Spotify keeps hanging on queries & links

[bhermans]

Since a few months now, I have the issue that Spotify keeps hanging when I perform a search query or click on links (in search results).

With hanging I mean that when I search, the result page remains blank (or on the results that were there before). And with hanging links I mean that I click the link of a search result / album / artist / etc. and the client just keeps loading without showing anything (new). The app does not totally crash when the problem happens, as music that is playing when I do the querying, keeps on playing.

I am on Spotify Premium.

I use a recent iMac, MacOS Catalina (which is fully up-to-date), and the machine has 40gb of memory. I tried multiple clean installs, but the problem keeps occuring. Sometimes there can be sessions of the app without any problems, and then the problem pops up again & won't go away for a while.

Usually restarting the app fixes the problem, but it is still quite annoying.

[Alex]

Hi there @bhermans,

Thanks for reaching out about this in the Community!

This sound like there might be an issue related to the host files on your computer. Try following the next few 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.

Let us know if that helped. If you're still experiencing this app hanging afterwards, try using the Web player and check if it works normally.

We'll be on the lookout for your reply.

Cheers.

[bhermans]

My current hosts file is the default MacOS hosts file. It does not contain any Spotify-related lines.

[Alex]

Hi @bhermans,

Thanks for getting back to us.

Can you let us know if the Web player works as expected on your device? 

We'll be on the lookout for your reply.

[bhermans]

The web player works without any problems. I was just now able to test that, as the app had the problem again, and searching in the web app at the same time with the same query did not show the problem there.

[Alex]

Hi @bhermans,

Thanks for going through this troubleshooting process.

Can you try to Log out everywhere and run another clean reinstall of the app, following the steps from this Spotify answer exactly.

If the issue persists, try logging in with a different account. You can ask a friend/family member to log in with their details on your device or create a new free test account. This will help us determine if the issue is account related.

Keep us posted.

[bhermans]

As I indicated in my original issue text: I have already tried multiple clean installs (using the instructions on the Spotify site). That did not solve the problem.

[Alex]

Hi @bhermans,

Thanks for getting back to us.

Just wanted to make sure you've done the clean reinstall and removed all app data.

Can you let us know if this issue occurs when you're logged in another account as well?

We need to go through all the possibilities in order to determine where the issue is coming from.

Keep us posted.

[bhermans]

Logging into a different account does not solve the problem.

[Alex]

Hi there @bhermans,

Thanks for getting back to us.

Can you try switching off Hardware Acceleration from the Setting menu in the app?

Another thig you can give a shot is to upgrade your OS to the newest one Big Sur.

Keep us posted on how you get on with this.

Cheers.

[bhermans]

I tried using Spotify with hardware acceleration turned off, but the problem remains. Upgrading to Big Sur just to get Spotify is not a workable 'fix' for me. And since I am already on Catalina (which in major ways is almost identical to Big Sur), it is unlikely that upgrading will fix the Spotify problem.

[Ver]

Hey @bhermans,

Thanks for keeping us posted 🙂

It's a good idea to make sure that your firewall or an antivirus app is not blocking Spotify.

We'd suggest you also try with another connection to check if the issue persists.

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

[bhermans]

I checked both my anti-virus and my firewall, and they do not report any blocks of Spotify.

It also wouldn't explain why Spotify sometimes works and sometimes doesn't, as I do not change or stop/start those 2 programs in between.

[Eni]

Hi there @bhermans,

Thanks for letting us know that.

In this case, we suggest that you restart your PC in Safe mode and reinstall the app again this way following the steps we sent previously. 

If this doesn't make the difference, we recommend trying with a different network, for example creating a hot spot on your phone and using that. 

Let us know how it goes 🙂