclusive mode is disabled, I cannot play the track. If I try to logout with the exclusive mode disabled, spotify crashes. Then I have to shut off the app from the task manager and open it again.

- If I enable the exclusive mode, I can play the track, and I can logout and login without problems.

Re: Some local files don't play anymore

bikiniweekend — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 22:01:06 GMT

Bear in mind that spotify shows the warning that I can't play the track if the exclusive mode is enabled (when it is actually disabled).

And the reality is the track can be only played with exclusive mode enabled 😅

This is happening with some concrete files.

Other local files encoded in the same way can be played with or without exclusive mode.

Re: Some local files don't play anymore

bikiniweekend — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 18:11:20 GMT

Hello. Are you still looking into this issue?

Re: Some local files don't play anymore

Dessi — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 08:34:53 GMT

Hey @bikiniweekend,

Sorry for the radio silence, we'll do our best to help you get to the bottom of this!

The local files you're having issues with seem to have something in common if this only affects them, so we wanted to check what tools you used to convert them from a video to mp3? Have you tried converting them again (mp3 to mp3) to see if that makes a difference? Something else that's worth the shot is changing the output in the app to System default and ensuring your PC's drivers are up-to-date.

Let us know how it goes.

Re: Some local files don't play anymore

bikiniweekend — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 20:52:03 GMT

The file that currently doesn't play, worked for years until some recent update.

I tested to convert different files witht he same tool and some of them work, others don't.

Would it help if I send you the .mp3 file that doesn't work?

Maybe the dev team can find the reason.

I attached a .zip file with the .mp3 inside.

Re: Some local files don't play anymore

Vasil — Sat, 18 Apr 2026 12:31:04 GMT

Thanks for sharing the song, @bikiniweekend. The relevant team will investigate further.

In the meantime, we noticed that the file you sent has the fairly low bitrate of 99 kbps. Do the other songs that are unplayable share the same characteristic? I'm not sure which tool you've used to convert the file, but it's worth using another like @Dessi has suggested above to see if that would make a difference.

Keep us posted on how things go & we'll do the same! 🙂

Re: Some local files don't play anymore

bikiniweekend — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 20:50:33 GMT

I use Free Youtube to MP3 Converter, from DVDVideoSoft, to convert youtube videos.

They all worked. Now some of them don't work.

After the issue, I used some online tool to re-convert the broken songs, but it didn't work.

I don't have a clue of what's the problem. I know spotify recognize the song length.

And enabling exclusive mode, the song can be reproduced (which is contradictory to the dialog I get when when exclusive mode is disabled).

Re: Some local files don't play anymore

bikiniweekend — Sat, 18 Apr 2026 05:47:35 GMT

For example, this song has been converted with the same tool (although it is a newer version), and it works.

Re: Some local files don't play anymore

Dessi — Sun, 19 Apr 2026 08:48:05 GMT

Hey @bikiniweekend,

Thanks for the additional info and sorry for the delay!

We've reported this to the respective team, so they can have a look and investigate further. We'll let you know as soon as we hear back from them and have any info to share!

The Community is always here in case you need any help.