Current playing music doesn't sync between devices

[minbee]

Plan

Premium

Devices

HP TouchSmart300 with an AMD Athlon II X3 400e, iPhone Xs and iPad Pro 12.9 5th gen

Operating Systems

Windows 7 Professional and iOS 15.4.1

Lately I've noticed that while I'm playing music on my phone and also have the desktop version open, it doesn't show up that I'm playing the music even though they are connected with each other. Same goes for the other way around and even when I try to switch between iPad and iPhone. When I try to switch the device the music is playing on, it completely stops with no song showing up on either device (as if you've just opened Spotify for the first time). I've tried a simple restart and a clean install on all devices.

Now the pc I use is quite old with older drivers, however I've never experienced an issue with the desktop app before, nor between iPad and iPhone.

Any idea on how to fix this?

[Alex]

Hey there @minbee,

Thanks for the post.

This issue could be caused by corrupted cache on one of your devices or by network issues.

First I'd recommend logging out Everywhere and back in only on two devices. This will force sync your account with the servers. 

If that doesn't help, try connecting your iPhone and iPad to another network, like a mobile hotspot from your mobile and check if the issue persists.

Keep us posted on how you get on.

[minbee]

Hey Alex,

Excuse the late reply. 

When I tried the relogging it seemed to work at first, but then I noticed it would start acting up again as would go further down my Liked Song. The recent few sync just fine, but when I go down to song I've saved months/years ago it acts up again. 

Sadly it's the same when I tried connecting my iPhone and iPad to another network.

[Eni]

Hey @minbee, 

Thanks for your reply. 

Could you check if the OS of your devices is up to date?

On another note, would you mind asking a friend or a relative to log in to their account on your devices to see if the issue also happens with a different account?

Keep us posted.

[misobol]

Your Spotify local files are not syncing from desktop to mobile(iPhone)?

FIX: Local Device Visibility is Turned Off by default on the mobile Spotify

If your local MP3s play fine on Mac/PC but appear greyed out on iPhone and refuse to sync even on the same Wi-Fi, here’s what finally fixed it for me:

On the iPhone Spotify app:

Go to Settings → Apps and Devices → Local Device Visibility (or Local audio files, depending on version).

Turn this ON — it allows your phone to be seen by Spotify on the local network.

Also check your phone’s system settings:

iPhone: Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network → make sure Spotify is enabled.

Android: Settings → Apps → Spotify → Permissions → Nearby devices / Local network → allow access.

On desktop:

Make sure both devices are on the same Wi-Fi SSID.

Keep Spotify open and logged in to the same account.

Verify the playlist with local files is downloaded on desktop.

Once visibility is on, your iPhone should appear under Devices Available, and the playlist should start syncing.

If it stops working again after updates, toggle Local Device Visibility off and on once — that usually re-establishes the connection.