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.

[lordsquall86]

Plan

Premium

Country

Italy

Device

MacBook Air 2024

Operating System

MacOS Sequoia 15.3.2

My Question or Issue

I get on my Macbook this alert "The current song cannot be played" with every song I choose to play. It works good on my Iphone and other devices. Tried to uninstall and reinstalled the app, deleted cache and offline data, the app still doesn't reproduce any song. 

[#3]

New account, old computer, windows 8.1. No app provided for anything under Windows 10. Using Opera browser. Music loads, begins to play, then stops and flashes message, "Spotify can't play this song right now." Skips to next song, repeats same message, repetitiously, endless.

[Malakias]

Exactly the same problem in Windows. I can listen my Library stuff like Discover Weekly, Liked Songs etc, but whenever I am searching some albums and try to listen them it gives this error, and the only way is to do full reset of the app. I have to do this every time I start listening. These problems with Windows app have continued for years.

[Phreakwently]

Thank you! Along the lines of this one but Spotify didn't appear as an App in the volume mixer because it couldn't play.

In Windows:

Settings > Sound > Volume Mixer > "Reset sound devices for all apps to the recommended defaults"

- this set Spotify back to the correct output for me

[AluXRAYS]

Spotify did appear in my Volume Mixer and I had tried to reset sound devices for all apps to the recommended defaults but nothing worked until I installed the Web Player App. Very strange how Spotify affects differently with all computers. At least we were able to get it to play again.

[wasabi1235]

i solved my problem: try turning off smart shuffling. for some reason you can turn on smart shuffling later and it will work fine

[Beast0]

I am having a very similar problem. The app isn't even letting me play local files on my computer. I can play them using any other app but spotify. And when I try playing files online I get a message  "spotify can't play this file right now, if you have on your computer you can import it. I have already set the local directory to where my files are stored and still nothing. And yes I have tried everything. And no it's not a web connection issue because I can not even play local files in spotify. But they play just fine using other apps.

[#9]

I keep getting "Spotify can't play this right now" when I try playing downloaded songs on macOS from my Liked Songs, but when I search their album I can play it from there. I've done two reinstalls, several reboots, and multiple log in/log outs so far.

[nl3_wr-nh2gi]

I'm having this exact issue of getting the "Spotify can't play this file right now, if you have on your computer you can import it," but only for PC apps.  I have it installed on 2 PCs: 1 running with Win 10, the other Win 11.

When the error message occurs:

• Playing directly from an artist's album discography.  The older the album, more more frequent it happens on multiple artists.

What I tried:

• Cleared cache. Did not work.
• Restarted the app.  Did not work.
• Restarted the PC.  Did not work.
• Signed out of everything and signed back in.  Did not work.
• Reinstalled the most recent versions of the app using both the web download and Microsoft store on both PCs.  Did not work.
• Checked and restarted the internet connection, which was fine.  Did not work.
• Checked my actual Spotify account for any issues.  Nothing out of the ordinary.

What "fixes" it:

• If the PC app is open and the web browser (such as Chrome) is used, the music will transfer and play on the app.  But if you click to a different artist/playlist and come back to that same album on the PC app, the error message comes up.
• If I play it on my Android phone, it plays on the open PC app.  But, like above, switching artists or playlists and returning back to the album on the PC app causes the error.
• If the song/album is on a created playlist on the app, it will play.  Returning back to the album discography makes the error message pop up.

[Beast0]

APP is still BROKEN!!!  I have just spent 2 days trying everything here and still nothing. What am I paying you for??

[fajita_47citronne]

For me, I found going into your audio settings, clicking on your output device, and disabling any "effects" worked.

[MusicMedium]

Hi,

I upgraded Spotify from free to premium, and ever since then, I can no longer play anything in the Safari web app. For each and every song I find, any attempt to play the song results in "Spotify can't play this right now".

It would be good to know definitively if this is known and expected. If others can confirm they get the same result.

I prefer not to run another application if I can instead play music in a browser tab. I'm not using Private Browsing Mode. Just a day ago (and for well over a year), attempting to play songs succeeded just fine in Safari, so the main change seems to be subscribing to a paid plan.

For this to work before when I had a free plan and then not allow me to play any songs through the web interface while switching to a paid plan seems pretty counterintuitive.

I'm connecting from the US, and this is a Mac (Apple Silicon), latest OS.

[Nexrotic]

@nl3_wr-nh2gi

I'm having the same issue as you as well and have tried everything you have tried without success. I've been testing it in various different ways with various different settings for Spotify and Windows in the sound options.

I've been in a support chat with an agent who did her best to help with it and has now escalated it. I'll be waiting for an email for further news. I seem to have found the guaranteed trigger for the issue in my case at least.. It has a chance of occurring if I browse an artists discography, playing various songs.. Then I click onto my playlist on the left hand side and then use my mouse's back button to return to where I was in the discography. After this process, the error occurs. I was given a customer service test account temporarily as well, it happened on this account as well.

Hopefully we'll have a fix soon..

[user-removed]

I can't play any tracks and get that "Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer, you can import it".

On my Android phone, my web browser, I can play normally without any problems.

My Spotify version 1.2.60.564.gcc6305cb (from Microsoft Store).

[KevinsRandom]

I think I have found a temporary resolution to this issue. Turn off "Smart Shuffle" then play the songs you cant play. Then turn "Smart Shuffle" back on and the songs should be playable.

If you have shuffle turned off, cycle through the shuffle options then play your song that was unplayable. The app seems to lag or freeze for a second then recover after this action when the issue is present.

[sherabgashon]

The error message "Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it" kept appearing when I was trying to play songs on DESKTOP from my LIKED SONGS playlist.

I reset the App data and restarted, but the issue persisted. 

Steps I took to fix the problem were:

1. I selected a song from outside the LIKED SONGS playlist

2. I turned off all my shuffle and repeat settings

3. I played an older song on my LIKED SONGS playlist

Things worked fine after this. I'm not sure if step 3 is necessary, most likely any song from the LIKED SONGS playlist would work. But that's what worked for me.

[saymyname20202]

I found that unplugging my speakers from my computer and plugging back in reset the audio jack and this worked only

[other8055]

Had the same issue, and tried everything from reinstalling multiple times and playing around with any and all settings on Spotify and Windows PC. Just fixed it after days by changing the Sound Output from 48 to 96, test your speaker though as higher than 96 gave me bad quality for output. Attached the instructions I used, nothing else worked for me including unplugging jack and using in other ports, turning on/off Smart Shuffle, crossfade, hardware acceleration, etc. Hopefully it stays working, not sure why it stopped as it worked before. For whatever reason, if it doesn't work by simply changing Output Format, toggle Spatial Sound for Windows Sonic for Headphones to ON (only option my PC has). 

To change the speaker output format, navigate to your system's sound settings and adjust the "Default Format" or "Sample Rate" settings. You can typically find these options in your operating system's audio settings, or within the properties of your audio device. 

Steps to Change Speaker Output Format:
Windows:
1. Access Sound Settings:
Right-click the speaker icon in the taskbar and select "Open Sound settings," or search for "Sound settings" in the Windows search bar. 

2. Choose Output Device:
Ensure the correct audio device (e.g., speakers, headphones) is selected under "Choose your output device". 

3. Advanced Settings:
If needed, click on "More sound settings" or navigate to the "Advanced" tab in the "Sound Control Panel" to adjust the "Default Format" or "Sample Rate". 

4. Select Format:
Choose the desired audio format (e.g., 24-bit/96kHz), and click "Apply" or "OK" to save the changes. 

5. Test Audio:
Test your audio device to ensure the new format is working correctly. 

[Doobs67]

For me, I had to go into my windws PC : System, Sound, All sound devices, Properties, and turn OFF "Audio enhancements"

[randydodd530]

Windows 11. Realtek Audio device. Using external speakers connected with audio jack. I was able to fix this by accidentally discovering I needed to turn on "Windows Sonic for Headphones" in the Spatial sound setting.

Start> Settings> System> Sound> Speakers/Headphones> Spatial sound> set to "Windows Sonic for Headphones". If it is set to "off", you will get the error from Spotify: "Spotify can't play this file right now.".

Of course, there is no documentation anywhere about this, and you have to wonder why Spotify can't fix their product to work properly.

You can also set the "Audio Enhancements" to off.

Start> Settings> System> Sound> Speakers/Headphones> Audio Enhancements> off.

You can try both ways and see what sounds the best.

Looks like it might be some type of a conflict with the Realtek audio drivers that Spotify has not resolved.