Error: "Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it."

[davebcn]

Plan

Premium

Country

UK

Device

PC

Operating System

Windows 10

My Question or Issue

Hi,

When I try to play any track in the app in my PC windows 10, I'm getting the following error: "Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it."

This only happens in the app, if I try to play from the webplayer it works fine.

I have tried so far:

- restarting

- updating the app

- logging out and in again

- uninstalling, downloading again and installing

None of them work. Please advise.

Thanks,

David

[Vasil]

Hey @davebcn,

Sorry to see this has happened to you!
You have done some great troubleshooting so far, but here's what we can also do:

I'd first recommend clearing all the host files that might be affecting the proper behavior of the app. To do so, follow the steps mentioned in this post (even though it's a different issue).

If this doesn't do the trick, we can go for a complete clean reinstall of the app as well to remove all Spotify-related files from your device.

Let us know how it goes!

[dante23ross]

none of this has worked. 

[Yordan]

Hey @dante23ross,

Could you check if the correct audio output device has been selected for Spotify? You'll find a detailed guide on how to do that here. Make sure also that the sample rate of the device is set to anywhere between 44.1 kHz and 192 kHz.

Keep us posted on this. Cheers!

[muffir]

Hi there,

I've also expirienced this problem recently which appeared out of nowhere (no updates, no fiddling with settings) and none of the solutions posted in similar topics has worked for me. I've tried so far:

• clearing app cache in Settings
• "clean" reinstall (includes some manual app directories removal)
• uninstall standalone app and install it from Windows Store
• multiple logouts in a row
• checking audio settings
• checking host file

As a last resort I've checked application "Help" section and there is an option in application menu (three dots in upper left corner): Help > Troubleshooting > Reset App Data and Restart, which finaly solved this annoying issue.

[Maria]

Hey @muffir,

Thanks for posting on the Community!

We're happy to hear that everything is back on track and we appreciate you letting us know what steps worked for you. This may help other users experiencing similar issues as well 🙂

Should anything else appear, we're just a post away.

Cheers!

[muffir]

Well Maria, it doesn't work anymore and it's just not ok to repeat the whole procedure over and over every 2 weeks.

Could someone please look into this and start working on it? It seems that this is quite recurring problem. It would be good if your app offer some sort of report problem functionality so your developers could obtain relevant debugging info. The error message "Spotify can't play this right now..." does not offer any other details what is the cause of this. So I couldn't help even if I wanted to.

[muffir]

Hello @Maria,

so it's even stranger because some day it works fine, the other day doesn't. Is there a way I could help you guys with progress towards resolving this issue? It's really frustrating.

[Vasil]

Hey @muffir,

Thanks for the reply!
This error can appear due to a multitude of background errors and we're currently looking into what might be causing it. With this in mind, we can't give you an exact timeframe in which it will be completely resolved but it is on our radar 🙂

We suggest keeping your app up to date in order to stay on top of any potential fixes and we're here for you in case there's anything else in the meantime. Cheers!

[notworking117]

Spotify used to work perfectly fine on my computer 
one day i plugged in my HDMI cable in and i changed the speakers to the TV speakers
after that everytime i change to my laptop speakers spotify "can't play right now. if you have the file import it..." but when i change back the speaker to the TV's it works fine

[muffir]

Hello @Vasil,

I've probably figured out possible cause of this problem and recent post from @notworking117 further solidify my suspition. I am using Spotify app on my laptop (64-bit Win 10) between 2 places - working place and home - which both have slightly different audio setups. One have USB DAC to which I plug my headphones, in the other place I plug my headphones directly to laptops' combined headphone/mic jack socket. So audio output device changes between places. I don't fiddle with devices settings in OS setting in any way and always use "default audio output". I usually turn off my laptop between places but this should not matter - other applications (like web browser) detects changes in audio output device or they use "default" and let handle changes by OS, even when I use hibernation/sleep this works fine. It seems that Spotify app somehow remember specific audio output during installation instead of using "default" and could not detect changes in devices - restarting app or OS doesn't make any difference.

[muffir]

Hello @vasil,

is there any progress in this matter? Couple of months later with no reaction and problem still persists. In my previous post I've provided further details.

[Yordan]

Hi, @muffir,

In that case the issue is likely related to your audio device. I'd recommend making sure the correct one is always being used for Spotify in Windows' settings (try changing it manually, if you haven't already), as it might be trying to play from your on-board headphone jack when in fact you're at home and want to listen on your USB DAC instead.

Something else that's worth checking is if the sample rate of your audio device is set to anywhere between 44.1 kHz and 192 kHz, and if any audio enhancements are turned off.

You'll find a detailed guide on all necessary steps in this article, under "Playback fails to start on all tracks on desktop".

Cheers 🤘

[muffir]

Hi @Yordan,

thanks for quick reply. First of all, I see no audio device selection section in Spotify settings/preferences. I'm using Spotify desktop app on Win 10 (64bit) OS in latest version:

Spotify for Windows (64 bit)
1.2.**bleep**.449.gfda8591a

I wouldn't mind so much if I would need to swich between devices in Spotify but there is no such options as far as I am aware of. But as I wrote earlier in other apps I don't need to switch devices - "default audio device" setting works with both of them.

Second thing is that Spotify won't work with notebook's on-board audio (works with DAC now), so compatibility is not an issue and sample rate is in range. I also wrote earlier that it probably depends on what device is "default" at the time of Instalation or "Reset App Data and Restart" process. If I'll do that with onboard device it will work fine and with DAC it fails. That supports my theory of in that specific moment Spotify remebers current audio device and if that is not present in the other place, it fails to playback.

I would like to send you guys more debugging info if there is a way to do so - run spotify with some debug command line option, install developers version, or whatever. Let me know if I could help you more somehow.

Cheers.

[Yordan]

Thanks for the reply, @muffir!

Yeah, I meant changing the audio output device in Windows' settings - there's no such option in the app's settings yet. In any case, your feedback on this is greatly appreciated, thanks for sharing it here.

In the meantime, it's worth resetting the app volume and device preferences to see if that helps refresh things (you may need to do that every time you switch from the DAC at home to the headphone jack at work and vice-versa):

1. Right-click on the "speaker" icon in the system tray and select Open Sound settings.
2. Scroll down to "Advanced sound settings" located at the bottom and select App volume and device preferences.
3. Click the Reset button at the bottom to reset the settings to the Microsoft recommended defaults.

Another workaround would be to manually disable the playback device you aren't using and set the one you'd like to use as the default.

Take care.

[muffir]

Hi @Yordan,

I'll try to sum up current setup:

- "work" environment: USB DAC (which sets itself as default as I plug it in my ntb.), with this audio setup Spotify app was installed and works fine. Both audio devices (onboard audio and USB DAC) are listed in windows audio setup (in mentioned "App volume and device preferences" win settings section)

- "home" environment: only onboard audio, sets as default because USB DAC is not present. Only this one is listed in windows audio setup. In this setup Spotify app outputs error.

As you can see at home I cannot change audio output device as it is already set itself by default and USB DAC is not present in selectbox anyway. "Reset" button won't do anything useful. I also cannot disable it for the same reasons - is not present in this setup.

Still I don't think this is Windows audio setup issue because other apps works fine at home. Clearly it has to be something connected with Spotify app (config, installation directory, documents & settings, windows registry, etc.).

[Yordan]

Appreciate the clarification, @muffir! I assumed the USB DAC is your home setup, apologies.

So, it seems that Spotify somehow thinks the default audio device is still set to your USB DAC, despite it not being connected. The next time you're at work, I'd recommend manually switching the default device from the DAC to your onboard audio, then playing something to see if that would force a refresh of the app without triggering the error message.

Should the issue persist, would you mind sharing a screenshot which shows how the devices list looks on your end? A short screen recording which captures the exact behavior in action would also be greatly appreciated, as I'd be able to take a direct look.

Audio devices list

In case you're unable to attach the files here in your reply, you can instead upload them to Google Drive (just make sure they're accessible by anyone with the link) or to YouTube as an unlisted video.

Cheers 🤘

[muffir]

Hi @Yordan,

when I disable USB DAC Spotify throws the error as soon as I play a song. Doesn't matter if I close the app before disabling USB DAC or if app is still runing. In all those 3 cases error is the same:

- disabling USB DAC

- unplugging USB DAC

- set onboard audio as default (as general default or specificaly for Spotify app, it's basically the same)

As soon as I switch to USB DAC, playback works fine. Even when app is running.

My devices are listed in devices.png ("TOPPING D1-MARK2" is USB DAC, "Realtek Audio" is standard onboard audio). Spotify is set to "default" as seen on spotify-uses-default.png.

[OscarDC]

Hey @muffir,

Thank you for keeping in contact and for the detailed info you've included. 

In case you haven't tried yet, we'd recommend following the processes mentioned on the floating answers of this thread to see if it makes any difference.

Also, if you installed the app from the official website, we'd recommend installing the version available in the Microsoft store (or vice versa) to see if it has the same behavior. 

Lastly, bear in mind that this error can appear due to a multitude of background errors and we're currently looking into what might be causing it as @Vasil mentioned previously. So we'd recommend keeping your app up to date in order to stay on top of any potential fixes.

Cheers.

[muffir]

Hi @OscarDC,

I suppose I have the most recent Spotify version (1.2.70.409.gd4fa4141), as app updates itself regurarly, and there is no information what is the current version suppose to be (neither on your website or Win store). I've already tried changing from official website to winstore version and vice versa.

I've tried solutions from the thread you gave me but it doesn't apply as it is not related to shuffle options clearly - there is constant behavior when switching devices.