Liked songs not being added to "Liked Songs" playlist on Windows Desktop

[GabAlternative]

Hi! I’m having an issue on the Windows Desktop version of Spotify.

When I like a song, it does not get added to my “Liked Songs” playlist.
This problem happens only on the desktop app — on mobile, everything works normally.

This has been happening for a while. I already tried:

- Clearing the cache
- Reinstalling Spotify
- Logging out and back in

But the issue still remains.

Plan: Premium
Country: Brazil
Device: Windows PC
Operating System: Windows 11

Thanks in advance!

[Amay]

Hey @GabAlternative, welcome to the Spotify Community! 🎵

Good to know you have already tried some basic troubleshooting steps. I'd still recommend trying a clean install using this guide.

If that doesn't help, try logging in to another account on the same device to see if the issue is isolated to your account. Make sure you don't have any system wide adblocker or VPN/DNS active, that could also interfere with the same.

Let me know how it goes. 🙂

[GabAlternative]

Hi! Thanks for the reply.

I followed your instructions and did a full clean reinstall, removing all remaining Spotify folders before installing again. Unfortunately, the issue still happens on my main account — liked songs are still not being added to the “Liked Songs” playlist on the Windows desktop app.

To test further, I created a new account and logged into it on the same device. With the test account, everything works normally — songs are added to Liked Songs with no issues.

What also seems strange is that this problem happens only on the desktop version for my main account. On mobile, everything works perfectly — liked songs show up instantly.

I also want to confirm that I do not use any VPN, DNS changer, system-wide adblocker, or anything similar that could interfere with the app.

So it really seems like something specific is affecting only my account on desktop.

Let me know what I should do next. 🙂

[Amay]

Thanks for the detailed response @GabAlternative.

Could you please confirm the following:

1. How big is the liked songs playlist? Does it have a lot of songs?
2. Check if you can replicate the issue with the same account on the web player on the same device.
3. Make sure your OS is up to date as well.

Keep me posted. 🙂

[GabAlternative]

Hi! Thanks for the follow-up.

1. My Liked Songs playlist doesn’t have many songs.
   I also don’t think the size of the playlist is the cause, because songs are added normally when I use the Spotify web player on the same device.
   
   

2. I tested my main account on the web player, and liked songs are added instantly.
   I also tested on my mobile app, and it works perfectly there as well.
   So the issue only happens on the desktop app, and only with my main account.
   
   

3. My operating system is fully up to date (Windows 11).

[Amay]

Understood @GabAlternative, I have a few more things for you to try.

1. If you have installed the Spotify app from the official website, try installing it from the Microsoft Store, and vice versa.
2. Open the desktop app -> settings -> turn off hardware acceleration -> restart.
3. When you try to like a new song, does any error message appear, or does nothing happen?
4. Liking a song on other platforms, like the web player or mobile app, syncs instantly to the desktop app. Or does it not update the list on the desktop app?
5. Share your Spotify app version.

[GabAlternative]

Hi! Thanks again for the follow-up. I have some additional details based on your questions:

1. My Spotify version is 1.2.77.358.g4339a634 (64-bit), and it updates automatically when I open the app.
   I believe it is the latest version.

2. I originally installed Spotify from the official website, and I also tried uninstalling and installing it again from the Microsoft Store.
   The issue persists on both versions when using my main account.

3. I tried turning hardware acceleration on and off, and restarting the app each time.
   This did not change the behavior.

4. When I try to like a song directly in the desktop app, the icon briefly activates as if the song was added, but it immediately deactivates again, and the song is not added to my Liked Songs playlist.
   No error message appears in the app.

5. When I like a song on other platforms (web player or mobile app), it syncs normally between them.
   However, the desktop app does NOT sync in real time.
   To make it update, I often need to restart the desktop app, and only after restarting it loads the songs I liked on mobile or web.
   If the desktop app is open, it does not automatically update the Liked Songs list when I like something on other devices.

6. You asked about error messages — the app doesn’t show any errors at all.
   I’m not sure if Spotify has any kind of console, logs, or debug mode that I can enable, but if there is one, I can provide the information without any problem.

Since everything works perfectly on the web player, mobile app, and even on a test account on the same device, the issue appears to be affecting only my main account on the desktop app.

[Amay]

Thanks for the comprehensive reply @GabAlternative. There's one more thing we could try.

Clearing the host files. The complete instructions are available on this page.

Let me know how it goes. 🙂

[GabAlternative]

Hi! I followed the instructions and checked my Windows hosts file.

There are no entries related to spotify or fastly, and nothing in the file is blocking any Spotify-related domains. The file only contains entries for other software (such as FitGirl protection, Wondershare, and Docker), but nothing connected to Spotify.

I saved the file and restarted the desktop app just in case, but the issue still persists 😭

[Amay]

Ah, I see. First of all, thanks for being so patient during this @GabAlternative. 

Let's look into setting up a new account instead. If you are okay with this, you can create a new account and manually transfer your followed artists and other items, such as playlists.

However, if there are too many items to copy over, you can try reaching out to Spotify support by clicking here. They might be able to help with the transfer.