Spotify App doesn't open in Windows 10

[mikeh340]

Plan

Premium

Country

USA

Device

Lenovo Thinkpad

Operating System

Windows 10

My Question or Issue

The Spotify app won't launch at all - the window does not appear and no processes appear in task manager. I went through the "clean reinstall" process that is posted here: https://community.spotify.com/t5/Desktop-Windows/Can-t-run-or-un-reinstall/td-p/1567813

, but doing that didn't work. I tried the clean reinstall with Windows in Safe Mode, and I'm able to launch the Spotify app in Safe Mode, but as soon as I switch back to normal mode on Windows, the app doesn't launch.

Any help will be appreciated, thanks!

[MauriceMV]

Hey @mikeh340, 

I've read some threads on here about people having the same problem as you are having right now. Some managed to fix the issue by doing one of the following:

• Disabling Firewall and Anitvirus
• Running it in compatability mode
• Opening as administrator

Hope this helps!

[DFBowie]

Same problem, none of the possibilities you mention work, nor does reinstalling.

I'll note that this is a different issue than the one solved in https://community.spotify.com/t5/Desktop-Windows/Spotify-won-t-open-No-error-messages-just-does-noth... because in my case (just as it was with the original poster) there isn't even a process in Task Manager—trying to start the Windows 10 app (installed from the Microsoft Store) results in absolutely nothing happening at all. In fact, as far as I can tell there isn't even the "waiting" cursor that normally appears at least momentarily when starting a program.

[mikeh340]

What ended up working for me is updating to the most recent version of
Windows. That resolved my issue. Hope that helps.

[DFBowie]

Both Spotify and Windows 10 are completely up to date on my laptop (but no Windows beta features).

I should perhaps note that I don't know when this started. The last time I opened my Spotify app on my laptop had been months ago—I usually use it only from my phone. (It may even have been in 2019.) It worked back then, though.

[hsiboy]

I have exactly the same problem. Again, i don't know when it started.

[mpoudrier]

Same Issues here. I followed all the steps and even did a clean install in the end but nothing works. The app still completely fails to launch. I've watched the task manager as I attempt to launch Spotify and there's not so much as a blip of activity.

[Xenia]

Hey @mpoudrier, 

Thank you for reaching out and for confirming the troubleshooting steps you've done so far.

Can you confirm you've followed the exact steps here to perform a clean reinstall?

If that didn't do the trick, we'd recommend restarting your computer in safe mode with networking enabled (usually accessible by pressing F8 during boot-up) and try deleting all files containing Spotify again from there before downloading and installing Spotify from the Windows Apps store.

You can also try running the app as administrator, to see if that makes a difference.

Let us know how you get on. We're looking forward to your reply.

Cheers!

[CaptnCrunch09 · Accepted solution]

I have had this problem at least twice, where suddenly Spotify no longer opens, there's no task manager process, etc., using Windows 10. I have it configured to open automatically on Start, and this also was not happening.

Today, I fixed it using something I hadn't seen on here; maybe this is helpful to someone:

1. In the Start menu, search for "Spotify"
2. When the icon appears, right-click and select "App Settings"
3. A window will open. Scroll down to the section called "Reset" and there will be a button that says "Repair". Click that.

After selecting repair, a little green check mark appeared, and after that, running Spotify from the Start menu worked again.

[crystallily123]

Selecting Repair from the App Settings Menu worked for me.

[matimus]

App Settings and hitting "Repair" worked for me! Thank you!

[davidkslack]

Worked for me, can this be marked as the fix?

[Ver]

Hey folks,

Thanks for posting here.

Glad to hear that it worked out and the app is working as expected again. We went ahead and marked @CaptnCrunch09's reply as a solution so it's more visible.

The Community is here for you if there's anything else!
 

[wcous2]

App settings not there.

[bb-007]

same here. I use Windows 11... There should be an other way to repair Spotify, or maybe there is, but I can't find it.

[OscarDC]

Hey @bb-007.

Welcome to the Community and thank you for joining the conversation.

The repair process previously mentioned worked for some of the cases in Windows 10. However, since you're using Windows 11, it's possible that the specific setting is not there anymore.

In case you haven't done it before, we'd suggest performing a clean reinstall of the app by following the steps in this article.

If the issue persists, we'd recommend deleting the damaged host files by following the steps in this post (even if it's a different topic).

In case you still have the issue after this, include in your next response the Spotify version you're currently running to continue investigating the case.

Hope this helps. Let us know how it goes.

[Beatnik48]

I could not get "App Settings" to appear, after right-clicking,

but my room mate left clicked on Spotify from the Start Menu,

and Spotify opened!

[Beatnik48]

Right, no App Settings for me either.  Left-clicking on Spotify in Start

Menu worked.  Hope that will work again if I ever have this problem again.

[CrankShade]

Still relevant in 2023!  Found this solution today after a 2nd time of this problem happening.  Worked in seconds and app opened right up.  Thanks!

[notsosharpe]

I cannot get the Spotify app to run on my Windows 10 PC any longer.  I get an error message that a .dll file is missing.  I have tried removing and reinstalling the app, but using control panel, Spotify will not remove..  The browser version works, but not the app.