Spotify (Windows Desktop) Forces Login Through Browser

[augurus]

Plan

Free

Country

United States

Device

Laptop

Operating System

Windows 11

My Question or Issue

When I open the Spotify (Windows Desktop application), I no longer receive the login prompt (it had stopped working maybe 2-3 days ago); instead, I receive the prompt in the attached image, asking me to login through the browser.  Login from the browser works, but I would prefer to login from the app and not always open a browser.

I have already tried uninstalling, clearing temporary and registry files, restarting the computer, then reinstalling.

I checked with my Firewalls and they all seem to permit Spotify to do as it pleases.

I don't seem to have any connection issues as I'm freely surfing the web and logging in from the browser.

I would appreciate any suggestions.

[AlejaR]

Hey @augurus,

Thanks for your reply and for your comments.

We really appreciate your feedback on the matter. Just to clarify, you should be able to log in to your account on the desktop app.

In this case, once you've logged in to the web player, you'll see a green button namely CONTINUE TO THE APP. When you click it, you'll be redirected again to the desktop app automatically. Sometimes the app takes up to 15 seconds to load and let you see your account. So, we'd recommend trying once more and giving the desktop app some time to load after the authentication process.

Keep us in the loop!

[jmartin919]

Do you have to use Chrome for this to work? I use Brave and it doesn't open an authentication tab. 

[Lyubka]

Hey @jmartin919,

Thanks for posting in the Community.
 

We'd suggest that you use the Spotify Web Player in Google Chrome. 
 

Brave Browser is unfortunately not supported, so it's expected to see some bizarre behavior when using it. You can find more info about the supported devices/browsers here.

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

[mmm21323]

I have the same issue as well. 

[jellyfish2]

for me i was able to fix this by going to default settings in windows settings and selecting a default browser, then i went back to the spotify application and pressed "log in" and it opened it in my default browser

[jaxon7au]

I am hating this new login in process.

Worst part is that I always uncheck "remember me" as one of the PC's I use it on is a shared PC and the next time I open Spotify I am still logged in!!!

Even if I physically log out of the Spotify app and log back in again, the browser automatically logs me back in without asking for the password.  

Is there an ETA on when this new feature will be shut off?

[Dead465joe]

Setting chrome (which is the browser which i'm using in this case) as my default browser in my settings has fixed the issue. I got rid of edge and it was probably trying to open it although it doesn't exist anymore.

[gsirvine]

I dislike this function because I set my computer to not have a default browser intentionally, now I can't log into spotify.  I have to go through the effort of setting and resetting the default browser thing...   Being an advanced user I was able to get around my own unique settings and change it back but it was a pain, and hopefully it stays logged in.

Another thing about this method is that it sort of looks unofficial.  Using a third party app to log in from an end users perspective looks cheap.  And from a more technical reason this actually seems less secure since you are relying on third party code (the web browser) that is not designed by spotify to pass data.  I get that it is encrypted but this from an outside perspective looks like your security in house is bad enough that it needs to rely on another third party login method.  It is cheap and requires more loading steps. 

Additionally this switches users away from spotify briefly giving them the opportunity to surf the web by way of distraction.  If the goal is keeping people on the app this clunkiness could loose a few people and bring down a small percentage of engagement. 

[zapata]

I hate this intentional new function. So annoying. Ditch this now and fire whoever came up with this idiotic feature.

[MrFrankWilson]

What's with adding minor inconveniences recently? Can't sign-in directly now, so you have to get authenticated then redirected back to the app...seems like the app should be good enough to do the authentication. This is on top of replacing hearts with +s, which adds another step to liking music and is dangerous while driving as it keeps the eyes off the road for longer.

[jjdin25]

Why have you done this for Desktop App users too?! What a ridiculous and inconvenient implentation. So now every time I log in on my work laptop I have to jump to the web browser to log-in before going back to the app, and so the process repeats every day with me having multiple devices to log in to Spotify on. Why not just keep log-in within the app?!

[linux39]

I also try to get it fixed. When I click the "Login" button, I come to a next page "Go to your browser to log in", no browser window opens. I tried to find out what's missing. firefox working. strace doesn't show that any browser is executed, so how does spotify detect the installed browser and how does it start it?

Desktop Version, under Linux (a minimal installation of Ubuntu). I know this thread is about Windows, but obviously, it's a more generic problem for all Desktop versions

Personally, I know this kind of login (from the app over the browser) from services like github. But I think this is understandable by developers only and not user-friendly enough for the average user.

[janicee]

im having the same problem it forces me to log in from browser and not the desc app pls how can i fix it???

[Scar5]

Hello

The button does not appear for me 

and i really want to use the desktop app for listening to music

Please fix this

[crahn27]

Im able to log into other platforms. Mobile app, PS4, etc. It was working a few weeks ago, I have not undergone any network changes, Ive verified that my firewall and antivirus allow it to have access to my network. Upon opening the desktop application, it prompts me to log in on the web browser. No web browser opens, so I type in "Go to your web browser to login Spotify" on my default browser. The account overview appears and I log in. Nothing happens on the application. Ive changed proxy settings, Changed my internet connection to wifi from LAN, everything. Im just lost. I dont want to use the web player bc who tf would.

[Yordan]

Hey everyone,

Could you try changing your default browser to another one to see if that does the trick? It's also worth reinstalling Spotify from a different source: if you downloaded the app from the Microsoft Store, try the one from our website instead, and vice-versa.

Let us know how it goes.

[crahn27]

Glad to see i'm not the only one experiencing this issue. This "intentional feature" is horrible. Nothing was wrong with the old login methods, so I'm unsure why there was a push for a new feature in the first place. What's that saying again? "if it isn't broke don't fix it"? Fire whoever thought of this😂

[Zach_Does_Stuff]

Spotify opens, login in popup looks fine. The login should redirect to a browser window for login credentials. No tab or window is opened. Web player functions normally.

[#20]

Здраствуйте, я скачал Spotify на виндовс 10 и хочу войти в свой аккаунт, но мне пишет „Открыть браузер, чтобы войти“ я не могу войти, помогите пожалуйста

[#21]

when i try to login it says go to ur browse to login and i dont see anything in my browser