Firewall Blocking Spotify Error Code auth:16

[mattyg88]

Plan

Free/Premium

Country

United States

Device

MacBook Pro, Mid 2012

Operating System

macOS Mojave

My Question or Issue

As I've seen many people posting about here, I too seem to have fallen to the "firewall may be blocking Spotify" problem that many others are having.

I started off by deleting the app, clearing all cache and other Spotify files in Library, restarted, then tried to do a fresh install from Spotify's website. From there, I continuously got a "Download Failed" followed by an "Installation Failed" message. After searching through the forums, someone else posted a .dmg file that could be downloaded, and that at least worked to get the app reinstalled.

From the fresh install, I got the same firewall auth:16 message again. I then tried changing the Firewall settings to no avail, tried changing the "host" file to no avail. I have restarted and reinstalled at least six times.

Anybody from Spotify actually going to help us out with this? I have been a Premium member for years and this is making me want to cancel because you clearly don't care about customer service. 

[evgorlo]

Hi. I fixed it in several steps
1. Delete spotify

2. Go to Clean my Mac and uninstall everything related to Spotify (use search)

3. Start smart cleaning

4. Make sure there is no folders left in ~/Library/Caches ("com.spotify.installer" and "com.spotify.client" folders)

5. Restart your mac

6. Install Spotify 

7. Go to the 'update proxy' settings
8. Choose 'No Proxy' from the dropdown in the top right corner
9. Click 'Update Proxy' — Back To Login — Restart the application
10. Now you can try to log in to your account)

[Ferret0332]

Plan

Premium 

Device

Macbook Pro, 2017

Operating System

MacOS Monterey

My Question or Issue

I have been experiencing all sorts of sudden problems with Spotfiy on the desktop app on my computer and the webplayer on firefox, and chrome (not safari funnily enough). Anyway this is specifically about the app, the screenshot below shows what it comes up with when I try to login. I just tried to login after a clean reinstall because of issues within the app. I honestly don't know what to do because Spotify is whitelisted in my firewall section in settings so I don't know what's going on. Any help is appreciated.

[Lyubka]

Hey @Ferret0332,

Thank you for reaching out here in the Community!
 

We appreciate you taking the time to report this but we can't see the screenshot, so we were not able to find the root cause of what you are experiencing. Can you try to attach it again? 

In the meantime, here are a few other things you can try:

• Disable any antivirus or ad-blocking software that might be affecting the app
• Turning off VPN if in use.
• Remove host files. Head here to find out how.
• Try changing your network. For example try with different Wi-Fi network.  In case you don't have another one available, you can start a hotspot and connect to it to test it. 

Let us know how things work out, 

Cheers!

[Ferret0332]

Hey Lyubka, Sorry about that. I've now attached it below, so hopefully this time it works. I have tried all of those things and none have worked.

[Alex]

Hi there @Ferret0332,

This is very strange indeed. 

Can you let us know, if you can recall if those issues started after a recent OS update? Since you've tried a different WiFi network, and that's not the cause it might be some settings which have been updated on your Macbook itself.

On another note you can try this:

1. When you open the Spotify app, click the Setting button on the bottom, underneath the Log in panel.
2.  Go to the 'Update proxy' settings
3.  Choose 'No Proxy' from the dropdown and restart the app.

4. Try logging in again.

Let us know how you get on.

[Ferret0332]

Hey Alex,

Yeah, it is really strange. No, the problems did not start occurring after a recent update. I have done exactly those steps and still to no avail.

[markusgerhard19]

I have the same Problem which appeared our of nowhere, no software changes, updates etc. on a MacBook Pro 2021 running Monterey. No Firewall active. I tried everything that was proposed in this thread over the last 2 years, nothing worked. Please advice, this has already cost me days! Best, Markus

[AlejaR]

Hey @Ferret0332,

Thanks for your reply and for keeping us posted.

We'd recommend to continue by clearing your hosts files with these steps:

1. Open Finder and, in Finder’s menu bar, select Go > Go to Folder. In the box, type the following location: /private/etc/hosts and press return
2. A new Finder window will open and your Mac’s hosts file will be selected. Click and drag it out of the Finder window and drop it on your desktop
3. To open it, simply double-click and it will display the file’s contents in TextEdit
4. Check for any entries with Spotify in the address
5. If you do find any lines with Spotify, please remove them
6. Save your changes and restart Spotify

If your issue persists, would you mind sending us the exact Spotify version you have running?

Keep us in the loop. We'll be here if you have any other questions. 

Cheers!

[Ferret0332]

Hey AlejaR,

I tried this and it is still coming up with the same message as in the screenshot higher up in this thread (see my reply to Lyubka). How do I find out which spotify I am running?

[Vasil]

Hey Mac users,

For anyone encountering this issue, please make sure you've gone through all the steps below.
When posting a reply, let us know what you've already tried out.

Clearing hosts files

We'd recommend starting off by clearing your hosts files with these steps:

1. Open Finder and, in Finder’s menu bar, select Go > Go to Folder. In the box, type the following location: /private/etc/hosts and press return
2. A new Finder window will open and your Mac’s hosts file will be selected. Click and drag it out of the Finder window and drop it on your desktop
3. To open it, simply double-click and it will display the file’s contents in TextEdit 
4. Check for any entries with Spotify in the address
5. If you do find any lines with Spotify, please remove them
6. Save your changes and restart Spotify

Clear your cache

1. Click in the top-right and select Settings.
2. Scroll down and click SHOW ADVANCED SETTINGS.
3. Scroll down to Offline songs storage to see where your cache is stored.
   Tip: Click CHANGE LOCATION to store your cache somewhere else.
4. Go to that folder on your computer.
5. Select and delete all the files in that folder.
   
   

Clean reinstall

If you're still having issues, try these steps.

1. Quit Spotify.
2. Open Finder.
3. Click Go in the menu at the top, then hold the Option / Alt key ⌥ and select Library.
4. Open Caches and delete the com.spotify.client and com.spotify.client.helper folders.
5. Click the back arrow.
6. Open Application Support and delete the Spotify folder.
7. Restart your device.
8. Download and install Spotify.
   
   

Update proxy settings

1. Go to the 'update proxy' settings
2. Choose 'No Proxy' from the dropdown in the top right corner
3. Click 'Update Proxy' on the left, otherwise your change will not be saved!
4. Click 'Back To Login'
5. Restart the app
   

Many thanks! 🙂 

[Vasil]

Hey @markusgerhard19,

Could you please confirm you've tried all of the abovementioned steps?
Any additional details would also be of help.
Much appreciated!

[bthrane]

Hooray! This solution worked for me. Thank you!

Quit Spotify. Open Finder. Click Go in the menu at the top, then hold
the Option / Alt key ⌥ and select Library. Open Caches and delete
the com.spotify.client and com.spotify.client.helper folders. Click the
back arrow. Open Application Support and delete the Spotify folder. Restart
your device. Download <> and install
Spotify. Update proxy settings Go to the 'update proxy' settings Choose 'No
Proxy' from the dropdown in the top right corner Click 'Update Proxy' on
the left, otherwise your change will not be saved! Click 'Back To Login'
Restart the app