Spotify on Roku won't play

[sambailey79]

I’m trying to use Spotify (app v2.5) on Roku (model 3900EU Roku express, software version 9.0.0) and it all works... except for the ability to press Play! It worked a few days ago. It’s not working now. Nothing has changed in the setup or account.  

I can login (by u/p or by pairing), I can browse, I can add to library. The only thing that doesn’t work is pressing play - on albums, playlists or individual tracks. No feedback or error or response of any kind, it just does nothing when you press play!

I have a free Spotify account (used to be Premium, but downgraded last month - it has worked on Roku as a Free account, with ads, just last week). I’m in the UK.

Things I've tried:

* logged out and back in again (by all the various methods)

* deleted and reinstalled the Spotify app

* rebooted the Roku box

Help!

[j9rose]

Same thing is happening to me. Noticed it yesterday.

[sambailey79]

3 days later... its working again!

[user-removed]

Just happened to me now - all my other Roku channels work/have sound & video, but the 'play' button can't be activated on Spotify

[Guido]

Hey @user-removed and the rest,

We can see that the issue has been fixed for @sambailey79.

If it's not working for anyone else, could you try to remove the app and preform any firmware update you can do on your Roku. Once that's done, reinstall Spotify and see if that solves the issue.

We hope it does. Let us know which Roku and on which firmware version you are on if it's still happening and we'll further investigate.

Have a nice day.

[sambailey79]

Hi all

I eventually put this down to a poor connection on WiFi. We were having some intermittent network problems, which I originally dismissed as the cause, because browsing was working fine. But I wonder if the app has some sort of caching or other network bandwidth test that wasn’t being passed, which was preventing playback.

The disappointing thing was that the app had no feedback to tell the user that was what was happening. It simply behaved like nothing was happening.

We have since had the overarching networking issues fixed and I’ve had no problems since.

Sam

[te-_m4s29lcj9]

I was having problems with playlists on Roku. I have Spotify on my PC, and finally figured out that I had to go to Settings, Device Menu in Spotify on my COMPUTER and select the TV device. It works now. 

[maysusan9]

Hello I have got the same problem. I have got a Roku Express.  As you said when you press play nothing happens. I am so cross. I used to love using Spotify. I had it on every day. I will be looking into it this week to sort it out.

[maysusan9]

Hello I have got the same problem. I will be  looking into it this week to try and sort it it out. I am so cross that this has happened. I have got a Roku Express.  I was using the Free pass on Spotify

[maysusan9]

I have just sighned  up to Spotify with my other Email Address and it is working again. Oh I am so pleased

[maysusan9]

Hello Ilogout of Spotify and sighted byup with my other email address a on my Rokuexpress and now it seems to be working  let's hope that has fixed the problem

[tremalow]

I had the same problem and I think its related to ads. I realized that spotify locked after an ad played but the ad had disappeared. I had to log in on my computer and get songs to play again. There was a weird ad loop but once songs started to play on my account on the computer they also worked on the Roku

[maysusan9]

Hello I had to sign in again with my other email address and success
Spotify worked again

[Ellemintz]

This made me think about whether I had paused an ad on my phone when I had listened earlier  I hadn't but I played a few seconds from my phone and paused. Then I tried to play the playlist I wanted on the TV. It worked! Thank you so much for posting your experience.

[autauga · Accepted solution]

Thanks. Got me 2 days ago. Opening the Spotify app on my PC and playing a song solved my roku spotify not playing problem, as well.

[LauraLMHS]

Best answer!  I just spent about an hour trying to figure out why I couldn't get Spotify to actually "play" on my Roku.  Tried everything - reboot, uninstalling and reintalling, turning on and off, etc.  Then I checked this site and saw your message.  Sure enough, when I changed the setting at the bottom of my Spotify app on my COMPUTER, magically the sound came back on my TV.  Thanks so much for your suggestion!  

[te-_m4s29lcj9]

I'm so glad I could help. I guess I ran out of patience trying to "fix" my
TV, and went to my computer to search for a solution. I stumbled onto it!
Joyce

[TazExprez]

Thanks a lot for this thread!  I solved it by playing something on my iPhone. 

[nicole381]

I'm using Roku Stick 3800X, software version 9.1.0

This problem has been occuring for me nonstop yesterday and today (I think I'm on try #7 in the past 24 hours).   It happens every time I pause the app for a few minutes and then try to restart, and once the audio just dropped out on its own. 

The 'Fix' (go to computer, play something, log back onto Roku) worked the first few times, but the has become less and less reliable. (It's taking more and more random clicking around the computer app before anything will play on roku.)

My additional annoyance is I'm trying to listen to podcasts, so it's not as simple as just finding a song or a spot in a playlist.  If I try to play my episode on the computer, it's inevitably saved to a point 20 minutes before I stopped listening, and when I get it to work on the roku I've then got to forward to where I left off.

I dont' know if the fact that I'm listening to a 2 hr+ episode is causing a problem - I know other users have related the issue to skipped/frozen ads.  

I've updated the software, removed/reloaded the app, etc.

[JennaStarkey]

I think my issue is slightly different to those above.  My Roku has been working perfectly for months. All of a sudden yesterday, the screen goes gray when I click on the Spotify app on my TV (from my remote and phone remote). The internet connection is good, and tried functioning from my computer. I would deactivate from my computer but it won't let me without being able to click on it. Any suggestions?