Spotify no longer works on Windows desktop after installing my DAC drivers.

[ChloeHase]

I've recently bought an iFi Zen V2 DAC. After plugging it in for the first time, Spotify stopped working for a while but I found a similar post to the one I'm making now, and the fix for that worked fine.

However, after installing the latest drivers, Spotify has entirely stopped working. Any time I try to play anything, even through the standard realtek audio device, it brings up a 'Spotify can't play this right now' error. 

I've tried:

1. Restarting my PC (you can append this onto every other thing I've tried). 
2. Dropping the device bitrate to 192kHz
3. Unplugging the DAC
4. Uninstalling the DAC drivers
5. Uninstalling and reinstalling Spotify

Nothing has worked, not even to let Spotify play through the Realtek device. 

Any ideas? 

[Kiril]

Hey there @ChloeHase,
 

Thank you for posting and welcome to the Community!

We understand you've experienced a break up in the functionalities of your Spotify app after updating the drivers of your DAC. Although this situation could be related to the specifics of your iFi Zen V2 and your personal setup, it could be worthwhile to perform another so called clean reinstall of your Spotify desktop app, making sure to follow the steps given here. It's a more thorough reinstall, that clears possible cached data residues and so we hope that this will make a difference for you.

If the above does not help, we can also suggest taking a look at the thread here, where users have discussed a similar issue and have found a solution connected with tweaking the sample rate settings. 

Hope this helps. Let us know how you get on.

[ChloeHase]

Hi, thanks for getting back to me.
Changing the bitrate was what fixed it before I installed the new drivers, I had already seen that thread. This solution no longer works, as I've tried it multiple times in various combinations with the other things I've tried.

I've just performed another clean install, and that hasn't changed anything. Spotify still gives me the standard 'Spotify can't play this track right now' error when trying to play anything, whether through the DAC at 192kbps or through the default Realtek output device.

[Kiril]

Hey again @ChloeHase,

Thanks for your swift reply.

Sorry to hear this didn't do the trick for you. As you mention that the playback is not available even through your Realtek device, this could be related to some drivers' conflict in your specific setup. Could you actually play/hear sounds from other apps and sources, or this happens only with Spotify? You can also try uninstalling/rolling back the DAC drivers to see if you'll be able to play music as usual using your on board audio card as before? If this helps, maybe you can also contact the Support folks of your DAC's manufacturer to address this or for some additional advice.

Also, I know this might be redundant to say, but it's worthwhile to check if the app's not accidently switched into Offline mode, you can see more info here.

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

[ChloeHase]

I've tried a few more things to no avail, but I'll answer your questions first. Yes; everything else plays audio both through the DAC and the realtek device just fine, it's just spotify not working - it's not that it doesn't play audio, it's that it won't even start playing a track. I get the 'Spotify can't play this right now' error and it skips through multiple tracks. I can use Spotify desktop to play tracks on my phone, but Spotify desktop won't play anything on its own.

I've now tried uninstalling ALL audio drivers from my PC and reinstalling the Realtek drivers for my particular motherboard, then reinstalling Spotify. Still no results. This is no longer just a problem with the DAC, it's just a straight up problem.

[ChloeHase · Accepted solution]

Good news! I haven't reinstalled the iFi drivers, but I have uninstalled the spotify desktop app (downloaded from the Spotify site) and reinstalled it from the Microsoft store. The same issue occurred where it wouldn't play at the highest bitrate, but the solution from this post now works again! I don't know if I want to risk reinstalling those drivers, but at least I know how to fix it now.

[OscarDC]

Hey @ChloeHase,

Thank you for keeping us posted.

We’re glad to know that the steps of that post worked for you and everything is up and running now. We appreciate the time you took following the troubleshooting steps and sharing the solution.

If anything else comes up, remember that we’re just a post away.

[mathiashauk]

win 11 solution for me is going to System > Sound > Volume mixer under all the settings it says
''Reset sound devices and volumes for all apps to recommended defaults'' 
-Press '' Reset''
Now it works for me.

All newest software/firmare as of 27.Jan.2024