Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it

[lukaswil]

Plan

Premium

Country

UK

Device

Desktop

Operating System

Windows 10

My Question or Issue

When I try to play a song I get the following error message "Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it"

I have tried all the fixes I have seen:

Reinstalling app.

Using version from Microsoft store.

Disabled hardware acceleration.

Disabled crossfading.

Changed speaker options.

Deleted local files.

I've had this issue before and it was fixed by using the version from the Microsoft store but this isn't working now.

Spotify works on my phone and my laptop, web player also works only the desktop app doesn't work.

[Elena]

Hey folks,

Thanks for reaching out to the Community about this. 

Kudos on the troubleshooting you've tried so far, here are a few things you can try to get this fixed:

• Disable any antivirus or ad-blocking software, and turn off VPN if in use.
• Remove host files. Head here to find out how - often times this solved the error message 
• Update your audio drivers for the PC.

In case the issue persists, it'd be great if you could tell us the exact operating system, as well as your Spotify version. We'll be on the lookout for your reply.

[trenchfoast]

Looking at audio drivers solved my issue, thanks. I was using NVIDIA HD audio (through display port cable into my monitor), and instead of fixing that I just plugged my speakers into a different output.

[Lapin_Lumineux]

Plan

Premium

Country

USA

Device

Macbook Air M1 2020

Operating System

Ventura OS 13.2.1 (22D68)

My Question or Issue

80% of the time when I click on something, the song will not play and I will receive an error message saying “Spotify can’t play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it." Once it displays the error message, it will shuffle through a random assortment of songs endlessly, shuffling to a new song about every 2 seconds. There is no way to stop the shuffling, and none of the songs have audio.

Sometimes even when it does begin playing music without glitching, after about 30 minutes it will pause and start doing the error / freeze / shuffle all over again.

If I begin playing music on my phone and switch the listening device to my computer, it will also do this even though Spotify plays without issue on my phone.

I have tried clearing the cache, reinstalling my web browser, etc, and it does not impact the failure rate of the web player. Nothing fixes it.

Issue has been persisting for several weeks now.

[TG35]

This did not work for me, unfortunately.

Edition Windows 10 Home
Version 22H2
Installed on ‎7/‎9/‎2021
OS build 19045.3693
Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.19053.1000.0

Spotify for Windows (64 bit)
1.2.24.756.g7a7fc7f0

The web app works fine, desktop app shows the error message : Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it. 

Connecting to web player through the desktop app works. Connecting to desktop through the web player does not.

[jorgends]

This worked for me too, **bleep** of spotify to have a program soley made for playing sound and music, but that same program is unable to handle higher quality sound

[dimitris_mitr]

Plan

Student Premium

Country

Greece

Device

Macbook Pro 2017

Operating System

MacOS Ventura (13.6.1)

My Question or Issue

I updated the app on my MacOS and after it reopened, it stopped working and it showed the message "Something went wrong". I tried to close and reopen the app, delete and redownload it, check the app with a different internet connection, shut down the device and nothing seems to be working. Strangely, I checked the web version and it is not working either, showing the same message on the screen. I double-checked with a different browser, with the same result. However, the app on my phone is working just fine. Any idea on how I can solve this issue? 

[nawe_yes]

I have the same problem except mine is on the web version.

[Dingbat1991]

Also having the same issues. It's happening on the web player for both my Windows 10 desktop and my Windows 7 laptop.

[anonymous85]

I have this same issue. Not sure how to fix it. However I tried using Safari and works on there.

[lerob]

I have the same issue with my Mac M1. What is this about? I hoped it would be fixed when updating to Mac OS Sonoma and by doing a hard uninstallation (deleting all Spotify files). Downloaded and installed latest version from Spotify page - still same issue. I can't see anything on the "home page" and can't search any new songs without getting "Something went wrong". Had this now for about 2 weeks, never before. Works fine on my iPhone.

[Sunnit]

I just unplugged then re-plugged in my headphones and it works. I have no idea why

[ok000]

Hey this problem/bug or whatever still exists am having trouble not only on Windows app but also in browser please check this.

[Yordan]

Hey @ok000,

Could you confirm that you've tried all troubleshooting steps provided in this thread? Make sure also that the sample rate of your audio output device is set anywhere between 44.1 kHz and 192 kHz, as Spotify does not currently support higher sample rate.

Cheers!

[TG35]

Any suggested next steps for this?

[Yordan · Accepted solution]

Hey folks, 

Could you check if the correct audio output device has been selected for Spotify? Also, make sure that the sample rate of the device is set to anywhere between 44.1 kHz and 192 kHz. You'll find a guide on how to do that + some additional things you can try in this article, check it out 👍

If you're experiencing this in the Web Player, I'd recommend trying the troubleshooting steps from this post.

Cheers 🤘

[_f-w9b7ik25ws]

THANK YOU

[hajoonsrose]

Plan

Free/Premium

Country

Device

Computer

Operating System

Windows 10

My Question or Issue

my spotify will randomly stop working momentarily, or completely whenever i use it without airpods connected. it's been happening for over a year now, and 'song can't be played' always pops up

[TG35]

Checking audio devices in Windows worked, under App volume and device preferences. Something got crazy there, but fixing that fixed the problem for me. Would have never thought to look there. Thanks to the Mods!

[rokburok]

It was also my problem!! Strange bug...

[mariana98g]

Hello! Adding to the conversation, I had this issue with nothing playing, ever, whether it was a downloaded song, or a song i never downloaded, attempted to play, or anything. The system did not have audio output (accidentally plugged headphones into mic slot, so no actual way to put out sound was there). correctly plugging an audio output fixed it. St-p-d bug, as  the announcement will lead you to think its related to the files and not the audio itself. But in my case, that was the issue.