Spotify app won't play songs I search for

[wanstronian]

Spotify Free, latest version, on Android 10.

I search for a song - say "what a wonderful world."

Spotify searches for and retrieves the song.

But won't play it.

Instead I get a "Shuffle Play" which, when clicked, plays a completely different song.

I get a message, "How can I play this song?" which, when clicked, tells me I have to get premium.

Is that right? Spotify free won't actually play a song I want to listen to anymore?

What's the point of that?

[Mihail]

Hey @wanstronian,

Thanks posting here in the Community! We'll gladly shed some light on the situation.

Note that If you’re using the free service, you can listen to any playlist via shuffle, or select any track on playlists without the Shuffle icon. When you search for a song with free, you're only able to start a radio based on that song with the Shuffle Play button. You can also add the song to one of your personal playlists. 
 

Hope you find this useful. Keep us posted if you have any questions.

[Rob1979]

Hi I have a similar issue using Spotify Premium. I search for a song in my liked songs and songs come up in a list. I cannot click on any of the songs to play them though. There is a shuffle play box but it is also inactive. Any help? Thanks

[Ivan]

Hey @Rob1979, 

Help’s here!
 

Start off by running a clean reinstall of the app on your device. This will get you the latest app version with all necessary updates. 

Make sure you also disable any power saving or data cleaning settings on your mobile device. Alternatively, you can try authorizing Spotify to run without restrictions despite the mentioned settings being enabled. Make sure you try this since such features can often prevent the app from operating at full capacity.

Let us know how you get on! We'll be here in case you need any further help with this. 

[sargasso]

Hi This is an old thread but I have the same problem with premium, I can play songs from the home page etc. but if I search for a song it frequently won't play. I have reinstalled on Windows 10 and it's just the same.

[Alex]

Hi there @sargasso,

Thanks for the post.

Can you let us know if the song appears grayed out or if the app gives out some kind of an error message?

It would be great if you add a screenshot to your reply. This will help us investigate why this might be happening.

Cheers.

[kubasienki]

It's not working for me - no error message, not fixed after a clean reinstall

[Yordan]

Hi @kubasienki!

Are you also able to see the contents inside your playlists? If not, there's this ongoing issue we're currently investigating, so feel free to check it out and submit the requested info. We'll post updates there as soon as we have any news to share.

In any case, a short screen recording which shows this behavior in action would be greatly appreciated. That way we can get a clear understanding of what's happening on your end.

Cheers!

[Ironmad]

This *bleep* right here is why people start pirate music again. Spotify was perfect some 10 years ago. Simple and played anything you wanted with one click. 

[aidan_given]

I’m have the same problem I search a song on my playlist and I try to tap it but nothing happens I can stilll play songs without searching but it’s really annoying because I have a large playlists

[Dian]

Hey there,

Thanks for posting in the Community.

The described behavior is being investigated in this ongoing issue thread. We suggest you to have a look at it and post your details and questions there. We'll keep the thread updated as we receive updates.

Hope this helps,

Cheers!