Search etc not working

[eschneebs]

Hello,

I’m running the Desktop app on my MacBook pro which is running MacOS Mojave 10.14.6. I have a paid premium account. Everything was working fine until a few days ago when the app seemed to update.

I am unable to search. I can type in the search bar but no suggestions come up and hitting return/enter does nothing.

My home page is inaccessible. When I try to access it I I get the three dots and then the message: “couldn’t find that page Search for something else?”

I can access ‘your Library’ and play tracks from the playlists in there however if I click on an artists etc. I get the same message: “couldn’t find that page Search for something else?”

Also I can make a new playlist but I cannot name it.

I have deleted the app and the cache etc. and reinstalled as per the recommendations from Spotify several times but it has not helped. Signing out and back in has not helped. Restarting my MacBook has not helped. My internet connection is fine. The app is working fine on my iPhone. I am able to search for a track on my iPhone and have it play through the MacBook speakers.

What can I do to fix this? If the problem is my out of date OS can I revert to an older version of the app? I am unable to update my OS at this time.

This is very annoying. Any help will be very appreciated.

Thank you for you time and assistance.

[Jeremy]

Hi there @eschneebs,

Thank you for reaching out to us here in the Community. We're happy to help.

Can you confirm if you performed these steps when you reinstalled the app? This is different from a quick reinstall and could be helpful to get rid of any cached files that might be causing trouble.

If that doesn't do the trick - can you log in with another account on the device - such as a friend's or a family member's to see if the issue persist?

We'll keep an eye out for your reply.

Take care!

[eschneebs]

Hello.

Thank you for your reply. I apologize for my delayed response. Last week I was sick and then I moved.

I did the steps you linked to again. They are what I did multiple times before and doing them again still did not fix the problem.

I do not know anyone with an account who is able to login on my device.

Please help.

[Jeremy]

Hi there @eschneebs,

Thank you for your reply and confirmation.

Can you create a new free account just so that we can make sure the issue isn't account related?

We'll keep an eye out for your reply.

Take care!

[eschneebs]

Hi. I logged out, made a new account and signed in with it. The new account has the exact same problems. What next? Please help.

[Mihail]

Hey @eschneebs,

Thanks for keeping us in the loop.

In this case we'd recommend that check your host files for Spotify entries and remove any you find.. Even though it was written for another topic, this page has instructions on how to do this. 

If that doesn't fix things, could you include a couple of screenshots of the app sections you described in your first post? Seeing how things appear at your end would allow us to get to the bottom of this quicker.

Keep us posted. We’ll keep an eye out for your reply.

[eschneebs]

OK

I followed the steps but didn't find any Spotify host files. 

The text file simply read:

##
# Host Database
#
# localhost is used to configure the loopback interface
# when the system is booting. Do not change this entry.
##
127.0.0.1 localhost
255.255.255.255 broadcasthost
::1 localhost
fe80::1%lo0 localhost

Attached are three screen shots. One is my home page. One is my blank search page. One is what happens after I try to name a playlist (the save button goes grey and nothing else happens).

Thank you for your help

[Novy]

Hi @eschneebs, 

Thanks for your reply. 

Just to confirm, is the same thing happening when you use the web player?

If possible, could you give it a try using a different computer to see if you notice the same behavior?

Let us know how it goes. 

[LeopoldoP]

I have the same issue and found why it happens. It is the Ethernet connection. On my Macbook Pro 2017, if I am using Ethernet (with or without Wi-Fi at the same time, it doesn't matter), Spotify Mac app doesn't load home, search, library, album or artist pages. Only playlists. But playing songs works. Just as @eschneebs  described and shown in screenshots.

But if I disconnect my Ethernet adapter and use my Wi-Fi connection, then everything works.

Obviously, this didn't happen in the previous app design and web player works in Safari. It started doing this last week or so.

Using a clean Spotify install with 1.1.57.443.ga029a6c4-a, Premium account, macOS Big Sur 11.2.3 (20D91).

[eschneebs]

Hi

The webplayer wont open on my macbook. I just get a blank black page.

My account seems to work just fine on other macbooks.

Interesting thing is tho, my app is working some of the time now. I can access my home page, the search works, I can play audio. About half the time anyway but the rest of the time the same problem remains. Even when it's working tho I can't see podcast episodes on a podcast page and also I frequently have to restart the app because audio wont play.

[eschneebs]

Thanks for the advice LeopoldoP. I've been on wifi the whole time though.

[Eni]

Hey there @eschneebs, 

Thanks for getting back in touch and letting us know that. 

Would you mind restarting your PC in Safe mode and check if the issue persists? If so, we suggest that you run a clean reinstall of the app again, but this time in Safe mode. 

If this doesn't do the trick, could you let us know the exact Spotify version of your device?

We'll be on the lookout.  

[eschneebs]

Reinstall in Safe Mode did not help.

Version is 1.1.58.820.g2ae50076-a

Anything else to try?

[Alex]

Hey @eschneebs,

Thanks for the reply.

Just to rule out all possible causes, can you try logging in with a different account. This way we'll know for certain that your account is or is not causing the issue.

You can also try to connect your laptop to a mobile hotspot from your phone. This way we can check if the issue if network related. 

Some routers or Firewall/ System management software on the computer can block certain networking protocols which are essential for the normal functioning of the app.

Let us know how you get on with this.

[eschneebs]

Hi Alex

The problem remains on different networks and with different accounts.

How do I go about trouble shooting Firewall/ System management software causes?

[Novy]

Hi @eschneebs, 

Thanks for the reply. 

You can contact the network manager to check if your firewall is blocking Spotify in any way.

If you're using an antivirus, we'd also recommend making sure that Spotify has no restrictions. 

Let us know how it goes.

[Mudderkage]

Ehernet has a higher priority than Wi-Fi.
Apparently something on LeopoldoPs cabled network and on eschneebss WiFi are blocking some traffic.

My question is:
Why doesn't Spotify support just tell exactly which protocols are required by the Mac and Windows desktop apps?
If the blocking device is not a local software firewall, you have to specify which UDP or TCP ports should be allowed. 

[Alex]

Hey there @Mudderkage,

Spotify are unable to provide a range of IP addresses and used ports, as these can change at any time. In order for Spotify to offer the best performance and availability, they need to be fully flexible in how they design their networks.

As community moderators we don't have access to such information.

Don't hesitate to reach out again if you have questions.

[alejandrozarate]

Hello @eschneebs

I was having the same problem during a few days. The computer I use is remotely managed, so I don't have administrator privileges to really try all the recommendations. HOWEVER, I finally found something that did the trick: I set the IPv6 for WiFi off, restarted the WiFi connection and voila! Spotify search and home pages (within the app) are working fine again. (Running on macOS 12.4) I hope it helps, gang! 😁