How do I fix Spotify not letting me change songs and restarting the song?

[GJustin]

Sometimes when I am using Spotify, the app plays the first second of a bunch of random songs then once it starts playing, it will restart and not let me change the song. This is most common when using Apple Carplay or the Desktop App. This makes the service unusable as it never finishes a song, won't let me skip or change songs. The only way to play music is something like Tidal at that point which I often end up switching to when this happens. It will stay like this despite clean installing, restarting and logging out everywhere but then when I launch the app later or the next day its working fine.

[AlejaR]

Hey @GJustin,

Thanks for posting in the Community and welcome.

In this case, we'd like to gather some additional info. Would you mind sending us the make/model and OS of the affected computer along with the Spotify version you're running there?

On another note, is this happening if you change the internet connection you're using? Is this happening over WiFi? Ethernet? Both? If possible, you can create a hotspot from your phone and connect your computer to it, to see if you notice any difference. Give it a try and let us know if changing the connection makes any difference.

Since you mentioned this is something you notice while using CarPlay as well, can you check if the same happens if you open a different account while in your car? It’ll help us isolate this behavior if you could check. You can ask for the account of a relative or a friend to open it in your device and check.
 

Keep us in the loop!

[GJustin]

I've never noticed it with any other phone in my car, i'm using a Windows 10/11 (happens on both) Version: Spotify for Windows
1.2.4.912.g949d5fd0 

It happens when using mobile data, wifi and Ethernet hardwire. It's not everytime, but is more frequent recently. I had this problem for a while and reached out to support but they basically told me to pound sand and switch services if I didn't like it. After that though, the problem stopped for a while but is back now.

[MihailY]

Hey @GJustin,

Thanks for the additional info.

Is it possible to try and make a short screen recording of the issue and post it here? We'd like to check how things look on your end. In the meantime, please follow the steps in this guide in order to secure your account.

Keep us posted.

[GJustin]

It took a few days to have a screen recording software open when I could duplicate the bug, it wouldn't load in time to see the skipping but you can hear it in the video.

[Lyubka]

Hey @GJustin,

Thanks for getting back to us and providing the screen recording. 

Here are a few things you can try to fix this:

• Disable any antivirus or ad-blocking software that might be affecting the Spotify app on your Windows device.
• Turn off VPN if in use.
• Check the firewall on your device and make sure Spotify is "whitelisted".
• Check the host files. You can find more on how to do that here.

On another note, you've posted in your previous reply that your app version is - 1.2.4.912.g949d5fd0, however, there is new update available for our Desktop App. Would you mind updating your Spotify app and test if you'll still experience the same? 

Hope something here helps and does the trick for you. Let us know how it goes.

[GJustin]

Done all this and updated, still occurring on both my phone and computer occasionally.

[AlejaR]

Hey @GJustin,

Thanks for your replies and for the info shared. 

In this case, can you please try running the app in Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking to rule out any issues with your default Windows settings and basic device drivers? Give it a try and let us know how it goes.

On another note, at the moment, it's possible to download the app from both the Microsoft Store and our Web page here. So in this case, if you install the desktop app from the web page, try to uninstall that version and try installing the one from the Microsoft one or vice versa.
 

Keep us in the loop!

[GJustin]

Tried all of that, like I said it happens on my phone as well. It stopped for a while but is reoccuring today so I figured I'd revisit this. If there is no solution or this is a totally "new" bug I'll probably just switch to another music service as the app is unusable when this happens and I made the team aware of it nearly a year ago.

[Eni]

Hi there @GJustin, 

Thanks for getting back to us. 

Would you mind asking a friend or a relative to log in to their account on your devices to see if they can replicate the issue with their account? This will help us determine if the issue is account-related. 

We'll be on the lookout.

[GJustin]

Apologies, I thought I answered this earlier. It never occurs on anyone elses account on my devices, figured that was pretty clear from it happening across devices that it was an account issue or an issue with the player for everyone and not only my personal computer, personal laptop, work computer, work laptop, phone and carplay. I'll just be discontinuing Spotify as the app is unusable 15% of the times I open it.

[MihailY]

Hey @GJustin,

We're sorry to hear that. If you decide to continue using Spotify, please reach out to the folks over at Customer Support again so they can assist you in creating a new Spotify account.

We hope this helps. Let us know if you have other questions.

[gavinpatrick92]

Was there ever a fix for this? I am having the exact same issue. Songs will rapid fire skip forward as though the media keys are being held down. Then it will stop and start playing a song. After that, I am not able to change the song or playlist, even when navigating to other playlists 

[Lifad]

Hey man,

Since spotify cannot find a solution for this issue, i had to find my own...

Just open your volume mixer change the output device to something then switch back to original device. 

That fixed the issue for myself.

[MihailY]

Hey folks,

Apologies for not responding earlier. @Lifad, kudos for figuring out a workaround on your own.

Anyone still experiencing this, please make sure to try out the troubleshooting steps in the thread and share your app version and exact description of the issue in case they don't help.

Keep us posted.

[flamek1d]

Is here any new fix or something? I have this problem after the update.

Exactly the same problem as we can see on video. I tried to use all possible solutions listed here...

Even tried to put some old versions of spotify but its fix like for 1h or so and then happen the same.

Only 1 difference that its happening only on PC version of spotify, on phone its all fine.
Spotify for Windows (64 bit) 1.2.42.290.g242057a2

[AlejaR]

Hey there @flamek1d,

Thanks for posting here and welcome.

Would you mind sharing with us the exact troubleshooting steps you've tried so far? That way we can avoid repeating any steps.

If you haven't yet, would you please try:

• Running the app in Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking to rule out any issues with your default Windows settings and basic device drivers.
• Checking for any local settings on your device that could be blocking the app. In case there's an antivirus software or such that could be restricting access to the app, try setting Spotify as an exception.  

Now, we understand you downgraded the Spotify version to see if you noticed changes, but keep in mind all users should only download the app from our official website. This way, we can advise adequate alternatives for any issues you might encounter.

Keep us in the loop!

[flamek1d]

I tried both solutions before, none helped me 😕

I only have default defender on my pc.

As i writed before the problem occure only in windows, before latest updates i had everything fine.

When i installed the previous versions of spotify it helped. But now even prev versions doesnt help.

Edit: I tried my friend account on pc and its worked fine. So its pretty much not the windows problem.

[Vasil]

Hey @flamek1d,

Thanks for the info!
If this is account-related, there's always the option to create a new account and copy your data there. You can see how to do this by taking a look at this FAQ page.

Aside from this though, I'm thinking that this could also be related to your specific account data on the device.
To see if we can fix this, for anyone experiencing this issue, try going through these steps one more time:
 

• Close the app, clear the Spotify host files and then start the app;
• Clear your app's cached data and restart the app;
• Go through all the steps for a complete clean reinstall of the app to wipe all app data from your device and then reinstall the app;
• If the issue continues to persist, see if switching the Microsoft app store version of the app with the one from our website (and vice-versa) would make a difference. 

If none of these steps help out, double-check and make sure the issue does not appear with a new account. If this is the case, you can follow the abovementioned FAQ for further guidance. 

Hope you'll find this info helpful 🙂

[Draï]

Hey everyone,

I had the same issue with Spotify being unresponsive. After trying many of the suggested solutions here without success, I found a fix that worked for me:

1. Go to your Spotify Account page.
2. Navigate to Manage Apps.
3. Remove access for all third-party apps.

After doing this, the issue stopped for me. It seems like some app integrations might cause this bug. I hope this helps anyone still dealing with the problem!