Spotify unable to play any songs

[Stuporstardom]

Plan

Premium

Country

USA

Device

Laptop

Operating System

Windows 11

My Question or Issue

No matter what song I pick I get the “Spotify is unable to play this right now.” Message. I have tried doing a clean reinstall, restarting my device, logging out and back in, messing with hardware acceleration, changing internet connections, etc. How do I fix this?

[Bittencourt]

Hi @Stuporstardom, and welcome to the Community!

Considering you've tried all basic troubleshooting, let's go deeper 🤓 

But before, please try Spotify web player: go to https://open.spotify.com and try playing something.

If it works, the issue is likely with your desktop app’s interaction with local hardware or drivers.

So, my first suggestion is that you clear Spotify cache manually. Even after reinstalling, sometimes corrupt cache files remain.

1. Press Win + R, type: %appdata%\Spotify\Users\

2. Open the folder that matches your username (e.g., user-name-user).

3. Delete the file called local-files.bnk if it exists.

4. Relaunch Spotify.

Also, ensure default audio device is set properly. 

1. Right-click the speaker icon in the system tray > Sound settings.

2. Make sure the Output device is set to your main speaker/headphones.

3. Under Advanced, check sample rate:

   • Click your output device > More sound settings.

   • Go to Advanced tab.

   • Set the Default Format to 24 bit, 44100 Hz (Studio Quality) or similar.

Let me know if you need further help!

[Gizmo2501]

I am getting the same problem. UK here.

This is NOT a device-specific problem. I am getting this on Windows through the Spotify App, Windows through a Browser, and Android through the Android app.

No songs play, and I get the same error as OP.

Spotify was working fine yesterday, so this started today for me.

[Bittencourt]

Hi @Gizmo2501, thanks for reaching out.

Since it seems to be affecting all your devices, I'd suggest some basic troubleshooting such as trying with a different Wi-Fi connection or a mobile data hotspot to see if it makes any difference. Also, in case you're using a VPN, please turn it off too.

Also, you could let a friend or someone from your family log in your account on the affected devices to see if the issue persists or not.

Let me now how it goes!