Unable to log in to desktop app on a Mac

[thisisdanwilcox]

Plan

Premium

Country

US

Device

Macbook Pro late 2017

Operating System

OS Sierra Version 10.12.6

My Question or Issue

Every time I try to log in to my desktop app I get an error message: "The username or password is incorrect (Error code: auth:2)"... but this is incorrect because I can log in to my iPhone or on a web browser with the same info.  Have tried the clean reinstall... several times... to no avail.

[thisisdanwilcox]

Hi @juniorcossie,

Thanks for keeping in touch. 

Currently, Spotify is supported on OS X 11.0 or above. We understand the app might've been working before, but we're always launching updates and new versions of the app for each operating system, so it's normal for the app to stop working for older versions at some point. However, you can still use Spotify in devices with supported OS versions. For more info, check out this article.
 

We'll be here in case you have any questions or need help with anything else.

[juniorcossie]

I’m having the same exact issue. Tried reinstalling the app, but no luck. Password is correct and works on all other devices

[Susan_GP]

Hi there folks, 

Thanks for reaching out to the Community and welcome!

This message is usually due to incorrect credentials. We understand you're logged in correctly on different devices, but we still recommend resetting your password here, restarting your device and trying again.

Additionally, if you're trying to log in with your username and password, try writting your email and password or vice versa. 

Lastly, could you open an incognito/private tab and try logging in from this link?

Let us know how that goes.

[juniorcossie]

I can log in on all other devices and browsers, it’s just the app on my imac being the issue. I’m 100% sure username and password is correct. I also changed it to make sure and still not possible on the imac. I’m running 10.11 system and programme. Worked fine until two days ago

edit: on the imac the login through the link works fine, but the web player is glitchy and non functioning. Still getting the same error through the app

[Dessi]

Hey @juniorcossie,

Thanks for the reply!

I know you mentioned reinstalling the app, but can you double-check and make sure you've done a clean reinstall and not a quick one? You can find the steps for both here.

It's also a good idea to check if you need to remove some entries from your hosts file. To do this, follow the steps below:

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 the Spotify app

It'd also be great if you can send us the Spotify version you're running. You can find it by opening Spotify, clicking the Spotify tab on your Mac’s menu bar and then on About Spotify. A pop-up will open with the version number under the Spotify logo. 

Keep us posted.

[juniorcossie]

Hi!

i did a clean reinstall, and i’m running the version that was available for my operative system under downloads. For some reason the about spotify is not accessible when i’m logged in, but it should be the one on the download page for mac 10.11. I will check the host file you mentioned later today, but will that still be there when i did a clean reinstall?

[juniorcossie]

None of the suggestions work at all. Followed every step, done a second clean reinstall with no luck. Are older devices just suddenly being removed from being able to stream with no warning at all?

[Dessi]

Hey @juniorcossie,

Thanks for the reply!

Do you have an additional login method set up for your account, for example Facebook or Google? If yes, can you try logging in this way instead of with email/username and password? 

If that doesn't do the trick, I recommend using the Web Player on your iMac instead of the desktop app, since the OS version you mentioned seems to not be supported anymore. You can find more information here.

Hope this clears things up.

[juniorcossie]

Facebook login doesn’t work either, but thats a completely different error, and the web player won’t work no matter what browser i try. It has all worked perfectly until last week so something must have changed with spotify

[Susan_GP]

Hi @juniorcossie,

Thanks for keeping in touch. 

Currently, Spotify is supported on OS X 11.0 or above. We understand the app might've been working before, but we're always launching updates and new versions of the app for each operating system, so it's normal for the app to stop working for older versions at some point. However, you can still use Spotify in devices with supported OS versions. For more info, check out this article.
 

We'll be here in case you have any questions or need help with anything else.

[grabiie]

Device

iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021)

Operating System

MacOS Monterey

My Question or Issue

Yesterday, my session was logged out, and when I tried to log back in, it said there was an Error Code auth 2. I changed my password, but I still can’t access my account on the desktop app. However, I can log in from the mobile app and the website, but the desktop app keeps giving me an error.

I followed the solution posted by Ivan in 2020, but it didn’t work for me because Spotify is not mentioned in the hosts text. What can I do?

Important note: I haven’t reinstalled the app. I’m still using the same one I downloaded when I bought the computer.

[Maria]

Hey @grabiie,

Thanks for reaching out in this thread!

Could you try resetting the app data to see if you notice any difference? You can do so by clicking the 3 dots in the top corner > Help > troubleshooting > Reset App Data And Restart.

Shouldn't that do the trick, or if the option doesn't appear for you, it would be great if you could try a clean reinstall. This will ensure that you're running the latest app version, as well as clear any stored cache that might be damaged. 

Let us know how you get on!

[Ennio_Styles]

Hi Dan, love the show 😉

I have one workaround that worked for me and another that I haven't tried but might also work.

It seems that most of us affected by this issue are using old versions of MacOS. It also looks like some Windows users have been having similar issues too, maybe with old versions of Windows.

My workaround

Note this requires backup of your Mac's Library folder from when you were logged in.

1. Close the desktop app.

2. Find your backup of Library/Application Support/Spotify. I used Time Machine. If you can't see your Library folder, hold down Option and go to the 'Go' menu in Finder.

3. Replace the folder Library/Application Support/Spotify with the backup. Note, you probably don't need to replace the whole folder, but I don't know which file is the right one that remembers that you are logged in. Anyone that knows, please reply. Please take care as replacing the folder might affect some of your other functionality or preferences in Spotify, but for me, I didn't notice anything that was a bother.

4. Restart the app, and you should be logged in.

5. Don't log out, otherwise you'll have do it all again.

Reddit workaround

This is from u/hallbrand on https://www.reddit.com/r/windows7/comments/1fafnqo/cannot_login_to_spotify_on_windows_7/. I haven't tried it. This might also work with Apple or Google login.

1. Logon to webinterface https://www.spotify.com/

2. User icon > Account

3. Security and privacy > Edit login methods

4. Add Facebook logon details

5. Logon with facebook in the desktop app.

[New user]

I can log in Spotify on my phone and my laptop. In another laptop I have, I can only log in on the Spotify web, but not on the app. I get the error "The username or password is incorrect. (Error code: auth:2)". I've tried several times making sure the password is correct, unsuccessfully. Please help!

[Ennio_Styles]

---

@ wrote:
I can log in Spotify on my phone and my laptop. In another laptop I have, I can only log in on the Spotify web, but not on the app. I get the error "The username or password is incorrect. (Error code: auth:2)". I've tried several times making sure the password is correct, unsuccessfully. Please help!

---

Which of the suggestions above have you already tried, and what happened? 

[Periderm]

 I am also having the same issue Mac OS 12.x.x,  auth error 2. fresh install, reset password, can login on other devices.

The username or password is incorrect. (Error code: auth:2)

I don't expect any help other than people telling me it is my fault (it isn't) but I wanted to pipe up so that when other people land here from search engines they can see that it is still happening for people.  All of the suggestions above that have been suggested have been tried. None work, no desktop for me.

[Periderm]

If it helps anyone. my workaround was to login with an apple account and use oauth2 rather than the username password thing. If I had to hazard a guess for the developers, I'd suspect between the older hardware (I use a 2015 macbook pro) and newer codebases and various libraries that something was just silently erroring. No idea what, but that's my suspicion. 

[thegriceisright]

My fix was as follows...

Move application icon to the trash from applications

Open a terminal and delete the library folder (~/Library/Application\ Support/Spotify)

Redownload the app from spotify.com

Run the installer

It then opened a browser window (?) to ask me to log in, rather than the window you get in the app.  I logged in, it said you may now close this window and going back to the app, it logged in by itself and started working.

Given that my password was changed following 'suspicious activity', I wonder if I was logged out of the app, and then for some reason this newer browser based login method wasnt offered and it kept bombing out with auth:2.

Note it worked everywhere else including web player, other laptop, etc.

[eric420]

it only works through google sign in now for some reason

[New user]

I have reset my password, and have tried using both the email associated with the account, as well as the username. I am logged in on my phone app with no issues, but the same login info does not allow me to login on my computer, I keep getting the error message "The username or password is incorrect (Error code: auth:2)"