Spotify crashes constantly

[h4x1]

Plan

Free

Operating System

Windows 10

My Question or Issue

Ever since I came back to using Spotify a few days ago, it's been crashing on desktop constantly to the point of being unusable. It happens randomly while I'm scrolling through something in the app and in the middle of listening to music. When I reopen Spotify, the song it crashed on will usually be paused at the 2 second mark. The crashing happens on both the regular and Windows store versions of Spotify, and I've tried reinstalling both to no avail, making sure to remove any leftover AppData files I'm aware of. I initially thought the new UI might have something to do with it, but reverting to the old one didn't fix the issue.

[h4x1]

I'd like to add that the app seems to open multiple processes right before crashing, much like how it's described here: https://community.spotify.com/t5/Desktop-Windows/Spotify-acting-wonky-spawning-multiple-processes-an...

However, reinstalling didn't fix the issue like it did for this user.

[emalvick]

I have the same exact issue. Even when I am not in the program, it will crash out.  I see multiple tasks open up in the tray and then it crashes.  This has been going on for a few days now.

Seems to only happen on my main PC and maybe related to a recent Windows Update.  My other PC is a work PC and its Windows updates run a year behind.

[deffertz]

Same exact issues here.  Also went through Spotify's recommended troubleshooting.  Use Chrome player for the time being.

[Jeremy]

Hi there folks,

Thank you for your posts here in the Community. We're happy to help.

Can you try with a different internet connection to see if the issue persist?
 

On another note, did you perform a clean reinstall of the app? This is different from a quick reinstall and could be helpful to get rid of any cached files that might be causing trouble. 

We'll keep an eye out for your replies.

Take care!

[h4x1]

I just tried a clean reinstall, following every step on that page, but the issue persists.

Unfortunately, I'm currently unable to try a different internet connection. I'm on a PC with Ethernet, and switching to a different connection just for Spotify would be a big inconvenience. I did try opening Spotify with my internet connection disabled, and it still crashed after a few minutes just as it would otherwise.

[Mihail · Accepted solution]

Hey @h4x1,

Thanks for getting back to us.

Could you let us know if you experience any issues when using our web player on the same device? Also, could you try disabling Hardware Acceleration from the settings and see if that makes a difference? 

On another note - are you importing any local files? If you are, could you share the approximate number?

Keep us posted, we'll be on the lookout for your reply.

[h4x1]

Changing the local file settings seems to have solved it. I had considered that to be the issue before as I have quite a large music folder, but brushed it off since "Show Local Files" was disabled. I had to check it then uncheck the folders within to stop it from trying to scan, which appears to have solved the issue. Thank you for the help!

[emalvick]

This also solved it for me. I don't even have local files, no downloads, etc. Seems odd.

Here I uninstalled and reinstalled the app at least 10 times, probably 10 different ways (exaggerating a bit) and the one setting that should have nothing to do with me is the one that fixes things. I've actually used the app for 5 years without issue (at least), and I've never actually messed with the setting much once I had things the way I liked it.

[deffertz]

Toggling the local files on and off (keeping it off) works for me too.

Not ideal as I would like to use local files.

[emalvick]

Oh. I know. It's a broken feature at this point for those that need it.

I use the equivalent feature on my phone, so I'd be definitely flustered if my phone had the same problems and this was the only solution.

[CarlosE]

Hey folks,

Thanks for keeping us posted.

@h4x1 and @emalvick, we're glad to know that it solved it for you!

@deffertz, try moving your Local files to a different folder, then toggle Local Files on > enable the new source and disable any other that appears there.

Let us know if that does the trick for you.