[Mac Desktop] Spotify app crashes during launch when Offline Mode is enabled

[thinkswan]

Hi! The Spotify app (1.1.38.558.g4b100958) for macOS (10.15.5) crashes during launch when Offline Mode is enabled. This started happening on Jul 26, 2020.

To reproduce:

1. Install Spotify, launch the app, and sign in

2. Enable Offline Mode by going to Spotify menu > Offline Mode

3. Quit the app

4. Try to relaunch the app (it will crash immediately)

Specifically, if "~/Library/Application Support/Spotify/prefs" contains the line "app.force-offline-mode=true", the app crashes during launch. The error is "[0728/104943.830831⚠️system_snapshot_mac.cc(42)] sysctlbyname kern.nx: No such file or directory (2) Segmentation fault: 11".

More details:

- Removing the "app.force-offline-mode=true" line solves the issue

- Reinstalling Spotify (including removing all artifacts in "~/Library/Application Support/Spotify" and "~/Library/Caches/*spotify*") does not solve it

- Turning off "Local Files" does not solve it

- Changing the "Offline songs storage" location does not solve it

- Restarting my computer does not solve it

- Logging into a Spotify test account (provided by support) does not solve it

- The issue does not happen on any other devices (tested on an iPhone and iPad)

My current workaround is to use the following alias to launch Spotify: "alias open_spotify='sed -i "" "/app\.force-offline-mode=true/d" "~/Library/Application Support/Spotify/prefs" && /Applications/Spotify.app/Contents/MacOS/Spotify &'"

Possibly related:

- https://community.spotify.com/t5/Desktop-Mac/SPOTIFY-NOT-WORKING-AFTER-UPDATING-TO-macOS-Catalina-10...

Is this a known issue? Can this be filed as a bug report with the engineering team?

[thinkswan]

Yeah, I'm 99% sure this is a bug in the latest version of Spotify for Mac. Hopefully their engineering team sees this and digs into it. 😊

[Xenia]

Hey folks,

Thanks for reporting this to us!

We've just merged a few threads together to keep you all in the loop. 

We can confirm the right team is aware of this and they're looking into it. If you’re experiencing this issue, make sure to add your +VOTE and subscribe to this thread so that you'll be notified as soon as there are any updates.

In the meantime, we recommend you try the workaround shared by @thinkswan:

1. Open the Terminal app
2. Paste the following line: sed -i "" "/app\.force-offline-mode=true/d" ~/Library/Application\ Support/Spotify/prefs && /Applications/Spotify.app/Contents/MacOS/Spotify &
3. Press enter

We hope to have more info soon.

[Xenia]

Hey everyone,

Our tech teams have made some changes backstage. Could you make sure you're on the latest app version and let us know how it goes?

Thanks - We'll be keeping an eye out for all your replies!

[thinkswan]

Xenia, the latest version launches in offline mode with no issues, so the problem appears to be solved. Thanks for making this happen!

[Xenia]

Hey there folks,

Our tech teams have been working hard backstage and we’re happy to say that this should now be fixed for everyone!

In case you're still experiencing this, we'd recommend making sure your device and operating system are up-to-date.

If you have any further questions, make sure to create a new thread in the relevant help board here.

Thanks again!