Local files won't play without internet macbook

[tjh5w0h-b2_rd]

Plan

Free/Premium

Country: Netherlands

Device

Macbook air 

Operating System

(OS 10

My Question or Issue

Hi!

Since the new update from Spotify, I am not able to play my downloaded songs from my local files anymore in the offline mode. When I download a specific playlist with downloaded songs from my local files in between, only the downloaded Spotify songs will play. I need internet for my local files songs. This was not the case with the previous update! 

As you can see in the attachment, everything is playable but not the local files.

Do you have any idea how I can play my local files offline on my macbook? I have tried the big clean thing, re-downloaded the app, restarted my laptop, literally everything!

 Please help!

[Jeremy]

Hi there @tjh5w0h-b2_rd,

Thank you for reaching out to us here in the Community.

Can you confirm that you followed the steps that's provided in this article? There's some more steps to help thoroughly uninstall the app, so if you haven't, we'd highly suggest it since the steps will make sure there's no old cache files causing this.

Another useful step is to change the source folder of the local files on the pc. The steps are: Uninstall Spotify on both devices > create a new folder somewhere else on the pc and move the local files there > install Spotify again > remove any potential source folders and add the new one > download the playlist again.

Let us know how everything goes 🙂

We'll keep an eye out for your reply.

Cheers!

[sabrinacampx]

tried that. did nothing. 

[CarlosE]

Hey @sabrinacampx,

Thanks for reaching out.

Just to be sure and to avoid repeating anything, did you follow the steps that @Jeremy shared above for both, clean reinstalling the app and changing the source folder?

Can you also let us know if this only happens in the desktop app or if it also happens in the mobile app in case you synced and downloaded your Local files playlist on your phone?

Keep us posted.

[sabrinacampx]

Yes I spent a while doing all the steps and nothing's changed. I really believe it's a result of the new update, as there were no problems before and multiple others are having the same issue. It is only on desktop, my mobile works fine with playing local files offline. 

[Ver]

Hey @sabrinacampx,

Thanks for the info 🙂

Could you try with another account to check if you can play the local files?

If nothing changes, could you share with us the exact Spotify version that is running on your PC?  We'll look into this further.

Keep us in the loop. 

[tjh5w0h-b2_rd]

Hi! It still does not work. I have tried everything. I can play my local files now in the local file document offline, but it does not work when I mix my local files in a playlist with other songs. In that case, only the spotify songs that i have downloaded to be able to play offline work, not the ones that i have downloaded on my device. My spotify

This is the number i find when clicking on "about spotify" 1.1.61.583.gad060c66-a.
My macbook runs on macOS High Sierra version 10.13.6

[Novy]

Hey @tjh5w0h-b2_rd, 

Thanks for keeping us in the loop and sending this info. 

Just to confirm, do you have your Local Files synced to your phone? If so, do they play fine there?

Also, could you let us know exactly which other troubleshooting steps you've tried from what we've suggested? This will help us investigate further.

We'll be on the lookout.

[jasonrdh]

I am also having this same issue. On PC. I noticed it about two months ago. I have local files in my playlists that I use to teach group fitness classes. The "download" option is selected for offline play. If my PC is not connected to wifi, though, they all go dark and are unplayable (which is interesting because they're local files to begin with, and I'm trying to play them from the very PC that they're on.) However, if I have any spotify songs saved in the playlists they will play just fine.

I can, however, go to "My Library" -> "Local Files" and find the songs and play them from there. But my playlists are made for conducting a class, so I can't be walking up to my laptop every single song.

My phone does NOT do this. Any Local Files saved on my phone will work regardless if I'm online or offline. I just can't use my phone to play for classes because it's so hard to control notification sounds (unrelated to spotify). It's only the desktop app that I'm experiencing this unique problem.

[jasonrdh]

Novy, I uploaded a video showing the problem. I discovered that if the music is already playing, it'll continue to play if you disconnect. It's very interesting/weird. Please watch!

https://youtu.be/HHo9ABVxZiw 

[Jeremy]

Hi there @jasonrdh,

Thank you for your reply in this thread and for the video. It was really helpful 🙂

Can you let us know what troubleshooting steps you've taken so far that's been provided in the thread so that we don't repeat ourselfs.

We'll keep an eye out for your reply.

Take care!

[jasonrdh]

Hello. This problem is still ongoing. I have tried uninstalling from my laptop (and phone, but my phone unrelated to this issue) and changes source folders. I can't double click files to play while in offline mode or not connected to WiFI regardless that they're offline files. But this only applies to double clicking the file while it's in a playlist. You can still go to your local files folder and play them. In fact, if you're playing them in a playlist and you disconnect, it will keep playing and allow you to switch forward and back between tracks. You can even add it to queue and play it that way. But Spotify is identifying offline files within a playlist as none offline files regardless if the download function is turned on. Currently my work-around is putting a normal Spotify song at the top of any playlist that is only for offline files, and that way I can play the first song and then press the "next" button to start my playlist going.

[robthorn4]

Plan: Premium

Country: USA

Device

Macbook Pro

Operating System

(Monterey OS 12.2.1)

I have the same problem.  I'm using the Spotify desktop app version Spotify for macOS (Intel) 1.1.80.699.gc3dac750.  I'm experiencing the same symptoms as above and have tried the same troubleshooting steps.

[CarlosE]

Hey folks,

Thanks for reaching out to the Community. 

@robthorn4, could you tell us the exact troubleshooting steps you've tried so far? Also, tell us if this happens when having the Offline Mode on.

Keep us posted.

[micheleorti]

Same issue here (Spotify for Mac, Monterey).

All my local files are greyed out in every playlist when offline.

And I cannot access to my local files folder in the homepage, so there is no way to play them at all.

Please fix this, it's very annoying to be locked out from files that are actually in my Mac.

[OscarDC]

Hey @micheleorti,

Thank you for reaching out to the Community and welcome.

We understand where you're coming from. However, to keep investigating your case, could you include in your next response the troubleshooting steps you've tried so far? This will give us a better look at your particular issue to keep helping you further.

We'll be on the lookout. 

[micheleorti]

I followed all the troubleshoooting steps, like everyone else complaining in this thread:

- Logout, login

- Delete the app (cleaning all the prefs files, too) and installing it again

- Changing the local file folder location, and name

I still cannot play local files, they're all greyed out in the playlists.

[Kiril]

Hey @micheleorti,

Thanks for your prompt reply.

We've taken a look and we found a thread here, where folks seem to experience the same issue. Good news is that the right teams are already informed about this. A fix should be included in future releases of the app, so we recommend keeping it always up to date. 

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