Spotify wont transfer local MP3s to my apple watch

[TG8804]

Plan

Premium, just installed 2 weeks ago

Country

usa

Device

iPhone 12 and apple watch 7

Operating System

latest ios, just downloaded last week

My Question or Issue

Spotify skips local mp3 songs when I am downloading a playlist to apple watch.  The full playlist downloads fine to my iphone and plays fine on my phone with airplane mode on just like it does when I play the mixed playlist on my computer.  I have learned to go stand next to my router downstairs which fixed all my slow download issues when transferring to my watch and even helps when I am transferring to my phone.  Bluetooth download is too slow and the watch Wifi connection is too weak unless you stand right next to the router so no issues getting playlists to download to my watch anymore but spotify download selectively removes any local MP3s that are in my playlist.  Seems like a deliberate effort by spotify to block anyone from transferring a local MP3 to your applewatch.  Anyone help with this? or does spotify moderator want to step up and admit that they are deliberately not allowing those song transfers??  By the way I purchased every MP3 (or the CD they were ripped from in some cases) that I have on my computer just for the record.  The ability to transfer my owned music along with online purchased music on to my apple watch so I can take it with me when I run was primary drive behind buying apple watch and for joining Spotify. 

[Prague]

Hey dood, that stinks you're experiencing issues with Spotify not allowing local MP3 songs to be transferred to your Apple Watch while downloading a playlist. Here are a few things you can try to troubleshoot the issue:

1. Check the format of the local MP3 songs: Make sure that the local MP3 songs you are trying to transfer to your Apple Watch are in a compatible format. Spotify only supports MP3, M4A, and WAV file formats. If your songs are in a different format, you may need to convert them before transferring them to your Apple Watch.

2. Check the size of the playlist: If the playlist you are trying to download is too large, it may be causing issues with the transfer process. Try reducing the size of the playlist and see if that resolves the issue.

3. Check the settings on your Apple Watch: Make sure that the settings on your Apple Watch are set up correctly for transferring music. Go to the Watch app on your iPhone, select Music, and make sure that the "Add Music" option is turned on.

4. Updates? watchOS 9.3.1

    iOS and iPadOS is 16.3.1

It's also worth noting that while Spotify allows you to transfer local MP3 songs to your Apple Watch, there may be restrictions on transferring certain songs due to licensing agreements with record labels. However, if you own the songs and they are not restricted, you should be able to transfer them to your Apple Watch.

Let's figure this out,

-Prague the Dog

[TG8804]

Prague,

Thanks for responding to my issue.  I went through your list of possible fixes.

1) all the local songs I have integrated in to my spotify playlists on my computer and iphone play perfectly on both of those and spotify has no problem downloading them to those two devices or playing the songs offline.  I did notice they dont display the album image that I know is on the mp3 tag but I can live without that.   The files are .mp3 files that have worked on everything I have ever played them on.  They are 256kbps mp3s.  some of them are purchases from amazon in 2019 so they are new enough I would expect them to work fine.  Others that spotify also refuses to download to the watch are rips from CDs dating back to the early 2000s  .mp3 is perhaps the most universally compatable standard for music recordings over the last 20 years.   Seems to me either apple or spotify or both are deliberately block local owner .mp3 files.  To be sure about this why dont you email me a non spotify .mp3 file that you know downloads to your apple watch and I will try to download it to mine.  

2) playlists are only 15 to 20 songs (less than 90min) long and doesnt make sense that just the local mp3s would be skipped since they are just a few tracks in the middle of all the spotify downloads in the playlist.  The local MP3s are being deliberately skipped by the spot download code in the spotify watch app.   by the way i dont use itunes on any of my devices.

3) I went thru the apple watch setup up on my phone.  There is no "add music" option under the music app. Perhaps you are referring to an outdated apple watch configuration menu or perhaps apple took the option away in a recent update. I attached a screen shot of my phone when I clicked on Music in apple watch app.

4) I think i mentioned that i did all updates and spotify installs brand new last week. All are the latest versions:

iOS for apple watch 7 = 9.3.1

iOS for iphone 12 =  16.3.1

Ok now that we have checked off the default, **bleep** filter items, lets get it in to the details and see if you can pinpoint this issue.  First I think you should try to do the exact same thing on your system.  Take an old mp3 pathed as local file on your computer and add it in the middle of a playlist of spot downloaded songs.  Then try to download to your phone (should work fine there like mine does) and your watch and then see if the arrive and can be played.  If you can do it but I cant then either spot doesnt like my mp3 files OR there is a setting wrong somewhere most likely in my watch I guess.  If you cant do it then it is a programming issue (bug if you will) or it is a deliberate feature to prevent bad boys who steal music from being able to put it on their watch using spotify.  Either an apple decision or a sportify decision, probably the legal geniuses would be the ultimate cause in that case.  I suggest if you cant determine a cause for this problem, please contact the programming team and ask them and run this all by them.  If it is deliberate I am sure they will know about it.  I also cant be the first person to want to do this, and I have read many other threads in the community room showing that.  Somebody in the spotify team knows the answer to my issue I would guess.   

Looking forward to hearing what you find out. 

Thanks,

Tim

[TG8804]

How about an answer to my questions in this thread? or are we to assume that the silence means my supposition is correct and spotify is deliberately blocking downloads of local mp3s to apple watch either by greedy choice or by mandate from the gods at Apple?  If they are blocked, might want to just let users know that.  Couple of other things for fellow spot members that I have learned in my weeks long effort to get downloaded music on to my apple watch to enjoy during runs and workouts at the gym. 

  1) you cannot start to play from the apple watch without your phone nearby, on, and connected to the watch.  If you try to play downloaded songs without your phone connected to the watch, spot just wont do anything.  Your watch screen will look like it is playing and you will fiddle around with your headphones for a while before you realize that is not the problem.  When you do get back to your phone (like when your silent run is over) you will find that your watch spot still doesn't work, and it is in a crash mode.  Restarting the watch spot app doesn't work.  I had to turn my phone off, clear running apps on my watch and shut my watch down then restart phone then restart the watch and spot will work again.   To use spot on your watch to play downloaded music, just start playing songs through your watch and headphones BEFORE stepping away from your phone then the watch keeps going on its own as you walk out of range from your phone.  So far this has worked fine every time. Irritating but at least there is work around.  Finaly I was able to get my spot to work and play music while running without my phone on me during the run.

2)  downloading music from your windows pc to your phone works much better if you walk to wherever your wifi router is, stand next to it and start the downloads right there.   I think the issue here is that spots wifi downloading code is unstable and requires the strongest possible signal to work properly.  I also think if there is any stopping of the download, spotify is unable to properly continue it when transmission resumes.   

3) similar to 2 above, when downloading music to your apple watch, turn off the blue tooth on your watch and go stand next to your home wifi router then start the downloads on your watch.  The bluetooth transfers to the watch in Spot are unstable and similar to the phone downloads, works much better with the strongest possible wifi signal.   Since I have learned this I have downloaded a bunch of spot music to my watch very fast with no issues.  Nothing wrong with my 490 mb/sec home wifi speed capability by the way.  I think apple watch does have a weaker wfi signal capability due to its small size but other apps seems to be able to work better and more stable than spot does. 

Hope that is helpful to other apple watch users and will save from lots of trial and error. Good news is I now have must when i run or workout through my apple watch but just still cant get local mp3s to download to it. 

[TG8804]

sorry meant to type "at least I now have music when I run or workout..."

[Prague]

Sorry I handle a lot of topics and you seem to have slipped through the cracks, offiline songs were an on going known issue if not still are. I suggest checking in the known problems section of the community. Remember I’m just another random on the forum same as you.

[TG8804]

will do. Thought you were a spot guy.  Thanks for trying to help out.  After watching this for a while, no doubt that they are deliberately blocking transfers of personal MP3 collections to apple watch.  They will not respond because they dont want to admit it most likley. 

[crobbinsp]

Hey man,

im running into the same problem you are! You are not alone!!! 🙂

my band has released an album.  I have the Mp3s in the “local files” on my iphone and they work fine.  
the playlist ive added them to shows up on my watch.  When i click download (so i can listen to them without my iphone) nothing freaking happens.  So lame.  
i click the download button and it “circles green” for about thirty seconds and then turns into an exclamation point.  No songs ever appear.  
whats funny is the image i uploaded to spotify for the playlist even shows up on the watch just fine.  

SPOTIFY: why have a local files functionality if it wont work on my watch???

[abeach97]

2024 and I'm having the same issue. This is beyond frustrating. I understand it's not entirely spotify's fault, as apple music also has the same issue of not letting me put MY MP3 files onto my watch. 

Such a shame, and I'm truly baffled as to how/why this arbitrary rule even helps spotify/apple.