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Plan
Free
Country
USA
Device
Multiple
Operating System
Multiple
My Question or Issue
A podcast I have been listening to for months, Behind the Bastards, suddenly won't play on any device. I've tried both the web player and app on two different Windows 10 computers and on my Android phone (Samsung Note 9). The progress bar shows up as if the podcast is playing (shows the episode title and "Play" button turns to "Pause" button as if playing), but it never actually plays. I've tried multiple different episodes. Other podcasts and music play just fine, but I suddenly can't keep listening to this podcast that has become a big part of my office routine at all. Extremely frustrating. Does anyone have any idea how to fix this issue? I have seen a couple old posts with similar problems, but no solutions on any of them, and the latest one was nearly a year old. Thank you.
Hey there @TheGreatWolf,
Thanks for getting in touch about this here in the Community.
Would you mind letting us know if the same happens using a different internet connection?
If so, could you send us the podcast's URI so we can take a closer look? To get it, just follow the steps here.
We'll be on the lookout for your reply 🙂
@Eni
Hello! Tried different WiFi and even mobile data, still doesn't work.
I asked my sister to try and see on her own account and for her it works so I guess that somehow it's a problem with my account.
Does this help you: https://open.spotify.com/show/2X40qLyoj1wQ2qE5FVpA7x
Hey @TheGreatWolf,
Thanks for your reply and the extra info.
We've tried on our end in a couple of accounts and could play that podcast without trouble, so it may be indeed related to your account. Could you try Saving the episode to Your Library to see if that way it works? Also, try downloading it to check if that makes any difference.
Keep us posted.
I am having the same problem on both Android and Windows.
With Windows I am using the web player and the page will load up normally but the play button doesn't do anything. It acts like this for all podcasts that I have tried.
On Android, I hit play, the play button acts like it's playing (changes from "play" to "pause"), but the progress bar doesn't move, the time remaining counter doesn't move, and it doesn't play. This doesn't happen on all podcasts. Some will play, some won't. Mostly having problems with No Dogs In Space and some Crooked Media podcasts.
I have cleared the cache, cleared all data, logged out and back in, and uninstalled and reinstalled the app.
Hey @invisiblesphinx,
Thank you for adding your post to the Community!
Since the issue is happening in two different devices, could you log in with another account, such as a friend's or a family member's to see if the issue persists?
Also, have you tried downloading some episodes and playing them with the Offline Mode on?
Another good idea would be connecting to a different internet network and checking how the podcasts work.
Let us know how this goes.
Hi there @invisiblesphinx,
Thank you for for your reply and the detailed information.
Regarding downloading episodes on your Windows computer - you should be able to see an arrow that points down on the right side under the specific episodes description.
If you can't see it, can you provide us a screenshot so that we can have a closer look directly from your end?
We suggest that you perform a clean reinstall of the app on your Android device. This will make sure there's no old cache files causing this.
If that doesn't do the trick and you have an SD card we suggest that you uninstall the app > turn off your phone > take out your SD card > turn on the phone again (without the SD card) > reinstall the app since the card can be corrupted.
We'll keep an eye out for your reply.
Take care!
For Windows: There's no download arrow (see attached screenshot). I'm using the free version, maybe that's why? Either way, it plays normally on Windows now, so it doesn't matter.
For Android: I uninstalled and reinstalled the app before I posted here and it made no difference. I uninstalled and reinstalled it again just now to be sure, and again it made no difference. Still can't play or download from certain shows.
I don't think I have an SD card. I can't find a slot for it, nor is there any way to get into the phone short of disassembling it. SD card isn't mentioned anywhere in the "storage" part of the settings.
Thanks
Hi @invisiblesphinx,
Thanks for getting back to us.
No worries, we can confirm there's no option to download your content on the web player, only in the desktop app.
Could you let us know the exact make/model, operating system and Spotify version of your phone?
We'll be on the lookout.
Hi there @invisiblesphinx,
Thanks for getting back in touch and sending us this info.
Would you mind logging in to your account on a different phone to check if the issue persists there?
On another note, we'd suggest that you factory reset your phone. Make sure to make a back up of your data before doing so.
Keep us posted on how it goes.
Hey there,
Thanks for the reply.
It is possible that the app is behaving erratically, as it is currently being optimized for newer Android versions, so some incompatibility might occur. This is most likely the cause of the issues since the device is pretty old.
Another thing you can try is downloading Spotify lite. It doesn't offer the full range of functions, but it's better optimized for older phones and phones without much memory.
Let us know if that helps.
I am having the issue above with all podcasts from the New York Times and also Dr. Death from Wondery. The other podcasts I listen to are fine.
I'm on an iPhone X with IOS 15.0.2. Tried both the clean reinstall and the new account suggestions - still have the problem.
I welcome your help!
Hi there @Amy-L,
Thank you for your reply in this thread.
It sounds like this could be a device-related issue. In case you're using any battery optimization or power saving apps, you can deactivate them for Spotify. It's also important to make sure that there are no other apps running in the background.
Keep us posted 🙂
Take care!
Hey @Amy-L,
Thanks for the info 🙂
Could you please share with us the following? We'll look into this further.
Keep us posted.
i'm also dealing with this problem. i can't play any of my podcasts; i've checked all the settings, i've done re-installs; everything. i can play them on other accounts but for some reason it won't let me do it on this one. i am using a lenovo chromebook and a samsung a20
Hey @toneronii,
Thanks for reaching out about this and welcome to the Community!
Can you let us know if this started happening recently and if it's happening with all podcasts or just a few that you're following? This will help us get a better overview of the issue, as some podcasts might not be available in your country at the moment.
It would be great if you can let us know the following:
We'll be on the lookout for your reply.
My one podcast episode won't play, I've restarted my iMac, I've uninstalled Spotify fully with all of the various Spotify files, I've shut down iMac for a while and reinstalled and it still won't play that one episode. It plays other episodes from the podcast, but not this one. https://open.spotify.com/episode/43awUorzUShOy4jX4ApXo9?si=c4f21c00759b4010
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