Spotify Connect to control iPhone playback from Mac not working

[Dhaugee]

Plan

Premium

Country

United States

Device

iPhone 12 Pro and MacBook Air

Operating System

iOS 16.2 and Sonoma 14.3.1

My Question or Issue

I can't control playback on my iPhone from my Mac. Whatever song is playing will show up for me on my Spotify desktop but if I try to pause, skip, or queue, the bottom bar grays itself out with the message "Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it." Then, the moment I interact with Spotify on my iPhone, the song pops back up on my Mac. Oftentimes, my iPhone won't show up under devices either. Every once in a while, some combination of quitting and reopening Spotify on my Mac and/or iPhone will seemingly allow for controlling playback from my laptop, but this never lasts. I've tried a clean reinstall of Spotify on my Mac, but this issue has persisted for months, and it's as annoying as ever!

Spotify after I try to pause a song playing on my iPhone

[Dessi]

Hi there @Dhaugee,

Thanks for reaching out!

Are the songs you're trying to play local files? If that's the case, can you make sure you've followed the steps in this article?

There's also an article specifically for this error message with some useful information and troubleshooting tips, so make sure to check it out here. Make sure that you don't have a VPN on as well. 

Keep us posted.

[Dhaugee]

Hey Dessi!

Thanks a bunch for the resources. Unfortunately, none of the tips seemed to do the trick: logging out -> restarting my Mac -> logging back in, checking my host file and output device, and finally, performing another clean reinstall. I also am not using a VPN. Any other help would be much appreciated!

[Dessi]

Hey @Dhaugee,

Thanks for testing!

It's possible that some network setting might be causing this, so as a first step I recommend flushing DNS:

• Open the terminal by using Spotlight Search or by pressing Command + Space and then type Terminal. 
• Double-click the application icon for Terminal to open it. 
• Type in “sudo dscacheutil -flushcache;sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder” without quotes 
• Enter your Mac’s password
• Press Enter to complete

Another thing you can try is starting a hotspot on your phone and connecting your Mac to it to see if a different network connection makes a difference. It's also worth checking if there are any pending app updates on your phone. 

Is your phone connected to an external device by any chance (via Bluetooth, for example)? If yes, try disconnecting it to make sure that your phone is only connected to your Mac via Spotify Connect.

We'll be on the lookout for your reply.