Problem with some local files

[ChrisAhlund]

Plan

Premium

Country

Sweden

Device

Samsung Galaxy S21

Operating System

Android 13

My Question or Issue

Hi! Some of my local files are greyed out and there is an exclamation mark besides them. If I click on these songs they start to play but the playlist always skips these songs if I press "next" and they're next in line. If I remove them and add them back they work as expected for some time again, and then the issue reapers. It's not the same local files all the time and I have removed cache and reinstalled the app without any luck. Please help!

[Prague]

Barking good to see you ChrisAhlund!
Looks like there's an issue with some of your local files in the Spotify app on your Samsung Galaxy S21 running Android 13. Here are a few troubleshooting steps you can try to resolve the problem:

• Verify file format and location: Ensure that the local files causing the issue are in a supported audio format (e.g., MP3, M4A) and stored in a location that the Spotify app has access to. You can check the file format and move the files to a different folder if necessary.

• Check file permissions: Make sure the files have the appropriate permissions for the Spotify app to access them. On your device, go to Settings > Apps > Spotify > Permissions, and ensure that the necessary permissions, such as Storage or Media, are granted to the app.

• Refresh local files: In the Spotify desktop app on your computer, go to Settings > Local Files and toggle off/on "Show Local Files." This action refreshes the local files in your library and can help resolve any syncing issues.

• Disable battery optimization: Battery optimization settings on your device can sometimes interfere with the app's ability to access local files consistently. Go to Settings > Battery > Battery optimization, find Spotify in the list, and set it to "Don't optimize" or "Optimize for performance" to prevent any restrictions.

• Check the SD card (if applicable): If your local files are stored on an SD card, ensure that the card is properly inserted, not corrupted, and functioning correctly. Try removing and reinserting the SD card or using a different card to see if the issue persists.

Give me a howl if you still are loosing songs,

-Prague the Dog

[ChrisAhlund]

The problem could be the battery optimization. If the phone ask me to optimize the battery I always click "yes". So I won't do that for a while and see if it helps. Thanks!

[ChrisAhlund]

I'm sorry to say but it didn't work. Any other ideas?

[MihailY]

Hey @ChrisAhlund,

We're afraid that simply not clicking Yes on those prompts won't be enough to ensure that the app's cache is not being corrupted. Please clean reinstall the app, check your phone's settings and make sure that Spotify is set as an exception in those battery- and memory-optimizing services. If needed, please reach out to Samsung support for further steps on how to do this.

We hope this helps.

[ChrisAhlund]

I have tried every suggestions you have given me now but this still happens. Can you check if there is some update fix or something on this issue?

[Joan]

Hi @ChrisAhlund,

Thanks for the reply. Have you contacted the Samsung support team? If so, what did they tell you? If not, could you please do so, as this would help us rule out a device-specific issue.

Keep us posted.

[ChrisAhlund]

Hi, and sorry for the late response. They said that I could try to delete app data and reinstall the app (which I have already done). Otherwise they told me to reach out to you since they don't have third-party support.

[OscarDC]

Hey @ChrisAhlund,

Thank you for keeping in contact and for the info shared.

To continue with the troubleshooting process, as this could be file related, we'd recommend deleting the audio file from your device and downloading it again from a different source to see if it makes any difference. You can find more info on how to add the files to your device in this article.

Also, in order to check if the battery optimization could be affecting the proper behavior of the app, we'd recommend checking this article, and follow the instructions under the title: To prevent certain apps from going to sleep or deep sleep, follow the instructions below.

Hope this helps. Let us know how it goes. 

[ChrisAhlund]

Hi! I found this thread with other pople with the same issue on different devices from over two years ago to today: https://community.spotify.com/t5/Android/Local-files-on-my-android-greyed-out-and-skipped-in-playlis... And I found more people outside the Spotify community in other forums with this issue. Could you guys at least check with someone if there could be a bug with the app?

[Jasonro]

This is still an issue.