(Desktop) Playback issues with local files

[Maria]

We're receiving reports of users experiencing playback issues with local files. This seems to happen specifically on the desktop app, where playback stops at 0 seconds after every song.

[Maria]

Hey guys, 

I've tried out a temporary fix mentioned before and thought I would share it here:

This was mentioned before but I thought I would elaborate with a step by step guide - the 'corrupted' audio files will have a sample rate of 48000, when you want it to be 44100. You can check what the sample rate is by right clicking your file and looking at properties, under 'Details' it will say "Audio Sample Rate" with a number. If it's 48000, write it down because you'll need to change it.

Open up the Audacity software and dump in your corrupted audio files, then immediately hit export (you don't have to do anything yet!) Before you export it will show a couple options on how to export (mp3, mp4, etc) - ignore everything except for the "Sample Rate" section, and select 44100 in the dropdown. 

The file should now work. 
It sucks that we have to resort to these methods but I hope this helps at least a couple people.

Good luck, 
Bloodtraitor

[Kyanovk]

Plan

Premium

Country

Netherlands

Device

HP Laptop Elitebook

Operating System

Windows 11

My Question or Issue

Since a couple of days ago my spotify has been acting very weird. Everytime i turn on my playlist and dont shuffle it it stops randomly. I thought this was a local files issue, but then it also stops randomly with normal songs. It like  stays at 0:00 and wont move.

I have autoplay turned on. I tried restarting my laptop, deleting spotify, clearing cache and making a new playlist but all of that didnt work. So how do i fix this issue now?

[AlejaR]

Hey there @Kyanovk,

Thanks for posting in the Community and welcome.

We understand you've already tried reinstalling the app on your device, but we'd like you to perform, if you haven't yet, a clean (more thorough) reinstall of the Spotify app on your devices. You can find out the steps to do it here. By doing that, the app can be up-to-date and you can make sure the stored cache is not leading to this behavior.

If the above doesn't do the trick, you can also try:

• Clearing the host files. You can follow these steps to do it.
• Try running Spotify in Safe mode with Networking. to rule out any issues with your default Windows settings and basic device drivers. You can follow these steps to do so.

We had a similar report in this thread. Just to confirm, does this happen when connecting a specific device to your laptop, such as Bluetooth speakers?

Keep us in the loop!

[Kyanovk]

Hello @AlejaR
I've tried the clean reinstall of Spotify and that fixed the issue with the normal songs, but the playlist with local files still bugs out every 3ish songs. I've tried turning off Local Files and back on, removing the folder that all of the songs are in and i've tried to make a new playlist with those songs, but they still stop at 00:00. How do i fix this issue?

Also it isn't anything with bluetooth, because I'm using wired earphones on my laptop.

Thank you for helping me and hope you can help me with this issue too!

[Dessi]

Hey @Kyanovk,

Thanks for the reply!

One of the users in the thread @AlejaR mentioned said that unplugging their mic and plugging it back in resolved the issue. Can you give it a try with your earphones? Also, when you performed the clean reinstall, did you download Spotify from the Windows Store or from the Spotify site? If you've only downloaded it from one place so far, it's worth trying the other one. 

Just to double-check - does this happen when Spotify is in the background or when you're actively using it as well? It's also worth changing your Power Plan to Best Performance in your laptop's settings to see if that helps.

Let us know how it goes.

[Kyanovk]

Hello Dessi,

I tried unplugging and plugging my mic back in that didn't work, I also tried a clean reinstall on the windows store and on the Spotify site both didn't work. 

This issue happens when I'm actively using Spotify and in the background. I also changed my power plan to best performance but nothing changed. What do I do now?

Thank you for your time and help.

[AlejaR]

Hey there @Kyanovk,

Thanks for keeping us in the loop!

Just to confirm, have you tried clearing the host files and running the app in Safe mode with networking as mentioned above? If you haven't, it'd be awesome if you could give it a try.

Since you mentioned this happens now only when playing you're local files, we'd recommend:

• Changing the location of the local files. You can move them to a different folder and add a new source under Settings> Show songs from.
• Making sure the format of your local files is mp3.

If issues persist, we'd like to gather some additional info. Please send us: 

• The exact Spotify version you're running.
• Do you use a VPN service? If yes, try setting Spotify as an exception. Keep in mind Spotify doesn't officially support VPN. This means that issues with the app while using VPN are expected behavior.
•  Did you notice if this started to happen after a specific event such as an OS update?

We'll be on the lookout for your reply.

[Szaszkee]

Hello there, I just want to chime in, I have a similar issue for some time now. I have a playlist with some local files added in the mix, whenever it would get to one of those songs (shuffle is on) spotify stops playing (it shows playback is on, but stuck on 0:00). If I click on the bar to 0:01 or something similar it immediately continues to play the local file, but then the phenomenon repeats one more time after said local file is over and it jumps to another track. Again if I adjust it on the bar it continues and then there are no further issues as long as when it reaches another local file.

The local files are all .mp3 format.

I am using Spotify for Windows (64 bit) 1.2.62.580.gb27ad23e

I do not have VPN, I do not remember any OS update, I have windows11 and do not generally mess with settings, I guess it is on autoupdate all the time? It just started to behave like this recently, I never had issues with local files before.

[Dessi]

Hey @Szaszkee,

Thanks for joining the thread!

To check if this is related to the local files in the playlist, it'd be great if you can remove them from it and re-add them again afterwards. It'd also be helpful if you can check if they play from the Local Files folder in Your Library.

If you haven't already, I'd also recommend performing a clean reinstall of the app to remove any damaged cache. If you're using the Microsoft Store one, try downloading it directly from the Spotify site this time and vice versa.

Hope this helps.

[Szaszkee]

Hi Dessi,

thanks for the tips, I tried them all just now:

Removed and readded local files to the playlist, the issue still remained as I described it.

Checked the local files folder and it was mostly the same. What I mean by mostly, I will describe in a second.

I did a clean reinstall, I had MS store version up until now, deleted everything and installed by downloading directly from your link, readded the local files folder, but my experience is the same.

So mostly = while checking the local files folder I noticed that not all mp3-s are "equal" in the sense, that some do not reproduce this issue, while others do. These mp3-s are all over in size, bitrate (or bitrate mode), writing library, etc... maybe some of them are acting up for some reason? I could understand if the spotify app flat out refused some file formats, but it does play it, just needs manual nudging on the bar... And again, this started just recently.

Thanks for looking into it!=)

[Eni]

Hey there @Szaszkee, 

Thanks for getting back to us. 

Since the issue seems to only affect some mp3 files, it'd be useful if you could try converting the mp3 files you noticed the issue with to another format and then re-add them to the playlist to see if the same happens. 

Additionally and just to confirm, could you replicate this exact behavior with your local files on your phone? To know how to get your local files on your phone, take a look at this article. 

Lastly, sending us a screen recording of this behavior would come in handy. You can attach it to your next response by using the Insert Video option in the post editor. You can also upload it to Google Drive and share the link with us (make sure the video has the permissions for anyone to see it).

Let us know how it goes.