Canvas feature doesn't work

[Poseidxn]

Plan

Premium

Country

Turkey

Device

(iPhone 8, Samsung Galaxy 9, Macbook Pro late 2016)

Operating System

(Windows 11)

My Question or Issue:

While browsing Spotify on my computer, I noticed the canvas feature. Unfortunately, even though it is available, the canvas feature does not work. When I asked my friend, he said that everything was normal on his computer and canvas was working fine on his computer. For me, I just see a black screen. How to solve this problem?

[mpompos009]

Plan

Premium

Country

India

Device

PC

Operating System

Windows 11

My Question or Issue

1. For a long time now I saw that for some songs the art cover was blank (in the now playing), I didn't think much of it. Yesterday I realized that the "blank art cover" is actually supposed to be the canvas and I realized because yesterday it loaded for the first time and I loved it. Now for some reason it went blank again, its not loading, i have no idea. I logged out and back in twice. I reinstalled spotify, I cleared the cache, I deleted the hosts in case it was blocking spotify's servers, I tried with and without VPN in case there's an issue with my network getting blocked by spotify but none of these worked.

[Yordan]

Hi there @mpompos009,

Thanks for reaching out!

Is this with a specific song or with all songs that have a Canvas? Have you tried toggling off/on the feature in the app's settings to see if that helps? Something else that's worth checking is if changing the Hardware acceleration causes the app to display the Canvas properly. You can do this in Settings > Compatibility.

If the issue persists, please share a screenshot which shows how things look on your end + the exact version of Spotify you're running so we can investigate further.

Cheers 🤘

[Joan]

Hi there @Poseidxn,

Thanks for reaching out. 

When did this start happening? Did it work before? Is it only on a Windows PC that this doesn't work? Is it with all content?

In any case, consider performing a clean reinstall to resolve any temporary issues that may be causing this. If the issue persists after that, please provide us the requested details so we can investigate further.

Let us know how it goes.

[Poseidxn]

First of all, i guess it's been 3-4 days since the canvas feature added on my pc. Since it's came, the short videos in "ALL" songs haven't been working. So it didn't work before either. And yes, canvas only doesn't work on my computer, everything is normal on my phone.

[p0k3m0n]

I have exactly the same situation in Poland. Canvas is a black screen after updating from Microsoft Store to latest version Spotify na Windows (64-bitowa wersja) 1.2.47.366.g0d3bd570. Similarly, music videos do not load. On mobile and under Linux (Mint) everything works as it should on the same user. It looks like some kind of codec bug to me. What codec does Spotify need for playback?

[Kiril]

Hey there @Poseidxn,

Thanks for your response and your info.

In this case please try the suggested procedure of clean reinstall linked in the post of @Joan as this will ensure no previous cached data on your Windows system interferes with your fresh install of our desktop app. 

If this doesn't do the trick for you please return with some additional data like the Spotify app version number  and a short video of your experience with the Canvas feature. You can send a link to it or attach it using the Insert Video option in the post editor.  
 

Keep us posted, we'll be on the lookout for your reply.

[p0k3m0n]

I have reset applications more than once. Installing the native application from the Spotify website on this same system restores the video functionality. The Microsoft Store app either shows a black screen or freezes when I want to play a video. This is 100% an error on the application side.

[Poseidxn]

Hi Kiril,

As you said, although I did what Joan said 2-3 times, it didn't improve on canvas. However, when i log in from chrome, the canvas feature works but when i download spotify from microsoft store, it gives a black screen as i said. I think there is a problem in the application.

[p0k3m0n]

It looks as if Spotify developers forgot that UWP applications use a different set of codecs and handle them differently. You can't directly port code from a native app to UWP and think everything will work.

[maddayatt]

Hello, also have like same issue, but i already enable Hardware acceleration on but still doesn't fix anything, and i attach my screenshot of my version of spotify, i hope it will helps

 

[OscarDC]

Hey folks,

Thank you for keeping in contact and for the info shared.

Taking into account that the behavior you're describing affects the app downloaded from the Microsoft Store, would you mind checking if downloading it from the Spotify web page makes any difference on this behavior?

Also, in order to continue investigating this further with internal teams, and in case you haven't sent it yet; let us know the following info:

- OS version of your device

- Exact Spotify version

Lastly, and if possible; since we couldn't replicate the issue on our end, could any of you record a short video where we can take a better look? You can attach it to your next response by using the Insert Video option in the post editor. You can also upload it to YouTube or Google Drive and share the link with us (make sure the video has the permissions for anyone to see it).
 

We'll be on the lookout.

[Yordan]

Hi @maddayatt,

Thanks for the reply!

Interesting. Could you try changing the Proxy type in the app's settings to No proxy, then restarting the app to see if that does the trick? It's also worth flushing the DNS cache for your PC by following the steps in this article.

Something else that comes to mind is installing Spotify from a different source: if you downloaded the app from our website, try the one from the Microsoft Store instead, and vice versa.

Let us know how it goes.

[p0k3m0n]

No problem.

System: Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.19044.4894], all multimedia extensions from the Microsoft Store installed, including the paid HEVC Video Extensions.

Spotify version: Spotify for Windows (64 bit) 1.2.47.366.g0d3bd570 

Locale: PL

Description: Neither Canvas nor Music Video plays. The problem only occurs with the version from the Microsoft Store, there is no problem with the native version from the Spotify website. The problem does not occur under Linux ("Wilma" Linux Mint 22). Everything tested on the same version of Spotify. Enabling or disabling GPU acceleration in the options does not change anything.

Video: https://youtu.be/vYUQdTJhoqE

If you have any questions, I will answer. I know a little about computers, so I'll be happy to help.

[OscarDC]

Hey @p0k3m0n,

Thank you for all the info you've included!

Just to make sure we're covering all the basics and to continue checking on this with the relevant teams, please confirm the following info:

• Are you using any VPN connected to your Computer? 
• Is the affected device a work computer or a personal computer?
• Have you tried with a different network connection to see if it makes any difference?

It would also be great if @Poseidxn could include the previously requested information and answer the questions above to have more examples.

We appreciate your patience and cooperation regarding this behavior.

We'll be on the lookout. 

[p0k3m0n]

• Are you using any VPN connected to your Computer? -> NO
• Is the affected device a work computer or a personal computer? -> PERSONAL
• Have you tried with a different network connection to see if it makes any difference? -> NO, I haven't tried it because on Linux and non MS Store version, on the same network connection, playing video in Spotify works.

[Yordan]

Thanks for the details folks!

We've forwarded this to our tech team who'll investigate further. In the meantime, make sure you're always running the latest version of Spotify available so you don't miss out on any updates. You can also download the app from our website or use the Web Player until this is sorted out.

Take care 💚

[z4fk1el]

another reason canvas would not be working is if "animate controls and elements within windows" feature is unchecked in SystemProperties > Advanced, it won't let canvas do its thing

how to check it:

win + R
type:  SystemPropertiesAdvanced

hit enter, under "performance" check "animate controls and elements within windows"

pic is in swedish sorry

[RealVipex]

I have a problem with my Spotify that the canva doesn't load on my Windows computer, it shows completely nothing. The album cover does show when I turn off the canva feature. Can somebody help me?

[RealVipex]

I have also tried logging out and in, reinstalling the app, clearing my cache and changing multiple settings