Local files transferred from PC now unplayable (older ones still working?!)

[dangreen350z]

Plan: Premium

Country: UK

Device: Samsung S21 (syncing with Windows 10 PC)

Operating System: Android 11 (syncing to Windows 10 PC) 

My Question or Issue:

After syncing/downloading local tracks (from a desktop PC to phone via WiFi) to either a playlist or Liked Songs the tracks become unplayable with the listing greyed out and the green tick disappears.

They work fine at first (when on WiFi and with the desktop on the same network) but once I've taken the phone out and it's either offline or just connected to just mobile data the tracks become unplayable. (see images of just after syncing vs. later on using mobile data).

The local tracks will play on the phone when on WiFi and with the desktop on the same network (sometimes they still appear greyed out and/or pop up with the "can't play this right now" message but will still play after pressing them again). The main issue is when they become later completely unplayable.

Weirdly tracks that I synced months/years ago appear to be unaffected. It's only new tracks I'm trying to add now and those within the last couple of months or so.

I've tried many suggestions online (none have worked) including:
Toggled explicit songs off and on
Repeating with different/new playlists
Local files off and on
Re-syncing/downloading
Clearing app cache
Reinstalling app and re-syncing
Checking file codecs are all normal

The files do sometimes seem to appear and be playable via the in the local files section in the mobile app. Also, if I go in the file browser on the phone it seems to be constantly the renaming files and also generating copies of the local files with "(2)", "(3)" at the end of the filenames of the duplicates.

If I go local files section in the mobile app and try to add the song from there to a playlist it then will not be playable on the desktop (so the same problem but the other way around).

[buckyboy17]

I'm having the exact same problem. I've tried clearing caches, using different internet modems, uninstalling Spotify on both my PC and Galaxy S9, moving the location of local files but nothing has worked. I have tried to see if I can replicate the issue on a Galaxy XCover 5 and the same thing happens. Not sure if that helps narrow down the problem or not.

[dangreen350z]

I've tried talking to support who suggested clean re-installs of app on both phone and PC, trying same scenario on test account, re-naming + editing filenames and tags. Nothing helped. Probably will have to try downgrading to an older Spotify version for a while. 

[buckyboy17]

Took your advice on using an older version of Spotify and that seems to have done the trick. There must be an update that screws around with how local files are stored on Android. I have noticed that before, local files were not detected as audio files by the Storage Manager until quite recently and were only findable by going into Synced Files of the file explorer on Android.

At least now I know it's something about the app itself, instead of something on my end.

[Maria]

Hey there folks,
 

Thanks for reaching out on the Community!
 

Keep in mind that you'll need to have files available on the device you'd like to listen from, as it's no longer possible to wirelessly sync local files from your PC to your phone. Instead, the files have to be manually imported on the phone in order to be played by Spotify.

Feel free to have a look at this page for more details about the feature.

Hope this clears things up! If anything else appears, we're just a post away.

[JoshuaZX]

Same problem here, Syncing/downloading all files from my PC to Android, everything is working, but as soon I close the app all music dissapears and says "this music is not on the device" even thou it says its downloaded.
Has been like this for weeks, can use any of my music on my Android phone anymore.

Updated the phone
updated the Spotify App
Deleted the Spotify App and reinstalled.
Factory Reset my phone, and installed everything again.
Same thing
OnePlus Nord 2T 5G
Android 14

Cant find any fix for this anywhere 

[JoshuaZX]

This is NOT what the prooblem is, and does NOT solve the issue, instead it makes all your local Android phones audio files into Spotify, and also, if you download a playlist with same tracks, it just adds a (1) (2) (3) to the same tracks all the times it tries to download it, making it saved a copied version EVERYTIME, so having 200 synced files, and syncing them 5 times, makes 1000 files donwloaded, that dissapoears from the playlists and is being added to Local Files, with 1 2 3 4 depending on how many times its downloaded.

[GorbHere]

Thank you for the reply Maria, but my issue isn't about syncing files. The files I use have always been on my phone and I made no changes to them before this problem occurred. For whatever reason, every single local file in my Liked Songs playlist now shows as unavailable and cannot be played manually, yet work just fine if they're the next song in the queue. This is only a problem with the Liked Songs playlist, as any other playlist that uses those same local files will read them just fine. On top of that, none of my local songs can be manually added to the play queue, the option simply isn't there.

I can create a new thread for this issue if it's easier, as this topic seems to be getting a bit derailed now. I appreciate your time.

[Eni]

Hey folks, 

Thanks for your replies. 

@JoshuaZX, just to confirm, have you tried storing the local files on your phone? Also, keep in mind that it's expected behavior that the app shows all the audio files on the device in that folder. On another note, could you send us some screenshots of what you're seeing on your end? You can attach them to your next response by using the Insert image option in the post editor. Make sure not to send any private info.

@GorbHere, since the issue you're experiencing is a bit different from the one the other users are reporting in this thread, we suggest that you create a new thread with as much info as you can provide about it and we'll be happy to keep assisting you there. 

Cheers! 

[JoshuaZX]

I have found a solution, I got the December 15 2023 Spotify.apk version and now my synced locsl files from PC stays on the Android phone even after disconnecting from the WiFi and going completely Offline.


Tried severel newer versions, bit had to go back to December to get it to work.
So the newer versions have bugs.

[dangreen350z]

Hello Maria. My issues have been with Android app version 8.9.14.543 (and possibly other recent released I haven't been keeping track of) This version still seems to allow for wirelessly sync local files - is this unintended? Ideally I'd prefer this feature doesn't go but just gets fixed so it works as it always used to for years. There doesn't seem to be a way to turn this feature off without turning off downloads for a whole playlist (which I don't want to do as I would still want to keep other files downloaded to play offline). Either way, with local sync or manually transferring files there are issues...

If I use cloud sync by adding a file to a playlist on the PC and let it sync across to the phone via local WiFi then, as I said in my OP, the tracks will play via a playlist fine at first (when on WiFi and with the desktop on the same network) but once I've taken the phone out of the house and it's either offline or just connected to just mobile data the tracks become unplayable (greyed out and the green tick disappears). Also, like @JoshuaZX said, during this process the app seems to endlessly generate copies of the synced files and appends numbers to the filenames the duplicates "...(1)" "...(2)" etc. 

If don't use the wireless sync and instead just manually copy the files to the phone either downloading from personal cloud storage or via USB they do appear and are playable in the local files section of the app... the problem is with adding to playlists. Firstly If I use the phone app to add a local file a playlist it appears on the PC as a separate unplayable/greyed-out copy even if the same file is on the PC and added to the same playlist there.

Secondly I (like others) have thousands of local mp3s and if the cloud sync no longer works how would we add large numbers of them to playlists on a phone? Currently the only way to do it is on the desktop with the cloud sync (as you can select all and add). On mobile you can't "select all" or select multiple files. If I reinstalled the app or moved to a new phone I'd have to do a press and hold then add to playlist thousands of times?

Thanks

[dangreen350z]

Hi Eni, my issues have been with Android app version 8.9.14.543 (and possibly other recent released I haven't been keeping track of). This version still seems to allow for wirelessly sync local files - Maria's response seems to say this might be unintended? Ideally I'd prefer this feature doesn't get removed but just gets fixed (for reasons below). There doesn't seem to be a way to turn this feature off without turning off downloads for a whole playlist (which I don't want to do as I would still want to keep other files downloaded to play offline).

Either way, with local sync or manually transferring files there are issues...

If I use cloud sync by adding a file to a playlist on the PC and let it sync across to the phone via local WiFi then, as I said in my OP, the tracks will play via a playlist fine at first (when on WiFi and with the desktop on the same network) but once I've taken the phone out of the house and it's either offline or just connected to just mobile data the tracks become unplayable (greyed out and the green tick disappears). Also, like @JoshuaZX said, during this process the app seems to endlessly generate copies of the synced files and appends numbers to the filenames the duplicates "...(1)" "...(2)" etc. 

If don't use the wireless sync and instead just manually copy the files to the phone either downloading from personal cloud storage or via USB they do appear and are playable in the local files section of the app... the problem is with adding to playlists. Firstly If I use the phone app to add a local file a playlist it appears on the PC app as a separate unplayable/greyed-out copy even if the same file is on the PC and added to the same playlist there. (and if I start on the PC first add a local file to a playlist it then appears on the phone app as unplayable/greyed-out. So yes the files are playable this way but every file is duplicated in the list which isn't great.

Secondly, I (like others) have thousands of local mp3 files and if the cloud sync no longer works how would we add large numbers of them to playlists on a phone? Currently the only way to do it is on the desktop with the cloud sync (where you can select multiple songs and add). On mobile you can't "select all" or select multiple files. If I wanted to add all my local songs to a new playlist I'd have to press-and-hold then add to playlist thousands of times in a row. 

As listed in my OP, I've tried lots of suggestions from this forum and Spotify support via twitter and none work. The only solution I've found is (like others have said) reverting back to a old version of the app from a few months ago. 

[dangreen350z]

Same. I've been talking to Spotify support on twitter since my OP, but no solution. Only thing that works is reverting to an old APK from months ago.

Also it's going to be so frustrating to use local files in Spotify playlists in future if they remove local WiFI sync and don't add better usability for manual transfers.

I have thousands of local mp3 files and if the cloud sync no longer works how would we add large numbers of them to playlists on a phone? (eg. if reinstalling the app or changing phones). Currently the only way to do it is on the desktop with the cloud sync. On mobile you can't "select all" or select multiple files. At the moment it looks like you'd have to manually select each file and add to a playlist.

[jakebender118]

Is it still working for you? I started using the December 15 2023 version like you said, and am still having the same issue. It's odd, I even have an SD card as the storage location; and no matter what it reverts to storing the local files on the phones internal storage as audio files; after which some of them become unplayable.

[dangreen350z]

Looks like you're replying to JoshuaZX, but I'm using a different older apk version: 8.7.48.1062 (dated Jul 19, 2022). It's still working for me since making this thread. You must disable app updates from the Google play store, otherwise it will auto update to a newer version. I haven't tried any of the newer updates from recent months no so idea on a fix. 

[preyexe]

---

@Maria wrote:

Hey there folks,
 

Thanks for reaching out on the Community!
 

Keep in mind that you'll need to have files available on the device you'd like to listen from, as it's no longer possible to wirelessly sync local files from your PC to your phone. Instead, the files have to be manually imported on the phone in order to be played by Spotify.

Feel free to have a look at this page for more details about the feature.

Hope this clears things up! If anything else appears, we're just a post away.

---

But why the extra steps for Android? Cuz it looks like IOS can still sync local files from PC to mobile. This doesn't make sense.