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Issue with the Web Player skipping tracks on multiple devices

Submitted by Moderator on ‎2024-11-13 08:31 AM
Status: Case Closed

We received reports from users having issues with the Web Player skipping tracks after a few seconds of streaming (usually around 10) and occasionally displaying a "Spotify can't play this right now" error.

Hey there folks,
 
We really appreciate all your reports so far!
 
Our tech teams have looked into this, but weren't able to reproduce it. Since this issue could be caused by individual network setups, we'll close this thread as the issue is something that will need to be looked into individually or could get resolved by an overall system and/or functionality change.

 

Here are some troubleshooting steps that are worth taking a look into:


Check if there are any pending updates for your browser and install them. It's also highly recommended you manually check if the latest version of the Widevine plugin is installed. There's a detailed guide on how to do that in this article.

 

Below you can find some additional things you can try. Click on each section to expand it.

 

► Audio Output & Sample Rate

 

Make sure Spotify is mapped to a valid audio device in Windows/macOS and that the sample rate isn’t set too high (anywhere between 44.1 and 192 kHz should be okay). Check “App volume and device preferences” and confirm Spotify is assigned to the correct output. You'll find a detailed guide on how to do that here.

 

► USB DACs or external audio interfaces

 

Driver conflicts or odd configuration in advanced setups (e.g., gaming headsets, external DACs) can trigger errors. Disabling/re-enabling the device driver or trying a different USB port often helps.

 

► Clearing hosts file

 

Check if the hosts file contains any entries with Spotify in the address and remove them. You'll find the steps to do this here.

 

► Symlinks or moved browser data

 

If you moved your browser’s cache/profile via symbolic links, check permissions and confirm Widevine is working with the new location.

 

► Firewall/Antivirus software or Ad blockers

 

Aggressive AV or restricted network policies can break DRM or streaming requests. Try disabling them briefly or test with another network. Uninstall any ad-blocker apps.

 

► In case you're using any DJ apps/ software for mixing or creating tunes

 

If you have any DJ apps/software for mixing or creating tunes, try disabling the option to exclusively use a specific sound card. You can try using a different device to verify if the issue is limited to your setup and/ or network.

 


We hope this helps. If you still need a hand, you can start a new topic in the relevant Help board including all the steps you've tried so far and their outcome and we'll take it from there.

P.S. If you're on a non-personal device or network (student laptop, student network, corporate laptop, corporate network) get in touch with the administrator for more help! 🙂

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Top Answer
8hsn9203hz75o47i46yu
Newbie
‎2024-11-15 07:39 PM

IT's Finally FIXED - and can resume enjoying the music again !!! 🙂
Woah - waited a while in case the faults scame back but web player Spotify has been playing perfectly all afternoon.

Seems Spotify did some code changes the Mozilla Firefox Browser (and other browsers as well by sounds of it), didn't like very much.

Step 1 - Upgraded Mozilla Firefox 32 bit version from an earlier version up to version 115.0.3esr.

'esr' stands for - Extended Support Release'.
These ESR Mozilla releases are to keep the Firefox browser running on the ancient Windows 7 platform.

Version (115.0.3esr) was released (15-Jan-2024)
This made no change !!
Spotify Web Version was still not working.

Then upgraded again from (115.0.3esr) up to (115.17.0esr)
Version (115.17.0esr) was released (28-Oct-2024)
This is browser version is 9 months newer, and less than  3 weeks old as of 2024 11 15 (when this fix was posted).

So possibly (and hopefully) your issue will also be fixed by upgrading your browser to the very latest version 🙂
No idea what got broken, but the plan to Stubbornly Stay With Windows7 (along with the growing millions of other users), should definately be noted by Spotify please?

If the choice comes between W7 and Spotify, huge numbers of users (me included), will be hunting for another music streaming platform.

🙂 Thanks 🙂

Jump to reply
Comments
trilla_v
Casual Listener
2024-11-20 09:09 PM

Terrible. Paying for premium and have had this issue for 2 weeks. Cannot use web player AT ALL. Says Spotify can't play this right now, skips around rapidly over 15 songs, settles on 1, and plays 1 second of it before stopping. Have 3 different macbooks, all different OS, have tried incognito, 2 other browsers, all the same result. What is going on? Why has this been weeks? This should be number 1 priority. It doesn't work. We are paying for a product, that we cannot use.

Love0fstars
Newbie
2024-11-21 02:21 PM

I have the same problem since 10 days 

0 Likes
Giuly8
Newbie
2024-11-21 06:49 PM

Windows 8.1 and 10

 

Chrome and Edge

 

When I click on a song, it is skipped and finds another. Once the song started, it plays just for 10 seconds.

0 Likes
NameWithheld
Newbie
2024-11-21 07:40 PM

Win7 64-bit Service Pack 1 (Build 7601.24544)
Webplayer

Opera 95.0.4635.90
Vivaldi5.6.2867.62 

have tried changing browsers and clearing cookies data, made no difference
mshermansw1
Newbie
2024-11-21 07:46 PM

Plan

Premium

Country

USA

Device

Web Player (Chrome and Edge)

Operating System

Windows 11

 

My Question or Issue

When I try to listen to the web player after 1-2 songs, the web player will stop playing and the controls will gray out until I refresh the page and start it again. I've tried logging out of all devices and clearing the cache for my browsers.

0 Likes
nix2301
Casual Listener
2024-11-22 02:14 AM

Can we please get confirmation that your developers have been able to reproduce this issue.

 

Otherwise we're sitting here in the darkness thinking it's something to do with our system specs and configuration if we're not running the latest version of windows or supported browser.

 

Furthermore is it not possible to look at change management documentation to work out what changes went into the Web player or back end databases at around the time this issue started to pin point which particular change caused it?

randlan
Newbie
2024-11-22 05:57 AM

Issue has been resolved for me for a few days now – not due to anything I did on my end.

0 Likes
Oytov
Newbie
2024-11-23 04:52 AM

I have windows 11, up to date OS and browser, On browser it skips the first 5 tracks then plays the song for 10 seconds. On the desktop app it doesn't play anything with the error message "Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file..."

0 Likes
Allan_F
Newbie
2024-11-23 07:21 AM

OK, I posted earlier as a reply to someone else's post. Now I am making my own post...

Plan
Free

Country

Malaysia

Device

Dell Inspiron

Operating System

Windows 7

Browser

Chrome

 

Same problem as everyone else. Cleared cache, logged out and in. Chose a track, and get the message "Spotify can't play this right now.". The web app then jumps to another track which plays for about 10 seconds. Then the audio fails but the track continues playing. I chose another track, and we go through the same cycle. After a few of these the advert for Premium jumps in, which, strangely enough, plays without any issues. No problems when using the IOS app. 

FIX THIS SOON PLEASE. THANK YOU. 

XD2907
Newbie
2024-11-24 02:05 PM

I AM HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM AND IT IS happening JUST AFTER 1 SECOND

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