100% CPU macOS — Latest spotify version

[jeremy-tm]

Plan — Premium

Country — New Zealand

Device — MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)

Operating System — macOS 10.x.x, and 11.1

Spotify Version — 1.1.51.382.g8e3b11ed

My Question or Issue

After Spotify has been open for a couple of minutes, reliably every time, CPU usage jumps to 100%. This was happening on macOS Catalina, and it is still happening after upgrading to macOS Big Sur.

I have uninstalled, and reinstalled from a fresh download to ensure latest version.

I have restarted macOS many times, including upgrading major versions.

I have deleted cache folders, and the Application Support/Spotify folder and restarted the app.

I have disabled all the various features as workarounds suggest, e.g. cross fade, volume normalisation and so on.

Still, I open the app, wait 2 minutes, even if no music is playing, 100%+ CPU

See video: https://d.pr/v/k6J716

[thomasteng]

My guess disabling cross fade, etc doesn't have significant effects. Have you tried to force quit (cmd+Q) and re-open the spotify?

[Alex]

Hi there @jeremy-tm,

Thanks for reaching out about this in the Community!

Can you try to disable/enable the setting Hardware Acceleration in the app and see if that makes a difference.

Keep us posted.

Cheers.

[jeremy-tm]

@Alex, I can't seem to find that setting in normal or advanced settings.

Here is a video of me searching my prefs: https://d.pr/v/r8fGFe

Update: Nevermind, I see, oddly it is in the macos menubar instead of in Preferences.

However, this had made no difference. After approx 2 minutes, CPU usage still increases to ~100%.

[Mihail]

Hey @jeremy-tm,

Thanks for getting back to us.

It's possible that the spike in CPU usage is due to scanning large folders for local files. We recommend that you navigate to Settings > Show song from and remove all sources underneath before deactivating the whole section.

Let us know if that did the trick. We'll keep an eye out for your reply.

[jeremy-tm · Accepted solution]

Thanks @Mihail, I have done various tests and determined that disabling the "My Music" setting under "Show Local Files" has resolved the high CPU issue.

However, I cannot accept this as a solution because it is only a workaround for a bug that still needs fixing. Why can't I show songs from "My Music"?

There are two bugs:

1. Even with Show Local Files OFF, it must still be trying to scan "My Music" because the issue still happens in the state when Show Local Files is OFF, but My Music was ON, just hidden.
2. With "My Music" ON under Show Local Files, wither or not Show Local Files is ON or OFF, CPU usage jumps to 100% after about 2 minutes, and Spotify must be Force Quit

Have these bugs been reported to your engineering team?

[Novy]

Hi @jeremy-tm, 

Thanks for getting back to us. 

We understand where you're coming from and appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback with us. We'll make sure to pass it onto the right team, as we always strive to improve your experience.

If anything else comes up, we're always a message away. 

Cheers!

[jeremy-tm]

@thomasteng thanks for trying to help but if I can offer some feedback for the future, it would be great if you could more thoroughly read the OP before responding. Spotify had clearly been restarted several times in my various fix attempts.

Thanks Spotify for reporting this to your engineering team.

[jeremy-tm]

@Mihail @Novy

I notice this bug still exists. If I have enabled Local Files > My Music, then CPU still flies sky high.

It's been quite a while. Is there an ETA for a fix? 

[Eni]

Hey @jeremy-tm,

Thanks for letting us know that.

You mentioned that you've already reinstalled the app, but would you mind going through the steps of a clean reinstall, as it's more thorough than a normal one?

In case this persists after the clean reinstall, check your hosts file for entries that need to be deleted. Follow the steps described here on how you can do that.  

Keep us posted.  

[jeremy-tm]

@Eni, I did another reinstall, and checked my hosts file. But the issue remains.

As above, the issue was already reported to your engineering team. Is there any update from them? It's been quite a while.

Thanks 🙂 

[CarlosE]

Hey @jeremy-tm,

Thanks for trying and keeping us posted.

We're afraid we don't have any updates to share about this at the moment. In the meantime, we recommend disabling all Local files sources on the app.

If you have any questions or need a hand with anything else, we're always a post away.

Cheers.

[odama626]

I've noticed this happening recently to me as well, uninstalling spotify seemed to resolve the problem

[rdfield]

Three years later and Spotify still uses 100% CPU.