[Desktop Win 11] Spotify keeps crashing after startup

[constantines]

Plan

Premium

Country

Greece

Device

Intel Alder Lake

Operating System

Windows 11 Pro

My Question or Issue

Spotify keeps crashing after ~10-20 seconds after login - i.e. open app , wait, app crashes with no error message.

Have already contacted support and used a test account that did work and no crash was happening. 

Have already install reinstalled all combinations, flush dns, caches, update firewall, no fix.

Issue occurs for more than past 4 months.

Cannot find any pending issue on such case.

Any advice ?

[Amayy]

Hey @constantines, Welcome to the Spotify Community!

Since you've already tried basic troubleshooting, here are some additional steps you can try:

Create a brand new Spotify account and log in with that. See if the app still crashes after signing in with the fresh account.

If it doesn't crash with the new account, the issue is likely tied to your main account. You can then loop in Spotify support again with that info and ask them to transfer your library to a new account. In this way, you can start fresh without losing your library.

If it still crashes with the new account, try to clean-install Spotify from the official website instead of the Microsoft Store.

Let me know how it goes!

[constantines]

Seems still to be not working. Tried with 2 existing different accounts. Problem persists. 

Tried by creating a completely new account with one other email of mine, and a fresh reinstall as mentioned in given link and problem persists.

App version as shown in attached screenshot

Is there any way to run app in some debug mode to maybe see some error that occurs upon crashing ?

--

Attaching also a small video displaying the app crash, created with the newly created account

[Amayy]

Thanks for the info @constantines.

Check your Spotify settings and disable hardware acceleration. See if that makes any difference.

If you are using WiFi, try using your mobile hotspot to test if this is caused by the network. If you have any DNS or VPN enabled, turn those off before opening Spotify.

Try the Web Player to confirm if this happens only on the desktop app. If you face any issues, please check the host file.

[costas_ntzouf]

So,

1. hardware acceleration was already off since also thought that could be an issue - problem persisted

2. Using only ethernet connection , no WiFi .

3. etc/hosts file has nothing specific for Spotify . 

4. Web player works as expected. 

5. Furthermore, tried logging in and playing music in an other workstation, in an other network and i can login as expected and the app is not crashing - so issue is in my current workstation.

6. Have also tried with windows firewall closed, but problem persists.

[Amayy]

Thanks for trying the steps @costas_ntzouf!

I'd suggest deleting your current installation of Spotify. Use the clean installation guide from here.

Try installing from a different source this time. The two sources are the Microsoft Store and the Official Website. 

Keep me posted.

[constantines]

Above mentioned suggestions have already been done @Amayy , issue persists for both clean installation using Microsoft Store, or from the Spotify website (.exe installer)

Have not tried cleaning workstation using some 3rd party cleaner app  - there is none suggested in the above given article

[Amayy]

Thanks for the reply and apologies for the delayed response @constantines!

You can try going into the desktop app settings and switch the proxy setting from auto to no proxy.

Also, enable local files from the app settings. Uncheck all the sources for local files. Turn off show local files.

Restart your desktop and see if this makes any difference.

Keep me posted.

[constantines]

Good day @Amayy

Followed below steps, but app eventually kept crashing

--

In the desktop Windows app,

logged out,

configured to login with "No proxy",

left the window open at the login screen for about 2 minutes - no crash,

logged back in,

started playing a playlist,

music played for ~10 seconds, then the app crashed

Regarding : "enable local files from the app settings. Uncheck all the sources for local files. Turn off show local files."

also did that, app kept crashing

[Novy]

Hi @constantines,

Have you tried updating your computer's drivers? After doing this, you can restart the computer to sync up the changes.

If this doesn't do the trick, you can also try running Spotify in Safe Mode to see if it makes any difference.

Keep us posted on how it goes. 

[constantines]

1. Have already tried booting into safe mode and starting Spotify there, but issue persisted. 

2. All my drivers seem up to date when visiting the Windows Updates > Drivers 

[MihailY]

Hey @constantines,

Apologies for the late reply.

We noticed another report about the same issue here. Can you please check if the steps provided by the user are relevant in your case?

If not, check if there's something common between the accounts you've tested this with like for example a saved playlist with thousands of tracks/followers.

We'll be on the lookout for your response.

[constantines]

Hello @MihailY, 

the steps above cannot be exactly implemented in my case since i can only check/uncheck the button for Local files before the app closes.Also, i cannot see what else to remove after unchecking Local files - please suggest if possible.

Attaching the video where i do the above action - in the end of the video , the app has closed.

I have tried logging in with multiple accounts which have no playlists at all and they do have the same problem . 

Finally , i cannot see where the log mentioned by the other user in the post mentioned in your above reply!

Thank you for assisting

[Vasil]

Hey @constantines.

For the log files the user seems to have used Windows Event Transcript. By the looks of it though, there aren't any log files for this type of crash.
As for the steps above - The 'Show songs from' sub-options are only visible when 'Show Local Files' is enabled.

What the user from the other thread has done is to turn local sources on > deselect the sub options > turn local sources off.
Hope this helps! Keep us posted 🙂

[constantines]

Hello @Vasil ,

sadly, also after deselecting Local Sources , then deleting the file mentioned in this post: https://community.spotify.com/t5/Desktop-Windows/Remove-sources-for-local-files/td-p/4424969

and then reopening Spotify, has the same result - the app crashing after ~3-5 seconds.

[Maria]

Hey @constantines,

Thanks for keeping us in the loop!

Just to make sure we cover all bases, could you try running Spotify in compatibility mode? You can do so by right-clicking the Spotify icon > Properties > Compatibility > check the box for Run this program in compatibility mode for > choose a Windows version from the drop-down menu.

Also, to confirm, are you able to use the Web Player? Do you experience any issues when listening to music there?

Let us know how you get on.

[constantines]

Hey  @Maria,

Unfortunately, compatibility mode did not fix the case. The Web Player is the only thing i can still use in this machine. So the issue is rather specific to one specific machine. 

Thank you for the reply.

[Joan]

Hi @constantines,

Thanks for the reply. Can you try toggling hardware acceleration on/off and see if that makes a difference? If this is something you haven't tried yet, please do so.

Keep us posted.

[constantines]

Hi @Joan,

have already tried disabling the hardware acceleration, same issue.

[Joan]

Hi @constantines,

Thanks for the reply. Could you tweaking the DNS setting as follows if you haven't already:

1. Open the Start menu and click the gear icon to open the Settings app.
2. Choose Network & Internet from the list, and click Change Adapter Options.
3. Right-click the network you’re using, and choose Properties.
4. Find Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) in the respective list, and double-click it.
5. Choose the Use the following IP address or Use the following DNS server addresses, and add the desired values (can be obtained from your ISP or use a public DNS server like Google DNS (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4).
6. Click OK to save all the changes, and close the Properties window

Let us know how it goes.