*EDIT*Spotify desktop app not playing

[Ashivia]

Hey! So pretty much what the title says. I have the Spotify desktop app on two computers running Windows as the OS. The same thing is happening if I stream a song, or play a local file: It shows the song progress bar "button" for a blip, then it pops up with "Spotify can't play this song right now", no sound plays at all. Of the two PCs, the app will only play on the one. The main difference is the one that it plays on is running Windows version 21H1, the one that it's not working on is 21H2. I've tried almost everything:

-Rolling back recent windows updates

-Driver updates

-Uninstalling the app, removing everything in the appdata folder and reinstalling from the site's download link

-DNS Flush
-Router reset

I also did a chat with CS where we did multiple troubleshootings and basically had a "sorry kid you're sh*t outta luck" result. I'd say it was internet, but it's playing via the same connection on my work computer that's literally five steps away from my gaming PC that's having the issues. I'm at a total loss, is anyone else using the desktop app on Windows having trouble?

EDIT: I went into the debug file and I'm getting this error:

[0404/190418.980:WARNING:task_impl.cc(31)] No task runner for threadId 0

I'm seeing it's possibly a compiling error with C++, which I guess is the language Spotify is made from

[Olfee]

same +1

[Ashivia]

Glad I'm not the only one lol, hoping someone sees this and has some help, it's driving me up the wall :[

[Yordan]

Hi folks,

Here are a couple of things you can check out. First, check if the hosts file contains any Spotify-related lines:

1. Go to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc and open the file hosts with Notepad.
2. Check for any entries with spotify or fastly in the address. Examples may look like 0.0.0.0 weblb-wg.gslb.spotify.com or 0.0.0.0 prod.b.ssl.us-eu.fastlylb.net. If you do find any, you can delete the line and save your changes afterwards.

If there aren't any lines in the hosts file, try the following:

1. Fully close the Spotify app (make sure it's not running in the Task Manager) and go to C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Spotify\.
2. There you'll find a file called prefs, which holds info about the currently logged in account. Simply delete it.
3. While in the Spotify folder, you'll also find a Users folder. Open it and delete its contents as well, then restart the Spotify app.

Note that this will log you out and reset your settings so you'll have to readjust them. If you had music downloaded for offline listening, you'll have to re-download it as well.

Check also if Spotify is allowed through the Firewall.

Keep us posted. Cheers!

[Ashivia]

Hi! So for the Host file, I did check it previously with the customer service chat person, ran notepad as admin and there were no spotify related Host names. For the prefs file and user data, tried deleting that, still the same result, anything played ends in the error window. I attached the CS conversation for review. I also went into Windows firewall and made sure it's allowed on public and private, and made sure the programs and services tab under spotify.exe's properties has the address in the right roaming folder under the correct user (I have admin so that should be an issue). I noted before in an edit that the debug file will make a new entry every time I try to play a song. I attached that doc as well.

[Alex · Accepted solution]

Hey @Ashivia,

Thanks for the reply and the info you've shared.

There are few more things we can try. Number one is to uninstall the app and re-download it, but from the Spotify website if you're using the MS store version or vice versa. Even though the MS store app is more optimized, it causes similar issues on certain configurations.

If that doesn't work, you can try running the clean reinstall steps, but in Windows safe mode. On some machines certain files and folders are hidden and can only be removed while in safe mode.

If this issue didn't start happening recently, but was present from the start, it's also possible that it's caused by incompatibility with your sound card, current drivers, or Windows sound settings. So it's a good idea to check if there are any driver updates you can run. Also, Try lowering your Windows audio sample rate to 44.1kHz (or any rate below 19200) in the Windows Audio settings:

1. Right click the Sounds icon
2. Select your current default audio output
3. Click Properties
4. Go to the Advanced tab, where you'll find these settings.

Keep us posted on how you get on.

[Ashivia]

Oh my god. I have no idea when it happened, it must have been when I opened up my Creative command app and was playing with the EQ, but it was the bit rate. Damn that was such a stupid simple thing to overlook but THANK YOU!!! Could give you a hug. You are the best, thank you again for the help!! ❤️

[Olfee]

Thanks! works too now. Issue seemt to be my audio drivers (I use studio-hardware w/ ext. soundcard). After resetting audiodrivers of mainboard + graficcard... yeah! 

[OscarDC]

Hey @Olfee,

Thank you for keeping in contact. 

We're glad to know that everything is working great now. We appreciate the time you took following the troubleshooting steps and sharing the solution.

If anything else comes up, remember that we're just a post away 🙂

Have a nice day!

[matzel]

Doesn't work for me... Effectively I couldn't use the app the last month... Can I get a refund?

Always shows "Something went wrong, please try again" but it doesn't disappear... Sucks hard.

[AlejaR]

Hey @matzel,

Thanks for your reply.

Just to confirm, can you let us know what troubleshooting you've already tried? This way we can avoid repeating any steps suggested here.

On another note, can you let us know the exact make/model and OS of your device along with the Spotify version you have running?

Lastly, if you think you're eligible for a refund, the best way to go is to contact our Customer Support team, so they can help you with it. You can find out how to contact them here.
 

Keep us in the loop!

[matzel]

I tried:

- reloading the page

- restarting the app

- restarting my computer

- deleting prefs and LocalPrefs files and restarting the app: https://community.spotify.com/t5/Desktop-Mac/something-went-wrong-try-reloading-the-page/m-p/5443398...

- uninstalling (+deleting all Spotify related documents on my computer) and re-installing the Windows Store App

- uninstalling (+deleting all Spotify related documents on my computer) and re-installing the App from the Spotify Download Page
- the steps of the "clean install" page https://support.spotify.com/de/article/reinstall-spotify/ 

- manually using "no proxy" or automatic detection in the settings page of the login form after deleting the prefs/LocalPrefs files

- disabling/enabling Offline Mode and restarting the app

- editing the hosts file (there was no entry): https://community.spotify.com/t5/Desktop-Windows/EDIT-Spotify-desktop-app-not-playing/m-p/5363283/hi...

- explicitly allow Spotify in my Windows firewall and the McAffee / Trellix antivirus software

- crying

- trying it with the newest version of spotify over a period of now more than 2 months (and actually, it worked again for a week or so, but then, thanks to the annoying automatic updates that cannot be disabled, the error came back)

- changing audio driver settings and devices: https://community.spotify.com/t5/Desktop-Windows/EDIT-Spotify-desktop-app-not-playing/m-p/5364078#M1... 

My spotify version: I don't know how you imagine that I find it out, because I do not get behind than the "Something went wrong" overlay. Clicking on Help > About Spotify doesn't do a thing and when I delete the prefs files to login again, the Help item in the menu isn't even shown.

But I just installed the latest version from your homepage so I probably have whatever sh*tty non-functioning nightly build version that is.

P.S.: in the windows properties dialog, it says "1.1.96.875" - is that plausible?

[matzel]

I have ABSOLUTELY no clue why, but today, it works again. I played around with it yesterday without success, but today, out of nowhere (I didn't reboot my computer or changed anything, just continued from hibernation), it started without any issues.

Let's see how long it works...