Spotify Opens on Startup No Matter What

[justawhiteguy]

Issue: Spotify opens on startup even though the Advanced Preferences has "Open Spotify automatically after you log into the computer" set to "No".

OS: Windows 7 Professional SP1

Spotify Version: 1.0.58.573.g57c9cd87

Just as a note, this started occurring only after Spotify automatically upgraded.

Attempts at Workaround:

1. Completely uninstall (deleted entire AppData\Roaming\Spotify directory) and reinstall
2. Downgrade to previous version (1.0.57.474)
3. Disabled Spotify in MSCONFIG
4. Change spotify.exe to spotify1.exe (supported as a solution elsewhere in this forum)

The closest attempt at this being resolved was through #3. However, there were weird results.

First I disabled Spotify.exe from opening on startup. (SpotifyWebHelper.exe was already disabled) 

After restart, Spotify did not open on startup (success! but not really...). MSCONFIG still shows that Spotify.exe is disabled, but SpotifyWebHelper.exe is no longer appearing...

I then opened Spotify, went back to MSCONFIG and now I have two instances of Spotify.exe in Startup, one that I had originally disabled and a new one that is enabled after starting Spotify.

There are a couple issues here... the first is obvious, if I say No I don't want Spotify opening when I login from the "Advanced Settings", then that should be it - Spotify shouldn't be opening when I login. The second, the fact that I had to change the Windows configuration to prevent Spotify from starting, then after reopening Spotify it adds a new startup configuration so that it can open on startup is a lot more concerning.

Are there any other potential workarounds at this time that I haven't tried? Since I have seen recently a common thread of users complaining in this forum about Spotify opening on startup even though the Advanced Settings has it set to No, I hope there is something in the works from the dev team as this is an annoying bug - and seems to be a potentially scary bug as it continues to override the startup configurations.

[tracer64]

When you have this issue, follow the steps below:

1. Go to the searchbar at the bottom of the screen or on Start and type in "CONFIG"

2. It will then pop up with a choice of the desktop app "System Configuration", click on this and a window should pop up

3. Go to the "Startup" tab at the top and click

4. Further navigate to the text outlined in blue asking to open the "Task Manager", do so

5. Then lastly, look for all "Spotify" services in this list and disable each one

[GiveMeMyMusac]

This is not a bug in Spotify but an feature of the new Windows update. See: https://superuser.com/questions/1229963/windows-10-disable-reopening-programs-after-restart-startup 

[fresh-ear]

No that does not apply to this issue, it applies to programs reopening on restart. 

This problem is that Spotify starts automatically at all times Windows is started, even when it has been shut down previously. 

[Lunicycle]

I've also tried all four of your workaround attempts, in addition to the other four solutions listed and Spotify still starts when my computer boots... I hate Spotify so much right now.

EDIT: I uninstalled the 'Spotify' app for the fourth time (which I downloaded from the Spotify website) and instead installed the 'Spotify Music' app from the Windows Store and now this app remembers my preferences and doesn't boot when Windows starts. Hooray!

EDIT EDIT: And it's back launching at startup... I uninstalled the 'Spotify Music' app and installed the 'Spotify' app again. However, this time I deleted the 'spotifywebhelper.exe' file, along with an updater exe file (can't recall the name) from within the C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Spotify folder (note that 'AppData' is a hidden folder). This seems to have fixed the problem... For now.

EDIT EDIT EDIT: And it's back launching at startup intermittently... I give up.

[JadeRiver]

Doesn't work.  None of the prevsous solutions do. I love Spotify, but this really sucks.  The weird thing is I have Spotify on my laptop and desk top and it only occurs on my laptop.  It's very annoying.  My guess is that there is some source of income for the number of times Spotify is launched, and we all know that money has become much more important than customers/subscribers.  Spotify is now classified as a virus as far as I am concerned.  They have been suspiciously absent from this conversation except for one entry where they suggest changes to the operating system rather than fixing the problem.  What a joke.

[JadeRiver]

Nope.  Turning off Open Spotify from the Web doesn't work.

[Jikan_Hinotori]

Looks like this still isn't fixed. Tried above proposed solutions and even after a full power cycle, Spotify is still opening on Windows 10 launch.

Any time frame for a fix?

[rowanrose]

Yeah, I've tried all the solutions here as well, and it still doesn't work. I love Spotify, but I really hate having my computer lag because of it when it starts up. Come on, guys - if a user ticks "do not open on startup" then the program should NOT OPEN ON STARTUP. It's not actually that difficult. 

I can't even change it in Task Manager > Startup because, hey, Spotify doesn't show there. Your users have been complaining about this for YEARS. Please fix the problem.

[boboman13]

It just started working for me in the last couple of weeks. I haven't done anything different so I assume it was a software fix from spotify. I'm on OS X 10.13.3, spotify v1.0.75.483.g7ff4a0dc

I didn't uninstall and reinstall or anything like that. Just magic.

Good luck to all.