Local Files won't download

[Dykeules]

So I got my local files in my playlist on my desktop, my phone is connected to the same wifi as my desktop, the files play perfectly fine on my desktop, but when I go to download the playlist on mobile, the entire playlist downloads EXCEPT the local file, which just has a little error symbol (!) where the download symbol should be, so I can't listen to the song on my phone. I've done this over and over again and read and reread all the steps, and I do not know what is going wrong.

[Dian]

Hey there,

Thanks for the feedback.

The change was made due to compatibility issues with the sync between devices, especially between iOS and PCs as those are dependent on third-party software. Allowing local file discovery instead of a sync was also a popular request among users.

So this has been implemented to alleviate the compatibility issues which are beyond our control and in accordance with the feedback we received, as we continuously strive to improve the user experience on our platform. 

Hope this clears things a little,

Cheers!

[Nanihello]

I see. Thanks for helping me out. Million thanks.

[Nanihello]

Just a question: I downloaded some music into the app "Files" in iPhone, but seems Spotify can't detect my music in the Files. Where should I download my music so Spotify can find my music and put it into Local Files (Mobile Spotify)?

[Dian]

Hey @Nanihello,

Thanks for the reply. Below you can find the steps to bring your Local Files to the iPhone:

1. From Settings, tap Local Files.
2. Switch Show audio files from this device on.
   Note: A pop-up will ask permission to access your local network. Accept this permission to enable Local Files transfer between desktop and mobile.
3. Go back to Your Library and you should now see a new folder added Local Files.
4. Follow the steps below to transfer your audio files according to your device:
    
   macOS: 
   4.1. Connect your iPhone to the Mac.
   4.2. Open Apple Music and select your phone from the pop-up in the sidebar.
   4.3. Drag and drop the tracks. 
   Note: Make sure the option Manually manage music, movies, and TV shows is turned on. You can access this option in your device sync settings within Finder, under the General section.
    
   Windows: 
   4.1. Install iTunes and connect iPhone to the computer.
   4.2. Open iTunes, then select your phone from the pop-up in the sidebar and click Music.
   4.3. Drag and drop the tracks. 
   Note: Make sure the option Manually manage music, movies, and TV shows is turned on. You can access this option on iTunes in your device sync settings, under the Options section.
   
   
5. On your iPhone, open Apple Music and Download your tracks.
6. Go back to Your Library  and click on Local Files, you should now see all available tracks in this folder.

Let us know if any of the steps are unclear or don't bring you further,

Cheers!

[xinzhao]

then why doesn't my local files from my phone show up but instead the local files from my desktop show up in the local files folder on my phone??? hahaha I cant believe Spotify have not fixed the problem with local files after so many years of constant problems.

[tomg05]

Plan

Premium

Country

United Kingdom

Device

(iPhone 11 Pro, Windows PC)

Operating System

(IOS 16, Windows 11)

My Question or Issue

For some reason, I cant sync my local files anymore. The option used to be under settings > local files, but now it has just gone. This means I cant upload music to my PC, add it to a playlist and download that playlist on my phone to listen to it, which is what I attempted to do. Any help would be great, thanks.

[mpraim]

Another terrible decision by Spotify.

[Ryanbland065]

So why did you guys remove a perfectly good feature? We pay you to improve the app, not cut parts of it off!

[mpraim]

I am pretty sure in the future they won't support local files at all.

[orodw]

The new system is even a bigger mess than it used to be. What is “drag and drop”?? It won't allow me to “drag and drop” into itunes. How is it done?? Where is the video instruction?? Why were things turned from “complicated but working” into “complicated and absolutely not working”???

[orodw]

“Must be stored on your device”.... what on Earth does this mean?? Would you be so kind to speak English in your descriptions please? I have a lot of mp3s in my “Files” folder. Technically they are stored on my iPhone. Why I don’t see them in my Spotify app???

[orodw · Accepted solution]

Ok people. Seems like I found how it works.

1. Connect your iphone to PC
2. Open itunes on PC
3. open your iphone window in itunes (you should see then such vertical bars as summary,music,movies,TV shows etc)
4. Open summary. Scroll down until you find “Manually manage music and videos”. Press it
5. In the right bottom corner press “Apply” (this is an important step)
6. In the “On my device” section on the left choose “Music”
7. Drag and drop the mp3 file there. Wait a sec. Should work.
8. Open Spotify on your iphone.
9. Open settings, scroll to Local files. Open it. You see “Show audio files from this device”. Tick the button so that it turns green
10. In your library u will find a new playlist called “Local files”. Open it and search for the track you just downloaded. Should be there.

Profit. Moderators, you should have explained things in detail, not me.

[orodw]

Bro, check the latest reply. Seems like I found how it works. Was exactly in ur shoes

[theGuernseyman]

This is a bit weird!

I've had the 'local files won't play ' problem for a while now and I've tried most of the 'fixes' with no success. Then I had an idea. By the way, I'm using Windows10 on a laptop PC.

My idea was that maybe, the default location for offline storage might not have adequate 'permissions', so I used the Settings 'Change location' option to set the location to my c:\temp folder which has permissions for everyone to read/write and not read only etc. Then I went through the add a source stuff, just in case. When I tried to play from my Local Files folder, it worked! I tried adding a song to an existing playlist from the local Files and that worked too. 'Cracked it' I thought. Then I had to go out for a while and when I came back, a few hours later, the damn' thing had gone back to refusing to play from the local files folder or the song I'd placed in the other folder. By now it was getting too late in the evening so I went to bed, in a bad mood. Blow me down! In the morning, everything worked again! As at the moment it's still all working .  Anyway, my notion that the problem is based around permissions for the offline storage location might just be on target. I'll report back if it transpires I'm wrong. I used to be an IT manager so I'm happy to manipulate permissions and so on.

[zarym2]

I recently discovered local files on my computers, and i imported some files.

I put them all in one playlist and I tried downloading that playlist but it downloads the first 20 then stops, (on computer i can play them normally).

I have tried doing it on the same wifi but it doesnt change anything

[Vanessa1986]

Plan

Premium

Country

Canada

Device

iPhone 11 Pro

Operating System

iOS 15.6.1

My Question or Issue

My local files work perfectly fine on my pc but when I go to my playlist with my local files they are all greyed out and unplayable. I have had this issue before and all of a sudden one day they were playable but I've been trying to find an actual fix for a couple of months. I've checked other community post "fixes" for the same issue and they never work.

[saltypeanut62]

Where am I supposed to store my music files on my phone? I open the local file playlist on my phone and theres nothing there, and theres no option to import the music file to the app, so how am i supposed to get it into the playlist?

[320muffins]

Hello all, I got some mp3 tracks that aren't on Spotify on my PC, I would like to add to my phone, but I am having issues. I have local files on both my PC and my iPhone Spotify app. I have triple checked that they're mp3 files.

I have my music in my Music folder on Windows, but they are not showing up on my iPhone (they do on my PC, though). I am a free member. I am on the same WiFi network, too.

I have given it time to sync, so I am unsure why the local files are not appearing on my iPhone. I even added them to a custom playlist, which *does* show up on my iPhone, but all the music is greyed out.

Am I missing a step? Any help is appreciated.

I do get a message on mobile saying to; "Mark the playlist containing this song for Offline Sync on your computer or on this iPhone.". How do I do that, I cannot seem to find it.

I have checked, and none of the music is DRM protected.

Thanks!

[HyphenSam]

This was a really poor decision. Local file sync is what convinced me to start using Spotify. I'm now moving to Apple Music and they handle file syncing very well by uploading them to the cloud. Maybe Spotify should start taking notes.

Edit: I've switched back to Spotify because I don't like the first and third-party clients for Apple Music. I am now syncing my local files using Syncthing, and I actually find this easier compared to making a separate playlist for local files to sync. I still think uploading to the cloud is far easier, but right now I'm just picking the least worst option for my music.

[minderella]

Not sure whether your advice works bc I don’t use itunes, but I wholeheartedly agree with you last statement!  It’s a monster trying to find solutions in this format let alone get a reply … imho.