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. 

[mattyg88]

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! 🙂 

[Mihail]

Hey @rukletsov,

Thanks for getting back to us.

We appreciate the time you've taken to troubleshoot the issue and sharing the results with us. Could you borrow a friend or family members account and see if the error comes up there as well? You can also create a free one here with a different email. If it works with the other account, it's possible that the issue is account related. You can use the steps here to transfer your music collection to a new one so that nothing gets lost. 

If the problem persists with other accounts on the same device and across different networks, that would indicate that the root cause lies with the device and your specific setup.

Keep is posted.

[rukletsov]

Hi @Mihail,

using another account did not work. However, I contacted support and with their help resolved the issue. Thank you and your colleagues for your help!

For posterity, here is what worked for me:
* 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 application

[Ver]

Hey @rukletsov,

Thanks for keeping us posted 🙂

Glad to hear that everything is running smoothly and you can enjoy your favorite jams again.

If you have questions, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We'll be happy to help.

Stay safe!
 

[Linuvatar]

Thank you for providing this , for me removing the cache files was the solution (didn't even need to remove and reinstall the app, just exited it before removing the cache files then it worked like a charm restarting it afterwards).

[SarahBetsy]

I am having the same problem. I have cleared the hosts and the cache (both were empty anyway). I too am a premium member, so any solution?

[MafeG]

Hi @SarahBetsy,

Thank you for reaching out to the Community!

Could you run a clean reinstall of the app with these steps? After that, make sure to download the app from the Microsoft Store.

If the issue persists after that, please disable your Firewall, restart the app and check if you're able to access again.

Let us know how this goes.

[Snowhouse]

Sorry but ive tried and it didnt work!

[OscarDC]

Hey @Snowhouse,

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

It's possible that your issue needs a deeper cleaning than a regular one. In case you haven't tried, try this steps to remove the Host files from your device:
 

1. Open Notepad as an administrator (right-click - Open as Administrator)
2. Go to File > Open and navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc
3. Choose "All Files" instead of "Text Documents" next to the File Name box. You'll see a handful of files. Pick hosts and click on Open
4. When the file is open, you will see a block of text with # in front of each line and might see entries like 0.0.0.0 website.com127.0.0.1 website2.com
5. Check for any entries with Spotify in the address. Examples may look like: 0.0.0.0 weblb-wg.gslb.spotify.com0.0.0.0
6. If you do find any lines with Spotify, please remove them.
7. Save your changes and restart Spotify

Hope this helps. Let us know how it goes.

[Snowhouse]

I dont have a file named hosts in that directory and yes ive tried reinstalling Spotify!

[Alex]

Hi @Snowhouse,

Thanks for the post.

Sorry to hear that you're having this issue.

Did you try the solution from @rukletsov? Apart from that you can try connecting to a different network.

Let us know how you get on.

[bthrane]

Hello, I have had the same issue and have cleared the cache and checked the host file. I have a Macbook Pro 2021 M1 and I have turned off my firewall as well as tried all of the options listed above. I am still getting the error code "auth 16 " I have done several fresh installs and restarted. Please help!!

[CarlosE]

Hey @bthrane,

Thanks for your reply in this thread 🙂
 

Just to confirm, did you already try the steps recommended by @rukletsov? This could work for you as well.

On another note, did you use a VPN? Keep in mind Spotify doesn't officially support VPN. This means that issues with the app while using a VPN are expected behavior.

Lastly, you might need to check for any local settings on your device that could be blocking the app. In case there's an antivirus software or such that could be restricting access to the app, try whitelisting Spotify. 
 

 We'll keep an eye on your response!

[ulven_]

I have a 2016 macbook pro, running Monterey, Nothing in the hosts file, reinstalled the app, tried to set "no proxy" in the app, no proxy needed in my network, tested at work and at home, firewall disabled and no antivirus client installed.
still red box with the firewall blocking, auth 16.
what do i do?

[rukletsov]

I think it's time for the Spotify eng team to improve on error messages. Error code 'auth: 16' makes me think that more is known about the underlying problem but this information is not exposed. Showing magic numbers to end users is a questionable practice anyway.

[AlejaR]

Hey @ulven_,

Thanks for your reply in this thread and for the info 🙂
 

In this case, just to confirm, are you using any kind of ad-blocker app? If yes, keep in mind it’s worth disabling it, since it could be causing this inconvenience.

Keep us in the loop and don't hesitate to get back to us if you have any other questions.
 

Cheers!

[wambete]

For mac users check the setting of host based firewall app such as hands off or little snitch and ensure that your connections for SPOTIFY  are all ALLOWED 

[alexyen]

Edit (SOLVED): I connected to a different wifi network and for some reason I'm able to log in again. The problem may be related to my ISP. Highly recommend you try this step if you have a similar issue - have never seen auth 16 or any error really after 6+ years of Spotify so this is definitely a rare thing.

Hi AlejaR / Spotify Mods,

I'm now experiencing the auth16 error on my MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019), macOS Monterey: 12.3.1.

This is a newer issue, but I can't recall any changes I might have made locally that would have resulted in this.

In terms of steps, I've tried the following:

1. Set Spotify proxy settings to "No proxy"
2. Restart application
3. Delete Spotify folder in Library/Application Support
4. Delete Spotify cache folders in Library/Caches (.com.spotify.client, .com.spotify.installer)
5. Delete Spotify from Applications Folder
6. Reinstall Spotify
7. Check for Spotify host data in /private/etc/hosts (N/A for Mac, or could not find anything relevant here)
8. Ensure Firewall is turned off in System Preferences/Security and Privacy/Firewall
9. Ensure AdGuard (Safari-only ad-blocker software) is turned off
   1. This should only affect Safari browsing but I disabled it anyways in case - doesn't seem to affect Spotify in the browser when enabled anyway

None of the above seem to work and I'm at a loss. I don't know what else to do. I only experience this on Desktop Mac. Spotify in the browser works totally fine, as does via the mobile app. 

Please help me!

Alex

[alexyen]

RE: above, are there any steps to getting Spotify to work on a 5g wifi connection? I'd been able to connected without issues before but somehow after I factory reset my Mac I'm having issues connecting on this network - curious if there are common steps Mac users can take to resolve. Thanks.

[simonvriesema-nl]

doenst work !

[Vasil]

Hey @simonvriesema-nl,

Could you let us know which of the proposed troubleshooting steps you've already tried and what errors you're encountering while doing them?
This would help us narrow down what we can do next 🙂
Thanks!

P.S. Screenshots are always appreciated!