Spotify can't play this right now.

[DanielBe43]

Plan

Premium

Country

Israel

Device

PC

Operating System

Windows 11 64bit

My Question or Issue

I try to play any song on the app and I get this message:

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

[alex388]

Same problem. Already tried windows store's Spotify version, aswell as the downloaded browser one. Both have the same problem

[DanielBe43]

Are you by any change using Windows 11 as well?

[Crazy_qbz · Accepted solution]

I too am having the same issue. Fresh install for windows 11. I have uninstalled Spotify and reinstalled from a new download. I am still having the same issues, currently I am downloading the cumulative update for Windows 11 hoping there’s something there.

[Crazy_qbz · Accepted solution]

The cumulative update for x64 systems seams to have worked

[DanielBe43]

Thank you so much!
I have accepted you comment as a solution.

[awasen]

This started out of the blue for me yesterday. I was listening to Spotify before lunch, came back after lunch and got the "Cant' play this right now" message.

No updates/installs have been done and I've restarted, reinstalled Spotify (both Web and Microsoft Store versions) but am still stuck on the same...

There's no Windows Updates to install, and needless to say, I'm on Windows 11 as well.

[Vasil]

Hey @awasen,

Sorry to see this has happened to you.
Yesterday there were some issues with the Web Player in general, most causes seem to be resolved by now.
Could you check if yours works? You could try in an Incognito browser window as well 🙂
We'll be on the lookout for your response.
Thanks!

[skippy1234]

I'm on windows 11. Did my systems update. Still having the same error message pop up. Did clean reinstall, cache wipe and hardware acceleration options and its still not working. Using the web version now. Very annoying.

[Eni]

Hey there @skippy1234, 

Thanks for reaching out about this here in the Community. 

 Great troubleshooting so far, we can add a few more steps to make sure we've covered all bases.

Could you let us know if the same happens using a different internet connection? 

On another note, would you mind asking a friend or a relative to log in to their account on your PC and check if the same happens with their account? 

We'll be on the lookout for your reply. 

[skippy1234]

Hi Eni, It does not happen on other devices (phone or laptop). I logged out and created a new account and still received the same message. Even went into Win11 settings and repaired the app.

Still nothing.

Note that the web player works fine, but the quality settings aren't available on it.

Also double-checked my firewall settings and spotify is set to allow, so I can't figure out what the problem is.

[Yordan]

Hi @skippy1234,

Thanks for keeping us posted.

It's worth checking if there are any lines that mention spotify or fastly in the hosts file on your laptop and delete them. This article goes into detail on how to edit it and remove the unnecessary lines. 

Examples may look like 0.0.0.0 weblb-wg.gslb.spotify.com or 0.0.0.0 prod.b.ssl.us-eu.fastlylb.net. If you do find such entries, you can delete them, then save your changes and restart the app.

Make sure also that you've set the sample rate of your audio playback device to anywhere between 44.1 kHz and 192 kHz. You can do that in Windows' Sound settings > Sound Control Panel, then select your playback device and click on Properties > Advanced > Default Format.

Let us know how it goes. Cheers!

[skippy1234]

@Yordan, tried that and unfortunately, it did not work. I'm still seeing the same error message. What else can I do?

[Eni]

Hey @skippy1234, 

Thanks for your reply. 

We suggest that you disable any antivirus or ad-blocking software, and turn off any VPNs if in use.

On another note, we'd like to know if this started happening after a specific event such as an update. 

Keep us in the loop.

[skippy1234]

Eni,

I've tested it with Norton 360 Smart Firewall and Auto-Protect disabled and still the application won't play songs. Same error message. I'm installing a Windows 11 ver.  22H2 update that just popped up today in the hopes that it'll correct the problem.

[skippy1234]

WOOOOOOO I got my Spotify back!! The Windows 22H2 update fixed it!😁 Thank God

Okay so I figured out something once it broke again. I have a Creative Soundblaster AE5 soundcard. If I switch any output settings on the card Ie. going from 96khz to 384khz then Spotify will throw up the error.

However, when it set it to 192khz, then start playing a track in spotify (which is set to very high streaming quality), then switch my sound card output to 384khz THEN Spotify starts playing as intended. *phew*.

[Smarteepant]

After looking at like a billion posts, this was it. Spotify wasn't working when my amp was set to 384khz, and when I changed it to 192khz it started working instantly. Thank you!

[arianevans]

This happens to me regularly, due to changes in my Windows audio (System>Sound>[Output/Devices]) sample rate. I have multiple audio systems hooked up to this Windows device, and use different playback apps like Roon for studio audio 24bit files with sample rates up to 352.8khz. When one of these apps sets the audio default higher than 24/192khz, Spotify music will no longer play. Sometimes it is confusing as podcasts will play via Spotify. It is only music audio that will not play above 192khz.

Reset audio to 192khz or lower and it should play fine.