Spotify app no longer works on Windows 11

[dannybodros]

Plan

Premium

Country

UK

Device

(MS Windows 11 Desktop PC)

Operating System

(MS Windows 11 Home Edition, 64 bit, v.23H2)

My Question or Issue

The Spotify app on MS Windows 11 no longer plays any songs. Please see the attached screenshot to that effect.

[Maria]

Hey @dannybodros,

Thanks for posting on the Community!

Just to check, does clearing stored cache make any difference? Once it's done, try logging out and back in again. Completing these steps should resync your account info.

Another option is to do a clean reinstall. This will clear cache too, as well as ensure you're running the latest app version.

If that doesn't do the trick, could you let us know if it happens with all playlists or just with a specific one? Does the same thing happen if you connect to a different network?

Let us know how you get on.

[dannybodros]

Hi Maria,

None of the solutions you've proposed have worked. And to answer your question, not a single playlist works, not just my "Liked Songs". Playing individual songs doesn't work either. Ironically, if I pick my mobile phone (Samsung S23) from the "Spotify Connect" function whilst on the PC, I can once again play songs, but the sound comes out only from the mobile phone. Ridiculous.

[MihailY]

Hey @dannybodros,

Thanks for your reply.

As a next step, please check your Windows hosts file using this guide. Also, let us know if you see an error message when you click the play button.

Keep us posted.

[dannybodros]

Hi Maria,

I don't know how or why, but it works now. I haven't even touched any settings!

[Ivelina]

Hey again @dannybodros,

Thanks for letting us know and that's great to hear!

Should you need help with anything else, we're here 🙂

Cheers.

[ajmoloney]

I have the same issue. W11 desktop app errors when you hit play on any song saying "Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on you can import it". I did a full clean reinstall twice - once from the Windows store, once form spotify.com. I've tried all the solutions listed in this thread and have also tried updating to the latest version of W11 and  temporarily disabling the firewall. It works fine on the browser version and fine on all other devices. What next?

[Yordan]

Hi @ajmoloney!

Could you check if the correct audio output device is selected for Spotify? You can do this in Windows' Sound Settings. Make sure also that the sample rate of your audio device is set to anywhere between 44.1 kHz and 192 kHz, as Spotify does not currently support higher sample rate.

Hope this helps. Cheers!

[#9]

I have Spotify app downloaded on my desktop.
I am logged in to my Spotify account.
My playlist won't show.
Any playlist would not load.
I cannot navigate songs.
and the app does not let me play any song.

I have tried many troubleshooting methods such as uninstalling and re-installing, running the app as administrator, restarting my device and so on, but none of the help fix my issue with the app.