Why is there sometimes no sound but the song is playing?

[cindy_lin]

I am using the Spotify application on my Macbook Pro. The app is always open while I am doing other things and when I want to play my music sometimes there is no sound playing (only on Spotify, sound from Youtube or anything else works fine) but the time bar at the bottom is still moving. Also sometimes when this happens a blue banner appears at the top saying "unable to play current song" or something similar to that but this does not appear every time. 

To fix this I have to restart the Spotify application (exiting the app and opening it up again). When I do this the music works again but still, sometimes I will get this problem again and it is very annoying having to restart my Spotify every time. 

It is not my earphones, my volume is not on mute and I have tried reinstalling Spotify but I still have this problem.

[Loxer]

Hi there!

I know it sounds simple, but it's often overlooked. Could you try restarting your device? If that doesn't help, try a quick clean reinstall of the app. Just follow these steps.

Could you also try using Sign Out Everywhere ans Remove Offline Devices from your Spotify account page ?

If you're still having trouble, could you let me know the exact version of Spotify and the exact version of the operating system you're running?

I'll see what I can suggest next!

[cindy_lin]

Hi,

I have tried everything you have suggested but I am still have this problem.

I am using version MacOS Catalina 10.15.1 and Spotify version 1.1.19.480.g7d17e3ce

[mdelag]

I have the same issue!!!! drives me crazy, every time you need to close the application and open again.

Catalina 10.15.4 (19E266)
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)

[GitGal]

I also have this problem and it happens every time I unplug, plugin my power adapter while playing music on my laptop.

Sometimes it start again after a while but sometimes I need to restart Spotify.

[Alex]

Hi @GitGal,

Thanks for reaching out about this in the Community!

Can you tell us if this only happens when you plug/unplug the power or also at random when you're listening to music.

Also, let us know the model and OS version of your device and Spotify version you're running.

Thanks.

[GitGal]

Hello @Alex,

I'm running 10.15.7 I have not updated to Big Sur yet as it is company computer and IT is investigating security issues.

MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
Processor: 2,5 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7
Memory: 16 GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3
Graphics: Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 1536 MB

Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro14,1
Processor Name: Dual-Core Intel Core i7
Processor Speed: 2,5 GHz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 2
L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB
L3 Cache: 4 MB
Hyper-Threading Technology: Enabled
Memory: 16 GB
Boot ROM Version: 428.0.0.0.0
SMC Version (system): 2.43f10

I have hardware acceleration enabled in Spotify.

Spotify version: 1.1.44.538.g8057de92

I'm going to try to update to latest Spotify client as I noticed that there is a newer version.

I have same result in 1.1.47.684.g136419d9

[Alex]

Hi @GitGal,

Thanks for the detailed info.

Can you try disabling hardware acceleration from the app Settings? There might also be some company power management apps or schedules which may influence the performance of the Spotify app.

Also let us know if playback stops if you're listening to music though the Web player.

We'll be on the lookout for your reply.

[GitGal]

Hello @Axel,

Disabling hardware acceleration did not work however there was a moment after I enabled it again that the sound stopped even if the bar was moving then the sound came back.

When this happened the power adapter was connected at all time.

The web player behaves the way same for me. I did select "This web browser" I use Firefox 83.

There is no power management app that I know of but there is an antivirus system installed called WebRoot.

That together with docker and virtual box does eat most of the memory.

CPU is stable at ~20%

Aslo I keep getting the error when I try to reply.

An Unexpected Error has occurred.

Your request failed. Please contact your system administrator and provide the date and time you received the error and this Exception ID: 37FF74E2.

Click your browser's Back button to continue.

Return to my original page

It only happens when I have my headphones plugged not with internal speakers.

[SaintManChan]

Just want to add; I've got the same problem. Running catalina on MacOS too, and I notice this typically when I've had the app open but not playing anything for a while.

[Alex]

Hi there @GitGal,

Thanks for the reply!

Since the issue comes up both using the Desktop app and the Web player there might be some network restriction caused by the company's antivirus software. 

Can you try creating a new test account with another email and see if you get the same results? Also let us know if you're using Bluetooth speakers?

If it's possible you can try connecting to another network, like a Mobile hotspot and see if the same issue occurs.

@SaintManChan, can you try the troubleshooting steps from above and tell us if you're also using external speaker/headphones when this is happening?

We'll be on the lookout for your replies.

[SaintManChan]

Hi, I'll try to make an account and test it that way, but for now I can say that I don't remember this ever happening with the web player. It also happens most often when I'm using bluetooth headphones, but not exclusively. I also get this problem on at least two different networks with different providers.

[Jeremy]

Hey there @SaintManChan,

Thank you for your reply in this thread.

You can also try to log in with another account - such as a friend's or a family member's to see if the issue persist.

If it only occurs on one device you can perform a clean reinstall. This will make sure there's no old cache files causing this.

Keep us posted 🙂

Cheers!

[JoyceGem]

Try this, it worked for me if you have the same problem wherein you connect your Macbook to a bluetooth speakers and no sound it coming out. 

1. Connect to bluetooth device
2. Open spotify
3. Play a song - if there is no sound coming out, 
4. Go to sound preferences (either on system settings or using the quickbar setting on the upper right of your screen, besides time and date)
5. Change the sound output to your bluetooth device, or if you will play it via your Macbook, to built-in speakers. 

Cheers!