Playback Restricted Devices Greyed Out

[Wesmond1]

I cannot connect my Spotify to echo devices anymore. All devices greyed out and read 'Playback Restricted'. Have tried deleting and reinstalling Spotify and Alexa apps, clearing cache, resetting wifi, unplugging and re-powering echos. All to no avail. Work-arounds very welcome

[privatejones]

I had the same issue, and the delete app, and reinstall sorted the issue out just fine.

SJ

[jamiescotland]

I always played my music through a sonos device and its connected speakers with no problems, When using Spotify app today notice Device is now greyed out and "playback restricted". Can play music ok using the SONOS app. Please help resolve issue and get me back on my Spotify app

[OscarDC]

Hey @jamiescotland,

Thank you for reaching out to the Community and welcome.

Just to be on the same page, would you mind confirming if you've already followed the reinstall process mentioned before by @privatejones? If not, we'd recommend performing a clean reinstall of the app by following the steps in this article. This is often an overlooked step, but it’s more thorough than a quick one and can be helpful in getting rid of any cache that might be causing trouble. 

If the issue persists, could you include in your next response a screenshot of the error message you mentioned, and the model, OS version and Spotify version you're currently running on your device? This will give us a better look at the issue.

We'll be on the lookout. 

[John_W]

I think I figured out the issue. First, connect the devices via BLUETOOTH to your phone that has the Spotify app. Once you've successfully connected via Bluethooth, disconnect from Alexa BUT do not delete it from your list of devices to connect. Once done, that restricted playback error should go away. Why I'm figuring this out instead of Spotify engineers, is beyond me. It worked for me and hopefully it'll work for you and the thousands others having this issue. -John W

[amanryzus]

its 2022 still no one knows anything 😄

[Polts]

This is incredible. There is clearly an issue with specific content that is causing the issue. Tailenders and This American Life for example. My guess would be rights restrictions or something else in the back end. Reinstalling the app does not solve this issue. Furthermore it would SOOO much better if 1) you could clear the cache manually and 2) your downloaded content could be automatically resynced as many users have hundred of albums etc locally. 

[John_W]

do me a favor and see if my solution works for you. 
First, connect the devices via BLUETOOTH to your phone that has the Spotify app. Once you've successfully connected via Bluethooth, disconnect from Alexa BUT do not delete it from your list of bluetooth devices to connect. Once done, that restricted playback error should go away but you might still see greyed out devices. if you don't see, re-add in Alexa app, changing the name to make it easier to find

[Gottstem]

Any advice on experience the following issue:

• Music and some podcasts are playable on both Amazon and Google devices
• Particular podcasts (most notably news such as BBC) show as “Playback restricted” on Amazon Echos and Studios, but can still play on Google Home device.

[John_W]

SOLUTION FOUND for me anyway. The grey out devices on Spotify for me have been new Alexa devices that have never been sync'd with my phone that I'm using Spotify on. Do that first. Connect the devices that are greyed out and have playback restricted via bluetooth. Make sure the devices also show in your alexa app. Restart your Spotify app and try to connect. Keep in mind any older versions in spotify will still show and be greyed out but you should see new devices (actually the same devices) and you should be able to connect to it/them now

[Yordan]

Hi everyone,

Thank you for your inputs and for sharing your solutions!

Just wanted to mention that while forgetting the Spotify skill in the Alexa app, then relinking them seems to do the trick in most cases, it's important to note that certain podcasts are unplayable through Spotify Connect in general. There's an idea about this behavior here which you may find interesting, so feel free to check it out and share your feedback.

The Community is always here if something else comes up.

Take care!

[Loveapodcast]

This worked for me! Thanks. This issue has been driving me nuts for years! 

[Iajohnston]

If I try to play from Spotify it is restricted but I have found that if I tell Alexa to play a playlist, I can then change the playlist from Spotify, I had setup a group of speakers and I think that is related

[Milk777]

"Playback restricted" (ios)/"Premium users only"(android)/"premium required"(win7)  prevents playback on any Alexa devices.  This just started recently and appears regardless of content.

This bug is not fixed and seems to be spreading.  None of the proposed solutions work.

Please fix.

[ShubhamG]

Followed all the steps as mentioned by the moderators but still receiving the error ‘Playback Restricted’ for my multiple Alexa devices. Sometimes, the issue will be fixed for a moment, but then again will resurface. Spoke to Amazon customer support and they informed that there seems to be some bug at Spotify’s end. I am using Spotify Duo premium account. I don’t see any use of premium account if the issue is unsolved. Btw, this issue is coming for all the tracks on the Spotify. 

[John_W]

Did you see what worked for me? Add the Alexa devices to your phone using bluetooth. Once I synced the devices that had playback restricted using Bluetooth, I could start using them - as new devices.

[dvillaret]

Similar issue for me. If I’m playing music I can select any echo device, from either iPad or android. But if I try to play podcast from BBC then all echos are greyed out. This happens on both iPad and android. I can play some podcasts though such as TED talks. So could this be a region / digital rights issue?

[AlejaR]

Hey folks,

Thanks for your reply and for the info shared. 

@dvillaret, the behavior you described was reported and is being investigated in this thread. So we recommend you follow some of the troubleshooting steps there. You can also subscribe to it in the three dot menu to get notified as soon as we have some news to share.

If perhaps the steps provided there doesn't do the trick, you can reply on that thread with the steps you followed.

If anything else comes up, the Community will always be here for you.

[Anipalooza]

Same problem here. Esp on BBC podcasts, like The Documentary Podcast. I can't play it on external Bluetooth speakers. They are all greyed out with "Playback Restricted" showing. The same podcast and episode plays fine on Apple Podcast app. No restrictions there. Hmm. Maybe I should move back to it 😉 

[AlejaR]

Hey @Anipalooza,

Thanks for your reply and for the info shared.

We really appreciate the time you took to report to us on this. If this is a behavior you could notice only while trying to listen to those podcasts through an external device, it's most likely related to the behavior reported and investigated in this thread.

As mentioned before, we'd recommend you follow some of the troubleshooting steps shared there. You can also subscribe to it in the three dot menu to get notified as soon as we have some news in the matter. You can reply there all the troubleshooting you've tried.

We'll be here if anything else comes up.

[Anipalooza]

Hi AlejaR. It's not all podcasts. Only some. Specifically the ones by BBC World Service that do not play on external bluetooth speakers. Even Airpods! I first thought it was some kind of license restriction from that service. But I can play them fine on Apple Podcasts. So it is some weirdness at Spotify's end that needs to be explored and resolved.